Religion and Industrialization

The growth and concomitant stratification of societies is often seen as occurring along a continuum of sociocultural evolution and technology use. Theorists posit several levels of development for society: pre-industrial (including hunting and gathering, horticultural, and agrarian societies), industrial (societies using mechanization in the production of goods and services), and postindustrial (with an emphasis on the communication and information-processing rather than on tangible products). A number of theories have been posited to explain observations concerning the relationship between religion and industrialization. Some theorists see religious ideology as not only supporting but encouraging industrialization while others see religious ideology becoming irrelevant as industrialized societies attempt to assert control over nature. Interestingly, a resurgence of spirituality has been observed in postindustrial societies. The complex relationship between religion and sociocultural status is still not completely understood and more research is necessary.

Keywords Industrialization; Modernization Theory; Postindustrial; Pre-industrial; Religion; Secularization; Society; Socio-cultural Evolution

Sociology of Religion > Religion & Industrialization

Overview

The concept of social stratification refers to a society that is organized using a relatively fixed hierarchical structure in which entire subgroups are ranked according to social class. These divisions are marked by differences in economic rewards and power within the society and differential access to resources, power, and perceived social worth. Similarly, gender stratification within a society is organized in such a way that members of one gender have more access to wealth, prestige, and power than do the members of the other gender. However, it is not only groups within a society that may be classified in a hierarchical manner. Entire societies themselves can also be hierarchically ordered by their access to wealth, prestige, and power. This concept is expressed with terms such as "third world" country, designating a nation that is neither powerful nor wealthy in comparison to "first world" countries.

Gehard Lenski viewed the growth and concomitant stratification of societies as occurring along a continuum of sociocultural evolution, the process by which a society develops through the growth of its stores of cultural information. Important to this growth is the society's level of technology, a specially defined term referring to information about the ways in which material resources of the environment can be used to satisfy the needs and desires of human beings.

Stages of Sociocultural Evolution

Pre-industrial Societies

Lenski posits that societies go through several stages of sociocultural evolution. The first stage of evolution is referred to as pre-industrial. There are several types of pre-industrial societies.

Hunter-Gatherers

The first type is the hunting-and-gathering society. In such societies, technology is minimal, and people rely on whatever food and materials can be easily obtained. Because of the need to sustain themselves off of the land without actually cultivating it, hunting-and-gathering societies are typically organized into groups that are nomadic in nature; these groups are primarily comprised of extended family. Hunter-gatherer societies are typically geographically widely dispersed so that each group can get the best possible range of environmental resources to sustain its members. Because blood ties are typically the criterion for belonging to a group, family is particularly important and issues of authority and influence revolve around kinship. Similarly, social differentiation is usually ascribed by such variables as gender, age, and family background. Nearly all hunting-and-gathering societies disappeared by the end of the twentieth century.

Horticultural Societies

The next type of pre-industrial society is the horticultural society. In addition to subsisting on readily available foods as is done by hunting-and-gathering societies, horticultural societies also plant seeds and crops. Such societies tend to be much less nomadic than hunting-and-gathering societies. In addition to planting crops, horticultural societies place greater emphasis on producing tools and household objects than do hunting and gathering societies. However, technology within horticultural societies tends to be very limited.

Agrarian Societies

The final type of pre-industrial society comprises agrarian societies. Agrarian societies are also engaged in the production of food from crops. However, technological innovations such as plows and irrigation allow agrarian societies to be much more efficient in the production of crops than horticultural societies. Because of improvements in technology, agrarian societies tend to be larger than other types of pre-industrial societies. In addition, social structure within agrarian societies is more specialized than in other types of pre-industrial societies. Because of the wider use of technology and the relative stability of agrarian societies, individuals within the societies can focus on specialized tasks. In addition, as a result of the specialization and other greater stability of the society, agrarian societies are also marked by a greater permanence than hunting-and- gathering or horticultural societies, which allows them to store greater surpluses. In addition, these characteristics enable agrarian societies to create artifacts (e.g., statues, monuments) that can be passed from one generation to another.

The Birth of the Industrial Society

Following the industrial revolution in the latter part of the eighteenth and early part of the nineteenth centuries, the industrial society was born. Industrialization brought with it new sources of power to perform tasks, a dependence on mechanization to produce goods and services, and new inventions to facilitate agricultural and industrial production. Because of these factors, populations became more centralized, with the creation of more cities and increasing urbanization. As result, many societies went through an irrevocable transition from an agrarian economy to an industrial one. Because of industrialization, it was no longer necessary for a single individual or even a single family to entirely produce a single product or service. Industrialization brought with it factory production, divisions of labor, the concentration of industries and populations within certain geographical areas, and concomitant urbanization. Society no longer revolved around the family, with many workers leaving home in order to work in factories or other centralized places of employment. Further, villages and other small communities became increasingly less independent and relied on each other for the exchange of goods and services. In addition, industrialization brought with it the need for more formalized education in order to teach its members about its technology as well as to advance its technology. The education system evolved into a distinct social institution separate from the family.

Postindustrial Societies

Industrialization, however, is not the pinnacle of sociocultural development. Postindustrial societies have an economy that is primarily based upon the processing and control of information and the provision of services rather than on the production of goods or other tangible products. Some theorists also talk about a postmodern society that is both technologically sophisticated and primarily occupied with consumer goods and media images. Postindustrial societies consume both goods and information on a large scale.

Religion's Role in Industrialization

Roadblock

A number of social observers have theorized over the role of religion within the ever-changing nature of society. In fact, many sociologists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries not only believed that the transition from a pre-industrial to an industrial society was their primary focus, but also that the transformation of religion was one of the key factors in this process. There are a number of reasons for this view. Karl Marx and other conflict analysts, for example, view religion as an obstacle that keeps society from realizing the full potential of industrialization. In this view, religion is in and of itself a social problem that needs to be addressed in order for society to advance. Religion, according to these theorists, is a roadblock to understanding that people create their own tragedies. In this view, one must first abandon religion before being able to go on to solve personal and social problems. Further, some conflict theorists view religion as the source of social problems in that it legitimizes social stratification and disguises the fact that class differences are based on material values.

Voluntary Option

Not all theorists subscribe to this view, however. Far from believing that religion is the source of society's ills, other theorists view religion as a unifying factor that can help integrate industrial society by acting as a stabilizing and integrating force. The introduction of industrialization to society had been predicted by some to bring with it a disruption of the way of life of pre-industrial society that emphasized family, community, and the concomitant personal and social identities of the individual. In this view, these pre-industrial characteristics would become voluntary as individuals could choose to stay in small communities or to migrate to urban centers and participate in the advantages brought about by industrialization. Religious consciousness, according to this view, would become more voluntary, less segmented, and more privatized. Religion would adapt in order to stay relevant and keep pace with rapid social change. Further, these theorists posit that far from being a detriment to the progress of industrialization and the advancement of society, religion can actually help individuals to cope with the changes and lack of stability that occurs in the transition from pre-industrialized society to industrialized society.

Irrelevant Force

In between these two views, a third view is taken by neo-Weberian theorists. In this view, religion was actually the original inspiration for industrialism. With the realization of industrialization, however, these theorists see religion as no longer necessary for continuing industrial development. In this view, the introduction of rational thought to religion brought about on the one hand systematic theology and theological ethics but had also, on the other hand, paved the way for the destruction of religion in the age of industrialization. In an industrialized society, the argument goes, the emphasis is on rational thought rather than the transcendental, rendering religion irrelevant.

Socioeconomic Development & Its Effect on Traditional Values

Recent research and observation on socioeconomic development has led to two theories. In the first, it is posited that the values resulting from modernization will converge. In the second, it is assumed that values are relatively independent of economic conditions and that traditional values will persist despite the forces of modernization. It has been argued that industrialization brought with it a different worldview than was prevalent in pre-industrial societies. With the introduction of greater advances of human-made technologies, there was less perceived dependence on the forces of nature perceived by pre-industrial societies to be capricious and uncontrollable. With less perceived dependence on nature, there is an opportunity for increased secularization. Further, to some it appears that the move into a postindustrialized society brings with it even further changes as people focus less on the production of tangible objects and more on the communication and information-processing.

A Survey

Using the data from the World Values Surveys from 1981 to 1992, 1990 to 1991, and 1995 to 1998, Inglehart and Baker (2000) examined the persistence of traditional values in the face of modernization and the cultural values that it brings. The survey data covered sixty-five nations across the six habitable continents with approximately 1,400 people responding per country. The per capita gross national products for the countries ranged from $300 to more than $30,000.

The researchers found that as societies shift from pre-industrialization into industrialization, traditional religious beliefs tend to decline. Despite this trend, however, they found that religious traditions had an enduring impact on the contemporary values in all the societies surveyed as was predicted by Weber and other theorists. There are several possible factors underlying this observation. First, although the increased security that accompanies industrialization can make religious faith seem less central to some people, for others the converse is true. For example, communist-style industrialization promoted secularization, yet with the fall of communism these nations kept their industrialization while continuing to harbor their traditional religious beliefs. Indeed, although there is a decline in attendance at religious services throughout most industrialized nations, there is a concomitant persistence in traditional religious beliefs and rise in spirituality. The data also show that although there may be a decline in traditional religious values during industrialization, this is not necessarily true in postindustrial societies. Security is not the only reason that people turn to religion. Religion provides answers to more metaphysical questions and comfort in times of need and loss that cannot be provided by secular thought. Therefore, although allegiance to traditional religious institutions may decline during industrialization, the spiritual needs that caused people to turn to those institutions in the first place do not.

Viewpoints

Religion as the Cause of Economic Change

A number of researchers have attempted to test theories regarding the relationship between religion and industrialization within the real world. These studies have focused on the impact of religious beliefs on economic change but have been less concerned with the economic effects on social structures such as religious groups and communities. Buck (1993) examined three competing theories regarding the relationship between religion and capitalist development.

• The first of these theories explains change in economic ideology as influenced by change in religious ideology. In particular, it posits that religious ideology produces a new economic mentality through an interest in personal salvation as held by certain religious groups (i.e., Weber's Protestant Ethic).
• The second theory uses the content of religious ideology as an explanation for changes in individual economic behavior and structure. This theory suggests that religious ideology has a direct effect on economic behavior and displaces economically repressive doctrines while permitting new economic structures.
• The third theory uses an entirely structural explanation for the influence of religious organizations and communities on economic structures and behavior. This theory suggests that religion's primary impact on economic change arises from the social structures associated with religious life and not the content of religious ideology.

To test these theories, Buck compared the industrialization of shoemaking in two New England communities in the period between 1770 and 1865. The two communities had similar economic and demographic profiles during their early histories and both had early manufacturing developments. Although both communities were founded by Protestants, Buckfield, Maine, was less religious than Lynn, Massachusetts. Interestingly, Buckfield failed in its attempt to industrialize and returned to being an agrarian community. The Lynn community, on the other hand, included an economically active community of Quakers and not only succeeded in its attempts at industrialization in shoemaking, but led the nation in this effort. As a result, Lynn experienced rapid industrialization and population growth. During the evolution of the shoemaking industry from itinerant cobblers to small shops with masters and journeymen, a division of labor, and outsourcing of some tasks, the two communities diverged. Buckfield strived and failed to reach success while Lynn rapidly increased production in response to increased demand from consignment merchants (many of whom were Quakers) who created a national market for the products.

Based on his analysis of the historical data, Buck concluded that the solidarity of the Quaker community in Lynn (as elsewhere) was important in bringing about the structural changes necessary for industrialization of the shoemaking trade. Within the Quaker community, ties of faith and intermarriage provided a basis for economic activity and economic support (e.g., creation of a local bank and a savings and loan). These ties also provided the basis for a civil coalition that initiated government reform. The case study does provide support between the positive influence of religion on industrialization. The author is quick to note, however, that religion and the Protestant ethic are not the only factors promoting industrialization and that one case study is insufficient to explain every situation. Further research is needed to better understand the relationship between religion and industrialization.

Conclusion

The relationship between religion and industrialization is a complex one that is still not well understood. Although some theorists posit that industrialization brings with it a falling away from the faith, less dependence on religion, and secularization, others find that not only is this not necessarily true, but that the movement from being an industrial to a postindustrial society may bring with it a resurgence of spirituality (though not necessarily a return to traditional religious structures). There are a number of theories that attempt to explain the relationship between religion and industrialization. Further research is needed, however, before this relationship is well understood.

Terms & Concepts

Capitalism: An economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately owned (i.e., not owned by the government or state) and operated for profit. In capitalism, investments, distribution, income, production, and pricing are determined by a free market economy.

Conflict Perspective: An approach to analyzing social behavior that is based on the assumption that social behavior is best explained and understood in terms of conflict or tension between competing groups.

Industrialization: The use of mechanization to produce the economic goods and services within a society. Historically, industrialization is a society's transition between farm production and manufacturing production. Industrialization is associated with factory production, division of labor, the concentration of industries and populations within certain geographical areas, and the concomitant urbanization.

Modernization Theory: A sociological perspective of globalization which posits that less developed countries will eventually industrialize in the manner of more developed countries and that the process of modernization will gradually improve the quality of life of its members due to political and economic forces. Modernization is thought to affect virtually all countries that have been affected by technological change.

Outsourcing: Work that could be done by an organization that is instead performed by another company on a contract basis. Outsourcing can include support (e.g., cleaning and janitorial services), production (e.g., the manufacture of parts needed to make a product), or services (e.g., customer service provided by a contract organization).

Postindustrial: The nature of a society whose economy is no longer dependent on the manufacture of goods (i.e., industrial) but is primarily based upon the processing and control of information and the provision of services.

Pre-industrial: The nature of a society that has not yet been industrialized. Pre-industrial societies tend to be small and family-oriented. There are three types of pre-industrial societies: hunting-and-gathering societies, horticultural societies, and agrarian societies.

Protestant: A member of a western Christian church that follows the traditions of the Reformation (most notably, Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli) as opposed to those of the Roman Catholic Church. The original Protestants believed in the Bible as the sole source of God's revelation, justification by faith alone for salvation, and the universal priesthood of all believers.

Protestant Ethic: The spirit of capitalism that Max Weber believed was related to the tenets of Calvinist Protestantism: Emphasis on disciplined work ethic, concerns over the needs of this world, rational orientation toward life, and the tendency to accumulate savings that could be used for future investment.

Religion: A personal or institutional system grounded in the belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers considered to have created and to govern the universe.

Secularization: The process of moving away from religion toward a philosophy and worldview based primarily on reason and science rather than on faith and supernatural concepts. Through the process of secularization, religious groups and activities lose their significance and influence.

Social Stratification: A relatively fixed hierarchical organization of a society in which entire subgroups are ranked according to social class. These divisions are marked by differences in economic rewards and power within the society and differential access to resources, power, and perceived social worth. Social stratification is a system of structured social inequality.

Society: A distinct group of people who live within the same territory, share a common culture and way of life, and are relatively independent from people outside the group. Society includes systems of social interactions that govern both culture and social organization.

Sociocultural Evolution: The process by which a society develops through the growth of its stores of cultural information.

Worldview: Broad framework of ideas and beliefs used by an individual, class, or culture to interpret the data received from the world and determine the appropriate way of interacting with the world.

Bibliography

Ammerman, N. T. (2013). Spiritual but not religious? Beyond binary choices in the study of religion. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 52, 259–275. Retrieved from EBSCO online database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=87948019

Buck, R. E. (1993). Protestantism and industrialization: An examination of three alternative models of the relationship between religion and capitalism. Review of Religious Research, 34, 210-224. Retrieved June 23, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=11064030&site=ehost-live

Davie, G. (2012). Thinking sociologically about religion: implications for faith communities. Review of Religious Research, 54, 273–289. Retrieved October 31, 2013 from EBSCO online database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=78333298

Inglehart, R. & Baker, W. E. (2000). Modernization, cultural change, and the persistence of traditional values. American Sociological Review, 65, 19-51. Retrieved June 23, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=3067483&site=ehost-live

Schaefer, R. T. (2002). Sociology: A brief introduction (4th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Schroeder, R. (2011). The three cultures of postindustrial societies. Sociological Focus, 44, 1–17. Retrieved October 31, 2013 from EBSCO online database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=59858363

Suggested Reading

Bibby, R. W. (1997). Religion and modernity: The Canadian case. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 18, 1-17. Retrieved June 23, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=4894375&site=ehost-live

Edgell, P. (2012). A cultural sociology of religion: new directions. Annual Review of Sociology, 38, 247–265. Retrieved October 31, 2013 from EBSCO online database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=77755967

Inglehart, R. (1995). Changing values, economic development and political change. International Social Science Journal, 47, 379-403. Retrieved June 23, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=9509235726&site=ehost-live

Luke, T. W. (1987). Civil religion and secularization: Ideological revitalization in post-revolutionary communist systems. Sociological Forum, 2, 108-134. Retrieved June 23, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=11057124&site=ehost-live

Piwowarski, W. (1976). Industrialization and popular religiosity in Poland. Sociological Analysis, 37, 315-320. Retrieved June 23, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=19233080&site=ehost-live