5th ISA Forum of Sociology (6-11 July 2025)

In recent years the “origin”-narrative of the welfare state as built on class politics has been questioned by scholars from various disciplines. A growing research strand highlights the role of religion in shaping both old and new socio-political cleavages: principles of subsidiarity in European conservative welfare states can be traced back to Social Catholicism; ideals of trust and equality relate to Lutheran dominance in Nordic welfare states; preference for civil-society based welfare provision has been linked to Reform-Protestantism; Zakat-based welfare is prevalent in Islamic countries, and so forth. The rise of new religious cleavages creates new socio-political fault lines, as witnessed in Latin America between liberation theological orientations towards social justice and new conservative religious movements. Researchers also highlight other new social cleavages based for example, around gender and social identities that are expressed through cultural affiliation and normative orientations and often intersect with other societal divides.

These new cleavages that are fought out both in the public and political sphere touch on key questions regarding the role and scope of welfare states, including gender relations (as seen in conflicts over reproductive rights) and approaches to “deservingness” and redistribution.

This session invites contributions that explore religious and other cultural cleavages, and how they shape value and interest constellations in socio-political debates and politics. Theoretical and empirical papers are welcome. We particularly welcome contributions examining this theme with regards to Global South and Global East regions.