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When Sects become Middle Class: Impression Management among Middle Class Pentecostals in Argentina

Köhrsen, Jens. (2017) When Sects become Middle Class: Impression Management among Middle Class Pentecostals in Argentina. Sociology of Religion, 78 (3). pp. 318-339.

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Abstract

Sect-to-church theory assumes that sects will become more church-like as members’ socioeconomic status improves. By abandoning tension-related characteristics, they decrease the level of tension with their social environment. Studying Pentecostal middle-class congregations in Argentina, this article shows that the reduction of tension involves impression management: the studied middle-class congregations display middle-class features (e.g., educational training) and selectively shield tension-related practices (e.g., glossolalia) from the glances of non-Pentecostal peers. Instead of abandoning tension-related practices to reduce tension, middle-class congregations strategically adjust their religious practices depending on the extent to which these are accessible for relevant outsiders, switching between sect-like and church-like styles of religion.
Faculties and Departments:01 Faculty of Theology > Zentrum für Religion, Wirtschaft und Politik > Religion und Wirtschaft (Köhrsen)
UniBasel Contributors:Köhrsen, Jens
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:Oxford University Press
ISSN:1069-4404
e-ISSN:1759-8818
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
Language:English
Identification Number:
edoc DOI:
Last Modified:08 Feb 2020 14:41
Deposited On:08 Nov 2017 07:17

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