Deifying College
How Does Religion Dignify Those Who Face Secular Inequities
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9255441 |
|---|---|
| Authors | L Upenieks (0000-0002-1200-2471, Baylor University, Waco, TX, US, corresponding author), Rebecca Bonhag (0000-0003-1738-3020, Baylor University, Waco, TX, US), M A Andersson (0000-0003-1832-0742, Baylor University, Waco, TX, US) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Publication date | 2025-12-19 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Review of Religious Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2211-4866 • E-ISSN: 0034-673X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0034673x251395042 |
| OpenAlex | W4417488576 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 110 |
Economic inequality in the United States has left behind those without four-year college degrees. But has it cost them their dignity? Restoring dignity may depend upon other sociocultural factors that fundamentally influence how individuals valorize or sanctify their own lives. We ask whether religion – in terms of distinct facets of relationships with God – might be able to help offset some of the dignity lost to flagging material or social prosperity. We draw on national data collected by Gallup in 2017 from the United States. Regression results reveal that those without a four-year college degree trail considerably in perceived life dignity compared to those who have attained one. While this association is troubling, less clear is how individuals cope. Our findings show that accountability to God and secure attachment to God both essentially level the gap in perceived dignity between four-year college graduates and the less educated. Given these intriguing and strong results, we suggest that dignity may be constructed powerfully at the interface of the material and spiritual institutions, what we term “deifying college.”
Accountability · Dignity · Face (sociological concept) · Faith · Limiting · Sociocultural evolution · Cultural Differences and Values · Patient Dignity and Privacy · Social Power and Status Dynamics
Living Landscapes
The Credential Society
Dignity
Dignity at Work
The Opportunity Atlas
The Sense of Divine Control and the Self-Concept
Materialistic Values and Goals
The Relationship Between Education and Health
Social Thought and Rival Claims to the Moral Ideal of Dignity
Bedrock Truths and the Dignity of the Individual
Prayer, Attachment to God, and Symptoms of Anxiety-Related Disorders among U.S. Adults
Merit and ressentiment
Accountability as a Virtue
Subjective dignity and self-reported health
Higher Education, Bigger Networks? Differences by Family Socioeconomic Background and Network Measures
Back to the basics in attachment to God
Differentiated Styles of Attachment to God and Varying Religious Coping Efforts
Perceptions of Dignity, Attachment to God, and Mental Health in a National US Sample
Perceptions of Accountability to God and Psychological Well-Being Among US Adults
The Class Matrix
The Dignity of Working Men
Income Segregation and Intergenerational Mobility Across Colleges in the United States
Attachment to God, adult attachment, and spiritual pathology
Perceived accountability to God, the religious role, and psychological well-being
A mediation model linking attachment to God, self-compassion, and mental health
Educational Expansion and Social Mobility in the 20th Century
Hard Times
Religion and the Sense of Control among U.S. Adults
Are They Still Worth It? The Long-Run Earnings Benefits of an Associate Degree, Vocational Diploma or Certificate, and Some College
Classed Burdens
Revisiting Health Disparities Linked to “Some College”
For a Social Psychology of Prayer
Age Differences in Mental Health During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Prayer, Attachment to God, and Changes in Psychological Well-Being in Later Life
Religiosity and Self-Esteem among Older Adults
Secure Attachment to God Uniquely Linked to Psychological Health in a National, Random Sample of American Adults
Global Educational Expansion and Socio-Economic Development
In the name of
Religiosity, Socioeconomic Status, and the Sense of Mastery
Meaning-Making in Cultural Sociology
Education and Lifetime Earnings in the United States
Refining the association between education and health
Skin Tone and the Health Returns to Higher Status
Changing associations between socioeconomic status and self‐reported discrimination from the 1990s to the 2010s in the United States
The Sense of Divine Control and Psychological Distress
Dignity
Dignity at Work
Control and Dignity in Professional, Manual and Service-Sector Employment
From 'having' to 'being
Measuring perceived mistreatment across diverse social groups
Sex differences in the effect of education on depression
Relative Education and the Advantage of a College Degree
Childhood Disadvantage and Health Problems in Middle and Later Life
Consequences of Routine Work-Schedule Instability for Worker Health and Well-Being
Addressing Recognition Gaps
The Consolidation of Education and Health in Families
Religious Attachment and the Sense of Life Purpose among Emerging Adults
The paradox of inequality
Love Thy Self? How Belief in a Supportive God Shapes Self-Esteem
The Belief in Divine Control and the Mental Health Effects of Stressful Life Events
Attachment to God, Stressful Life Events, and Changes in Psychological Distress
Varying Beliefs in God and the Self-Concepts of Mattering and Dignity in a US Sample
Class, Control, and Relational Indignity
The Effects of Education on Americans' Religious Practices, Beliefs, and Affiliations
The Measure of American Religion
Religious Involvement and Subjective Well-Being
Religion and the Problem-Solving Process
Measuring and Explaining a College Dignity Divide in America
Racial Disparities in Student Debt and the Reproduction of the Fragile Black Middle Class
The Expectational Liminality of Insecure College Graduates
Into the Red and Back to the Nest? Student Debt, College Completion, and Returning to the Parental Home among Young Adults
Career Funneling
Disparities in Debt
Habitus, Work and Contributive Justice
Socioeconomic-Status-Based Disrespect, Discrimination, Exclusion, and Shaming
Why Do College Graduates Behave More Healthfully Than Those Who Are Less Educated
Social and Economic Returns to College Education in the United States
Widening Educational Disparities in Health and Longevity
Explaining the Relationship between Religiosity and Political Participation
Prayer in America
Faith and Agency
To Know and Be Known
Aspiration Strain and Mental Health
Praying for Others, Financial Strain, and Physical Health Status in Late Life
Two Dimensions of Attachment to God and Their Relation to Affect, Religiosity, and Personality Constructs
Biblical Literalism and Sexual Morality in Comparative Perspective
Jitters on the Eve of the Great Recession
The Religious Role and the Sense of Personal Control
Rethinking the Risks of Poverty
Politics and Economic Stratification
Organizational Success and Worker Dignity
Education and religion
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |