Lisa A. Keister

More than 20 percent of Americans are Catholic, and overall membership in the Catholic Church has remained relatively steady even as increasing numbers of people claim no religious affiliation. The rising prominence of Catholics in important leadership positions and critical demographic changes to the US population that have been mirrored in the Church have brought the Catholic Church and its members into public conversations, bringing renewed attention to the country's single largest religious organization. Yet misperceptions about who Catholics are today, their religious beliefs and practices, and their attitudes regarding important political and social issues are pervasive. Catholics in America provides a contemporary social portrait of this large, increasingly influential group that clarifies who Catholics are and what they really believe. Lisa Keister, a sociologist with decades of experience studying Americans' social and economic behaviors and attitudes, draws on extensive empirical evidence to uncover the real story of today's Catholics. She offers a fresh, new glimpse into the reality of the family behaviors, work and economic status, and beliefs of Catholics. She pays particular attention to differences between those who have left, joined, and stayed with the Church, and she documents important--sometimes dramatic--differences among Catholics that may define the Church in coming decades. The presence of Catholics in the country's highest positions and their voice in critical national conversations about issues such as abortion testify to the significance of their beliefs and attitudes. Catholics in America will be an important guide for anyone wanting to understand the personal and religious foundations of today's Catholics.

More than 20 percent of Americans are Catholic, and overall membership in the Catholic Church has remained relatively steady even as increasing numbers of people claim no religious affiliation. The rising prominence of Catholics in important leadership positions and critical demographic changes to the US population that have been mirrored in the Church have brought the Catholic Church and its members into public conversations, bringing renewed attention to the country's single largest religious organization. Yet misperceptions about who Catholics are today, their religious beliefs and practices, and their attitudes regarding important political and social issues are pervasive. Catholics in America provides a contemporary social portrait of this large, increasingly influential group that clarifies who Catholics are and what they really believe. Lisa Keister, a sociologist with decades of experience studying Americans' social and economic behaviors and attitudes, draws on extensive empirical evidence to uncover the real story of today's Catholics. She offers a fresh, new glimpse into the reality of the family behaviors, work and economic status, and beliefs of Catholics. She pays particular attention to differences between those who have left, joined, and stayed with the Church, and she documents important--sometimes dramatic--differences among Catholics that may define the Church in coming decades. The presence of Catholics in the country's highest positions and their voice in critical national conversations about issues such as abortion testify to the significance of their beliefs and attitudes. Catholics in America will be an important guide for anyone wanting to understand the personal and religious foundations of today's Catholics.

Inequality: A Contemporary Approach to Race, Class, and Gender offers a comprehensive introduction to the topics animating current sociological research focused on inequality. Contemporary, engaging, and research-oriented, it is the ideal text to help undergraduate students master the basic concepts in inequality research and gain a deeper understanding of the ways in which race, class, and gender interact with systems of social stratification. Following an introduction to theories and research methods used in the field, the authors apply these concepts to areas that define inequality research, including social mobility, education, gender, race, and culture. The authors include up-to-date quantitative evidence throughout. The text concludes by examining policies that have facilitated inequality and reviewing the social movements that in turn seek to reshape those structures. Though primarily focused on the United States, it includes a chapter on stratification across the globe and draws on cross-national comparisons throughout.

Inequality: A Contemporary Approach to Race, Class, and Gender offers a comprehensive introduction to the topics animating current sociological research focused on inequality. Contemporary, engaging, and research-oriented, it is the ideal text to help undergraduate students master the basic concepts in inequality research and gain a deeper understanding of the ways in which race, class, and gender interact with systems of social stratification. Following an introduction to theories and research methods used in the field, the authors apply these concepts to areas that define inequality research, including social mobility, education, gender, race, and culture. The authors include up-to-date quantitative evidence throughout. The text concludes by examining policies that have facilitated inequality and reviewing the social movements that in turn seek to reshape those structures. Though primarily focused on the United States, it includes a chapter on stratification across the globe and draws on cross-national comparisons throughout.

Social stratification is the grouping of people based on income, wealth, political influence and other characteristics. Widely recognized categories such as upper, middle and lower class reflect the presence of social stratification in all societies. Inequality refers to the inevitable disparities in people's positions in this structure. The research presented in this book ranges from studies of income and wealth disparities to analyses of the nature of the class system. This textbook reflects a hybrid approach to studying stratification. It addresses the knowledge accumulated by stratification scholars and challenges students to apply this information to their social world. The authors include a wide range of topics and provide current research to round out their discussions. Each chapter includes a list of key concepts, questions for thought, suggested exercises and multimedia resources.

For those who own it, wealth can have extraordinary advantages. High levels of wealth can enhance educational attainment, create occupational opportunities, generate social influence and provide a buffer against financial emergencies. Even a small amount of savings can improve security, mitigate the effects of job loss and other financial setbacks and improve well-being dramatically. Although the benefits of wealth are significant, they are not enjoyed uniformly throughout the United States. In the United States, because religion is an important part of cultural orientation, religious beliefs should affect material well-being. This book explores the way religious orientations and beliefs affect Americans' incomes, savings and net worth.

For those who own it, wealth can have extraordinary advantages. High levels of wealth can enhance educational attainment, create occupational opportunities, generate social influence and provide a buffer against financial emergencies. Even a small amount of savings can improve security, mitigate the effects of job loss and other financial setbacks and improve well-being dramatically. Although the benefits of wealth are significant, they are not enjoyed uniformly throughout the United States. In the United States, because religion is an important part of cultural orientation, religious beliefs should affect material well-being. This book explores the way religious orientations and beliefs affect Americans' incomes, savings and net worth.

This book is about wealth mobility, how some people get rich while others stay poor. The advantages of owning wealth and the nature of true wealth have long made questions about the wealthy appealing. In recent years, that interest has been amplified by economic changes and rising wealth inequality. Today, although the basic facts about wealth inequality are no longer a mystery, we still know little about who the wealthy are, how they got there, and what prevents other people from becoming rich. We know very little about the process of wealth mobility. This book explores wealth by investigating some of the most basic questions about wealth mobility. How much mobility is there? Has the nature of mobility changed over time? Is entrepreneurship important? How much does inheritance matter? What other factors encourage or prevent wealth mobility, and how do these change over the course of a person's life?

This book is about wealth mobility, how some people get rich while others stay poor. The advantages of owning wealth and the nature of true wealth have long made questions about the wealthy appealing. In recent years, that interest has been amplified by economic changes and rising wealth inequality. Today, although the basic facts about wealth inequality are no longer a mystery, we still know little about who the wealthy are, how they got there, and what prevents other people from becoming rich. We know very little about the process of wealth mobility. This book explores wealth by investigating some of the most basic questions about wealth mobility. How much mobility is there? Has the nature of mobility changed over time? Is entrepreneurship important? How much does inheritance matter? What other factors encourage or prevent wealth mobility, and how do these change over the course of a person's life?

Wealth ownership in the United States has always concentrated in the hands of a small minority of the population. Because of scarce data on wealth ownership, the nature of wealth ownership distribution and knowledge about wealth inequality has received little attention from social scientists. Keister synthesizes theory and data from various sources to present a picture of househould wealth distribution from 1962 to 1995. Utilizing existing survey data and a unique simulation model, she isolates and examines processes that create this distribution, paying particular attention to the wealth ownership and accumulation of top wealth holders, those who control the bulk of household wealth. She identifies trends in wealth mobility that are not possible to estimate with traditional research methods. The results underscore the importance of wealth as an indicator of well-being, identify important causes of wealth inequality, and propose methods of lessening the recent increase in the concentration of wealth.

Wealth ownership in the United States has always concentrated in the hands of a small minority of the population. Because of scarce data on wealth ownership, the nature of wealth ownership distribution and knowledge about wealth inequality has received little attention from social scientists. Keister synthesizes theory and data from various sources to present a picture of househould wealth distribution from 1962 to 1995. Utilizing existing survey data and a unique simulation model, she isolates and examines processes that create this distribution, paying particular attention to the wealth ownership and accumulation of top wealth holders, those who control the bulk of household wealth. She identifies trends in wealth mobility that are not possible to estimate with traditional research methods. The results underscore the importance of wealth as an indicator of well-being, identify important causes of wealth inequality, and propose methods of lessening the recent increase in the concentration of wealth.