The Stratification of Household Religion: An Explanation Based on Cultural Capital

• In Event: 50668 - Religion and the Therapeutic

Abstract

The growth and decline of religious organizations remain a central inquiry in the sociology of religion. While most existing studies focus on major institutionalized religions, this article explores household-based religion by investigating the stratification of spirit mediums. What leads to the stratification of spirit mediums in a certain region? Why are some mediums able to stand out and gain prominence? Based on interviews with 18 spirit mediums and ethnographic observation of their interaction with consultants, this article finds that the cultural capital possessed by spirit mediums, rather than religious capital, determines their ability and success as a kind of religious entrepreneurs. Religious knowledge and skills are found to be almost irrelevant. Rather, embodied cultural capital determines the mediums’ astuteness in grasping their clients' different life situations and social backgrounds, directly affecting their ability to establish and maintain authority vis-à-vis their clients and expand their clientele as well as the scope of their religious services. Cultural capital also shapes the mediums’ understanding of the existing political environment and, on this basis, their ability to utilize resources to legitimize their operations.

Authors

• Beichen Fang, Rutgers University-New Brunswick

• Yanfei Sun, Zhejiang University