ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the general terms how elements inherent in stratification and in varying religious commitments serve to reduce the link between a given position in the class hierarchy and political behavior. Conservative parties in a political democracy usually seek to reduce the saliency of class as a basis of party controversy in order to win more lower-class votes. The most interesting political aspect of the diverse stratification dimensions is the way in which incompatible stratification attributes subject individuals to contradictory political pressures. However, many countries that do not have explicitly religious parties are still greatly affected politically by religion. Religious parties vary considerably from country to country, and from period to period, in their social base, program, and position on various issues. The factors that determine the presence or absence of a major religious party have been of particular importance in affecting the possibilities for socialist electoral victories in industrially developed nations.
