Why Religion Matters More for Working Class Men

Places of worship are one of the few places left where working class men can build community

Americans have become increasingly disconnected from each other. We join fewer organizations, spend less time with our neighbors, and have fewer friends than we did in the recent past. Working-class men have been especially hard-hit by this social recession. They’re more likely to experience social dislocation and alienation and the raft of social, psychological, and personal health problems that come with it. They are less likely to marry, are less likely to be in the labor force, and have more tenuous connections to their communities.

But despite the pessimistic outlook, new research suggests one potential bright spot. In a recent New York Times opinion essay, Ilana M. Horwitz, a professor of Jewish studies and sociology at Tulane University and author of God, Grades and Graduation, finds that religious involvement strongly predicts future educational success among boys raised in working-class households. She writes:

I found that what religion offers teenagers varies by social class. …