fe a t u re helps them become more aware of the world and prevents them from functioning in a vacuum.” Religion, Media and Social Class When discussing religion and the media, it has become increasingly popular for certain faith communities to rail against the “liberal media elite” and its bias against religion. Associate professor Sean McCloud is a recognized scholar who researches religion and social class. He said media bias is not a function of political extremism but is based upon social class and race. According to McCloud, scholars, using a number of studies, have researched who are journalists and discovered they are predominantly from white, middle-class families with traditional Protestant backgrounds – liberal and conservative. “Any perceived bias has nothing to do with the political left or right,” said McCloud, who double majored in religious studies and journalism at Indiana University. He earned a master’s degree from University of Miami, Ohio, and a doctorate in comparative religion from UNC Chapel Hill. “Anything out of the norm from the white, upper/middle class tends to get marginalized. So while evangelicals may get represented negatively; neopagans, Wiccans or leftwing Catholics aren’t represented positively. It’s much more complicated than television pundits and commentators would have you think.” McCloud contends that social class is one of the most important distinctions between religious traditions. Since the 1930s, researchers have studied 20 religious groups and have ranked them by class, based upon income, education and occupation. The traditions that appeal to different social classes remain virtually the same now as in the 1930s. In his book “Divine Hierarchies,” McCloud attempts to address social networks at play in religious traditions and the forces of habit by which they operate. He created four categories to explain the social class stasis associated with religion – Divine Hierarchies, Economic Arminianism, Social Harmony and Classconscious Christ. Divine Hierarchies is the concept that class difference resulted from God, most famously expressed in John Winthrop’s sermon prior to the Puritans leaving the ship to found the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Winthrop asserted that “God wants some to be poor, some to be rich and that’s the way it will www.UNCC.edu
always be.” Economic Arminianism, developed during 19th century Evangelical revivalism, focuses on individual determination – people have 100 percent free will over salvation and economic prosperity. In Social Harmony, as typified in antebellum Protestant writings and Catholic social teachings of the late 19th and early 20th century, God set up classes and while it is possible to shift between classes, ultimately we are to live in harmony and demonstrate the ability to get along with one another. For the Class-conscious Christ, McCloud depicts Jesus as a member of the working-class proletariat who promotes the concept of communal living – to strive for the common good. While social class may be an indicator of religious tradition and practice, McCloud believes technology and changes in the media are prompting people to move beyond traditional ways they talk about and live their faith. “I’m fascinated by people and their behavior in how they construct their world, which is through religious languages but can be mixed with what they read in self-help books or see on ‘Oprah.’” Examples of how social class, media presentation and technology are impacting religious practices are illustrated through the “mega church” movement that combine multimedia presentations resembling variety shows, or, in Charlotte, where small groups meet in movie theatres and use the venue to screen videos as part of the service. Religious Studies and Its Value to Liberal Arts Education Look at the fall course offerings for the Religious Studies Department and one will find classes that span across an interdisciplinary range – introductory courses in Western and Asian religions, sections on Christianity and Islam along with “The Power of Mourning: Violence, Loss and the Audacity to Hope” and “Queer Theory.” Many of the department’s offerings are regularly cross-listed in other departments and programs, such as Gender and Women’s Studies or Africana Studies. For the roughly 100 majors in the department, religious studies is not a form of vocational or technical training, noted department chair Tabor. “Our majors pursue careers in just about any field because the major is impressive to potential employers. It takes a more inquisitive type of person to delve into the subject
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Sean McCloud
matters we cover.” Brintnall, the former lawyer now religious scholar, echoed these comments. He noted that he and his colleagues want students to be able to study documents closely and carefully, to write well and to think critically - skills that are highly transferrable to many professions and are mandatory for advanced graduate education. “Religious studies is so broad that an undergraduate can’t master the content,” said Brintnall. “I need to teach them how to think, and if they go into the world to think about religion, I want to give them the necessary tools to do that – give them the critical apparatus to read, listen, communicate and ask questions. Information gathering, assessment and evaluation are critical to be successful and are skills that will serve them well in the world.” As students study the history of religions and learn to think critically about issues, phenomena, traditions and assumptions, they begin to understand how human beings have constructed their world. Along the way, they should discover how to create balance between their own personal traditions and those of others. Faculty members in the department stress that religious studies is a “fine example” of what a liberal arts education should be and it can equip graduates to be better members of the commonweal. Phillip Brown is internal communications manager in the Office of Public Relations. Q409
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