Religion in Poverty Conditions

Religion is a cohesive bond that ties communities together, especially in times of struggle. It could be argued that societies that live in terrible conditions and have few material possessions give up hope and have less conviction in religion in general due to such strong feelings of hopelessness. However, I think it is more likely that these strained conditions cause people to have a deepened faith in religion because it is all that they have to survive. I do believe that due to the seemingly grim circumstances, the practices of the religion of these people are probably very different from the traditions of religion today.

First, symbolism is most likely not as important to the people of these communities as it is today because most people could not afford to purchase elaborate crosses or stars of david to adorn their houses. As we observed in class from the Jacob Riis photographs, the majority of people were living in rundown houses or shacks and did not have the money for luxury items. Next, people living in these badly maintained areas probably did not have the money for education or even books. Therefore, many families in this time may not have owned a copy of their specific religious text. In these cases, these families more than likely practiced the religious traditions passed down from their families before, but they may not have understood fully the origins of these traditions. Finally, the traditions and customs of societies during this period were different from today’s because they were not a main priority. These people had to work so hard just to put food on the table and assure a place to sleep each night, that religion probably had to take a backseat. While thoughts of God (or other higher being) probably permeated the minds of these people, actual religious practices, other than perhaps personal prayer, may have taken up too much time, and therefore, were not as common as today.