Class, religious participation and psychiatric symptomology

The theories of Marx and Freud suggest that religion can reduce psychiatric symptomology by promoting authoritarian submission. Previous research is inconclusive. Data from a community survey is analyzed with controls for agreeing response-set bias, social desirability bias, and with tests for curvilinearity. It is found that authoritarianism is not related to either religious participation or denomination, nor is psychiatric symptomology related to participation or denomination. Authoritarianism is not related to symptomology. Lower class position is the principle determinant of psychiatric symptomology. Religious participation, denomination, and authoritarianism have no real affect on this. This particular aspect of the theories of Marx and Freud is rejected.