Culturalized Religion: A Synthetic Review and Agenda for Research

Abstract

Scholars have taken a growing interest in what we call "culturalized religion"-that is, forms of religious identification, discourse, and expression that are primarily cultural in character, insofar as they are divorced from belief in religious dogma or participation in religious ritual. This article aims to clarify our current thinking about these phenomena so as to facilitate future theoretical and empirical work. Drawing on recent work in the sociology of culture, we distinguish between culturalized religion as a form of constituted culture, a form of pragmatic culture, and a form of identity; and theorize three principal types of relations connecting each of these modalities: reinforcing relationships, resource relationships, and destabilizing relationships. In so doing, we develop an inclusive and dynamic approach to studying culturalized religion that clears the ground for further research into its diverse modalities and manifestations, as well as their points of intersection and interaction.

Unchurched Christian Nationalism and the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election*

“…Christian nationalism reverberates faintly Christian themes that have been widely diffused in contemporary American culture, “so much so, in fact, that one could probably internalize them without any formal exposure to Christian teachings” (Gorski 2017:177). For some, “Christian” is “culturalized” and is largely an ethno‐cultural marker detached from congregational ritual or theology (Astor and Mayrl 2020; Storm 2011). In these instances, individuals identify strongly with “religious” politics and symbols while having little conventional religious involvement themselves.…”

“…In these instances, individuals identify strongly with “religious” politics and symbols while having little conventional religious involvement themselves. When religious observance recedes in society, related forms of purposeful belonging and meaning‐making such as imagined ethno‐national communities can fuse with “a residue of faith that, while no longer tied to active observance, still affords a sense of communal belonging” (Astor and Mayrl 2020:9). If being an active member of a local church has long been a sign of being a good citizen, for the unchurched, embracing Christian nationalism, and coalescing in movement‐based communities around charismatic political figures who express it, as Trump does, may be a way to express a “fuzzy fidelity,” assuage alienation, and reassert a sense of status and national belonging (Braunstein and Taylor 2017; Voas and Day 2010:3).…”

“…First, we graph the average marginal effect (AME) of Christian nationalism across church attendance, net of controls. Second, because the effects of Christian nationalism may be contingent upon political self‐perceptions (Astor and Mayrl, 2020:15), we graph predicted probabilities for substantively important subgroups in the electorate based on party affiliation and political identity, net of controls. We include graphs of moderates (among Democrats, independents, and Republicans), as moderates are likely least governed by political identity in their voting behavior.…”

Unchurched Christian Nationalism and the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election

“…Christian nationalism reverberates faintly Christian themes that have been widely diffused in contemporary American culture, "so much so, in fact, that one could probably internalize them without any formal exposure to Christian teachings" (Gorski 2017:177). For some, "Christian" is "culturalized" and is largely an ethno-cultural marker detached from congregational ritual or theology (Astor and Mayrl 2020;Storm 2011). In these instances, individuals identify strongly with "religious" politics and symbols while having little conventional religious involvement themselves.…”

“…Religious ideology as reflected in right-wing media and by Republican observant. Nationalist and ethnic ideologies which entwine with a faith tradition can artificially inflate religious identities (Astor and Mayrl 2020). Under these circumstances, religion functions as an implement of national belonging, or more narrowly, of a political movement.…”