Religion and Social Change (9A) Practice Test

A historical analysis of labor reform in the early 20th century describes how a “social gospel” movement linked religious duty to workplace justice, helping create alliances between clergy, unions, and settlement houses. The analysis emphasizes that the movement was strongest in urban areas with high rates of industrial employment and immigrant settlement, where churches served as intermediaries between newcomers and municipal politics. The author highlights moral entrepreneurship and institutional brokerage. Which statement is most consistent with the passage's depiction of religion's role in social change?

A comparative study of two industrializing countries reports that in Society X, a dominant religious organization is integrated with state institutions and regulates marriage, schooling, and welfare distribution. In Society Y, religious groups are pluralistic and largely separated from the state, with welfare provided mainly through bureaucratic agencies. The study argues that religion’s influence on social change depends on institutional embeddedness and competition among religious groups, not simply on individual piety. Which statement is most consistent with the passage's depiction of religion's role in social change?