Localism, Religiosity, Orthodoxy, and Liberalism: The Case of Jews in the United States

Abstract

Two hypotheses suggested by Localism theory are tested on a Jewish sample: (1) Localism is positively related to religiosity and (2) it inhibits political liberalism. Some support is found for each hypothesis. General Localism is distinguished from subcommunal, here Jewish, Localism. The latter, especially as measured by Jewish Primary Group Involvement, is the more influential variable. An earlier Roof and Hoge (1980) study of Localism among Protestants, both liberal and conservative, and Roman Catholics is reviewed and showun to support the value of distinguishing among various forms of Localism. Roof (1972, 1976, 1978) has developed Localism theory to help explain church-based religion in contemporary society. The theory holds that the maintenance of a religious commitment in a highly differentiated modem society, such as America, with a variety of competing secular and traditional value systems requires a localistic perspective shared by persons who interact frequently, thus providing support to each other. Such support provides what Berger (1967) calls a plausibility structure. Localism is also regarded as an important factor (Roof 1974, 1978) in the etiology of prejudice against minorities, inclining one to hold intolerant, authoritarian attitudes generally, and especially against those who are perceived as threatening or competitive (1974, p. 661). The theory has received empirical support in Roof's own studies of the sources of religious commitment among Southern Baptists (1972) and Episcopalians (1976, 1978) in North Carolina. Some support for the theory *Revision of a paper delivered to the Association for the Sociology of Religion, 1987. Direct correspondence to J. Alan Winter, Department of Sociology, Connecticut College, New London, CT 06320. ? 1988 The University of North Carolina Press