Intellectualism and Religious Attendance of Metropolitan Residents

Abstract

An apparent inverse relationship between intellectualism and attendance at religious services is examined in a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data collected in 1963-1964 in a sample of New York City residents. There is no relationship between intellectualism and attendance when religious group is controlled. Jewish respondents, in particular, displayed decreasing rates of religious attendance and increasing rates of intellectualism when analyzed by generation. A decreasing rate of attendance by generation was more characteristic of Jews low on intellectualism than those high on intellectualism. Among white Protestants, attendance diminished across generation for those low on intellectualism, while it increased for those high on intellectualism. Data are also reported for white Catholics and for blacks of all faith. The differences are among generational categories at a single point in time.