Deprivation theory as a tool to study non-traditional religiousity

How non-traditional religiosity can be explained in the framework of deprivation theory appears to be a key question in the current debate in the sociology of religion. The scholars argue that in the context of modernization and cultural transformations deprivation plays an important role as a force stimulating individuals to become religious. The article considers four conceptual models of religious conversion in the light of deprivation approach: institutional (C.Y. Glock), market (R. Stark, W.S. Bainbridge), neotraditionalist (R. Inglehart, P. Norris) and existential (R. Stark). The main issue for comparative perspective of the theoretical models is cultural and structural problematic in the consideration of reasons of non-traditional religiosity. The analysis shows that despite criticism the deprivation theory possesses analytical potential for conceptualizing religious conversion in the contemporary world. The approach needs further elaboration taking into account different levels of analysis — macro and micro, and various aspects of deprivation processes — cultural and socio-economic. The author concludes that the development of deprivation approach in the sociology of religion is possible through the concept of social exclusion to clarify societal conditions resulting in deprivation of individuals. The hypothesis about interconnectedness of structural and cultural exclusion with material and spiritual deprivation, respectively, is formulated to be tested in the empirical research of religious conversion.

Keywords

religious conversion, deprivation theory, conceptual model, social exclusion, modernization

Acknowledgment

The article is supported by the grant from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research № 18-011-00561.

Received

20.09.2019

Publication date

25.09.2019

Number of characters

39628

Cite

GOST	Isaeva V. Deprivation theory as a tool to study non-traditional religiousity // Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya – 2019. – Issue 9 C. 39-50 [Electronic resource]. URL: http://ras.jes.su/socis/s013216250006656-4-1-en (circulation date: 26.04.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S013216250006656-4
MLA	Isaeva, Valentina B. "Deprivation theory as a tool to study non-traditional religiousity." Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya 9 (2019):39-50. DOI: 10.31857/S013216250006656-4
APA	Isaeva V. (2019). Deprivation theory as a tool to study non-traditional religiousity. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya (9), pp.39-50 DOI: 10.31857/S013216250006656-4

100 rub.

When subscribing to an article or issue, the user can download PDF, evaluate the publication or contact the author. Need to register.

Number of purchasers: 2, views: 1830

Readers community rating: votes 0

1. Isaeva V.B. Sovremennye kontseptual'nye modeli sotsiologii konversii // Izvestiya Rossijskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta im. A.I. Gertsena. 2014. № 166: 108–113. [Isaeva V. (2014) Modern Conceptual Sociological Models of Religious Conversion. Izvestiya Rossiyskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta im. A.I. Gertsena [News Herzen University Journal of Humanities and Sciences]. No. 166: 108–113. (In Russ.)].

2. Yaroshenko S. Sindrom bednosti // Sotsiologicheskij zhurnal.1994. № 2. S. 43–50. [Yaroshenko S. (1994) Poverty Syndrome. Sotsiologicheskij Zhurnal [Sociological Journal]. No. 2: 43–50. (In Russ.)].

3. Yaroshenko S. Chetyre sotsiologicheskikh ob'yasneniya bednosti // Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya. 2006. № 7: 34–42. [Yaroshenko S. (2006) Four Sociological Explanations of Poverty. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. No. 7: 34–42. (In Russ.)].

4. Davie G. (1994) Religion in Britain since 1945. Believing without Belonging. New-York.

5. Glock C. Y. (1964) The Role of Deprivation in the Origin and Evolution of Religious Groups. In: Religion and Social Conflict. Ed. by Lee R., Marty M.E. New York: Oxford University Press.

6. Luckmann T. (1967) The Invisible Religion. New-York: Macmillan.

7. Glock C.Y., Stark R. (1965) Religion and Society in Tension. Chicago: Rand McNally.

8. Inglehart R., Norris P. (2004/2011) Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide. Cambridge University Press.

9. Furseth I., Repstadt P. (2006) An Introduction to the Sociology of Religion. Classical and Contemporary Perspectives. Burlington, VT: Ashgate.

10. Niebuhr H.R. (1957) The Social Sources of Denominationalism. New York: World Publishing.

11. Robertson R. (1970) The Sociological Interpretation of Religion. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

12. Stark R. (2015) The Triumph of Faith: Why the World is More Religious Than Ever. Wilmington, Delaware.

13. Stark R. (2003) Upper Class Ascetism: Social Origins of Ascetic Movements and Medieval Saints. Review of Religious Research. No. 45(1): 5–19.

14. Stark R., Bainbridge W.S. (1996(1987) A Theory of Religion. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.

15. Wilson B.R. (1961) Sects and Society: a Sociological Study of the Elim Tabernacle, Christian Science, and Christadelphians. Berkeley, Los Angeles: University of California Press.