Title

“Part of God’s Plan for My Life”: How Conservative Protestant Students Make Sense of Social Forces and Social Inequality

School/Department

School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Publication Date

12-10-2021

Abstract

Research shows that White conservative Protestants’ individualistic views impede their pursuit of structural solutions to social injustice. When introduced to a structural perspective through a sociology course, what religio-cultural tools do conservative Protestant students use to interpret the impact of social factors on their lives? Through an analysis of student reflections, I found that the primary way they made sense of social factors was through a lens of divine control, and this did not vary by social location. A secondary way was viewing them as unfair, a view that was more common among advantaged students than disadvantaged students.

Keywords

Sociology; Inequality; Christianity

Publication Title

Religion & Education

DOI of Published Version

10.1080/15507394.2021.2011583

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