This work, in its introduction of religion as a formal category of stratification, should be regarded as an important contribution to the fields of religion and sociology.

Publishers Weekly

Davidson (emer., Purdue) and Pyle (Michigan State Univ.) have written a sociological study of religious stratification in the US, employing a conflict perspective on social inequality to identify religious in-groups and out-groups, prejudice, and competition for resources. They explore the origins, persistence, and change of religious inequality by identifying power relations, laws, ideologies, customs, and stratification from the colonial period to the present…. Recommended. General and undergraduate libraries.

Choice Reviews

Religious 'stratification' reveals a lot about religious power blocs and the shifting political and cultural influences wielded by religious groups in the U.S. This fascinating book explores both the continuities and changes in religious stratification over the centuries and considers whether it is a good or bad thing for democracy. . . This book is outstanding. . .

Voice of Reason

Professors Davidson and Pyle draw on their deep knowledge of both religion and social inequality to provide a comprehensive, insightful, and clearly written analysis of how and why religious affiliation and its inter-generational hold matter in shaping the contours of inequality in American society.

Michele Dillon, University of New Hampshire; coauthor of American Catholics in Transition

In this important and well-written book, Davidson and Pyle document long-lasting patterns of religious competition and conflict in American society to explain both persistence and change in religious stratification from colonial times to the present. Despite the noteworthy effects of immigration and increased religious pluralism, their dominant theme is how society's elites have incorporated religious distinctions in their strategies to shape laws, ideologies, and customs that help preserve their economic privileges, political power, and cultural prestige. The authors also argue, ironically, that the destabilizing effects of overt religious conflict may increase as non-elite groups eventually improve their position, thereby decreasing levels of religious inequality and the strength of traditional patterns of religious stratification. This book should be of interest to scholars, students, religious professionals, and anyone else interested in how the religious aspects of conflicts between elites and non-elites are reflected in the differential ranking of religious groups in American society.

D. Paul Johnson, Texas Tech University

Professors Davidson and Pyle provide an interesting and comprehensive historical description of stratification by religion in the U.S. Their knowledge of U.S. history combined with their understanding of religious belief make for a fabulous read. Scholars of religion and inequality will not want to miss this impressive book.

Lisa Keister, professor, Duke University