Research on philanthropy has not sufficiently examined whether charitable giving to religious causes impinges on giving to secular causes. Examining three waves of national panel data, we find that the relationship between religious and secular giving is generally not of a zero-sum nature; families that increase their religious giving also…

Religious denominations vary in both their approach to the roles that men and women play in familial contexts, as well as their approach to homosexuality. This research investigates whether gender attitudes, informed by religious tradition, predict a person's support for civil liberties extended to gays and lesbians. Using data from the 1996 and…

The tendency of members of many ethno-religious groups to marry within their group has been considered evidence for the persistent role of ascription in modern society. What is the role of the family of origin in this process? To answer this question, we study the marriage choices of Jews in the Netherlands, using a unique dataset and a novel…

How non-Christian religious groups should be politically recognized within Western multicultural societies has proved to be a pressing contemporary issue. This article examines some ways in which American policies regarding religion and multiculturalism have shaped Hindu Indian American organizations, forms of public expression and activism.…

The resurgence of conservative religious groups over the past several decades raises interesting questions about its effects on women's life chances. Conservative religious institutions promote a traditional understanding of gender within families. Women's beliefs about appropriate family roles, in turn, influence their preparation for market work…

Cultural theory posits that social groups possess a cultural repertoire or "tool kit" that reflects beliefs, ritual practices, stories and symbols that provide meaning and impetus for resource mobilization. However, little research based on quantitative techniques has been forwarded relative to the relationship between longstanding Black Church…

Concludes that Harry Marx's (1964) inference of a general opiate quality in black religion is incomplete and misleading. Examines data concerning religion and civil rights militancy. Finds that secular social factors (e.g., social class, region, and nonurban origins) are better indicators of militance than is religiosity. (Author/GC)

Surveys the development of the concept of individual status inconsistency, criticizing its utility and suggesting that it be recast as a collective rather than individual phenomenon. (JM)

Studied the positions of African and Asian Jews and ethnic Arabs in Israel. Found that (1) ascriptive status functions differently for different groups in the process of socioeconomic atttainment, and (2) the extent of segregation between the dominant and the subordinate groups influences the attainment of the latter. (GC)