Befriending the “Other”: Patterns of Social Ties between the Religious and Non-Religious

Abstract

Aside from the literature on inter-racial and cross-sex relationships, few studies have examined the determinants of relationships that cross social boundaries. The authors contribute to this literature by considering the social boundary between the religious and the non-religious. Surveys of U.S. adults provide evidence of popular aversion toward the non-religious, but this analysis of the Baylor Religion Survey (2005) shows that the majority of religious Americans report a friendship with someone who is not religious at all. The authors find that such boundary-crossing relationships are largely structured by homophily, opportunities for intergroup contact, and religious barriers to intergroup contact. These findings reveal that some religiously themed conflicts that are common among cultural elites may not be particularly salient in the realm of daily social life.