ABSTRACT
Social class differences, in some form, clearly matter to many religions. The rich are different from the middle and working classes as well as the poor in their religious identities, beliefs, practices, and experiences. A wealthy person or a poor one can still imagine themselves to be middle-class, but their life experiences will be objectively different from someone who is middle-class, bringing more opportunities in the case of the wealthy person or more vulnerabilities in the case of the poor person. Family income or educational level on their own can lead to misidentifying the position of individuals or families in the class structure. Many classic studies of community life in towns and cities on the East Coast and the Midwest focused at least a portion of their attention on religion and class and confirm and also build off of Niebuhr’s work.
