Competing Salvation Goods? Cultural Production, Cultural Consumption, and Religion

• In Event: Sociology of Culture Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): 15. Religion & Cultural Consumption

Abstract

What is the relation between religion and cultural production/consumption? Weber famously argued that although religiosity was historically tightly coupled with artistic creation, the rationalization of life and the emergence of a distinct aesthetic sphere precipitated a tension between religion and art, with both offering competing forms of salvation. Despite Weber’s well-known thesis, relatively little work has directly tested the relationship between religious involvement and cultural involvement. We present findings from a novel 2016 survey on religion and culture in the United States. We use a combination of regression, network modeling, and clustering strategies to investigate these associations. Preliminary findings suggest that religious and non-religious Americans differ in their cultural production and consumption patterns in some ways. Additionally, we find some evidence of differences between religious traditions.

Authors

• Michael Lee Wood, Brigham Young University-Provo

• Samuel Norton, Brigham Young University-Provo

• Adrienne Ventura, Brigham Young University