Elite religion

In sociology , elite religion is defined as the symbols, rituals and beliefs which are recognized as legitimate by the leadership of that religion. ^[1] Elite religion is often contrasted with folk religion , or the religious symbols and beliefs of the masses. Elite religion is then the "official religion" as championed by the leaders of a religion. ^[2] Some researchers see the concept as potentially applying to a range of internal religious divisions such as orthodoxy versus heterodoxy , between the clergy and the laity , or between the religion's wealthy adherents and the poor. ^[3]

Contrast with folk religion [ edit ]

Whereas the primary expression of elite religion is in religious ideology, folk religion is primarily expressed in religious rituals and symbols . Elite religion's ideology is characterized as internally unified, while the beliefs or ideas that underlie different religious folk rituals may be incompatible with one another. ^[4] Folk religious practices concerning key rituals, such as coming of age ceremonies, may become the object of intense elite criticism. ^[5]

Strengthening denominationalism [ edit ]

Sociologist Charles Liebman theorized that the strengthening of elite religion over members of a particular group led to the growth of denominationalism . ^[2]

References [ edit ]

^ Bock, Wilbur. "Symbols in Conflict: Official versus Folk Religion," Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 5 (Spring 1966): 204-12.
^ ^a ^b Liebman, Charles. The Ambivalent American Jew . Jewish Publication Society. (1973): 83-86.
^ Duffy, E. (2006). Elite and popular religion: The Book of Hours and lay piety in the Later Middle Ages. Studies in Church History, 42, 140-161.
^ Liebman, C. S. (1970). Reconstructionism in American Jewish Life. The American Jewish Year Book , 3-99.
^ Schoenfeld, S. (1987). Folk Judaism, elite Judaism and the role of bar mitzvah in the development of the synagogue and Jewish school in America. Contemporary Jewry , 9(1), 67.

[1] Bock, Wilbur. "Symbols in Conflict: Official versus Folk Religion," Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 5 (Spring 1966): 204-12.

[cl1-2] Liebman, Charles. The Ambivalent American Jew . Jewish Publication Society. (1973): 83-86.

[duff-3] Duffy, E. (2006). Elite and popular religion: The Book of Hours and lay piety in the Later Middle Ages. Studies in Church History, 42, 140-161.

[4] Liebman, C. S. (1970). Reconstructionism in American Jewish Life. The American Jewish Year Book , 3-99.

[5] Schoenfeld, S. (1987). Folk Judaism, elite Judaism and the role of bar mitzvah in the development of the synagogue and Jewish school in America. Contemporary Jewry , 9(1), 67.

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Contrast with folk religion [ edit ]

Strengthening denominationalism [ edit ]

See also [ edit ]

References [ edit ]