Lower Levels Of Religiosity Research Articles

Institutional factors, religiosity, and entrepreneurial activity: A quantitative examination across 85 countries

• The results reveal that government effectiveness is negatively related to total entrepreneurial activity. • The introduction of political freedom as a mediator between government effectiveness and entrepreneurship yields a positive relationship. • Religiosity moderates the indirect effect of government effectiveness on total entrepreneurial activity through political freedom. • The indirect effect will be stronger under low levels of religiosity than under high levels of religiosity. Given the ongoing debate on the relationship between institutions and entrepreneurship, this study aims to better understand the joint effects of two country-level formal institutions, government effectiveness and political freedom, and whether the informal institution of religiosity moderates this relationship. To achieve this goal, the current study used multiple datasets, including the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), World Governance Indicators (WGIs), and the WIN-Gallup International Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism. The data cover 85 countries from 2010 to 2017. The results suggest that the rate of entrepreneurial activity across nations is shaped by the interplay between formal and informal institutions.

Factors associated with depression and anxiety in the adult population of Qatar after the first COVID-19 wave: a cross-sectional study

There is limited data from Arabic-speaking countries on risk factors for depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Country-specific data is necessary given differences in culture, demographics, and COVID-19 infection and mortality rates. The main purpose of the study is to identify the factors associated with symptoms of depression-anxiety in the adult population of Qatar during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a cross-sectional online survey in Qatar between July and December 2020 after Qatar’s first COVID-19 wave and before the beginning of the second wave. Depression-anxiety was defined as a cut-off of 20 or higher on the Patient Health Questionnaire-Anxiety Depression Scale (PHQ-ADS). Of 1138 participants, 71.0% were female, 69.0% Arabs, 70.0% Non-Qataris, and 77.0% were < 40 years (the median age in Qatar is 32 years). In a fully-adjusted model, six variables were significantly associated with moderate-to-severe levels of depression or anxiety on the PHQ-ADS; Arab ethnicity (OR = 1.67, p = 0.026), never married versus married (OR = 1.69, p = 0.015), prior history of psychiatric disorder versus no history (OR = 1.80, p = 0.009), increased worries due to social media use for COVID-related news/updates (OR = 1.72, p = 0.003), a history of COVID-19 (OR = 1.76, p = 0.039), loneliness (OR = 1.91, p < 0.001), and lower levels of religiosity (OR = 0.96, p = 0.039). These associations also pertained in the reduced model, with the exception of religiosity which was only marginally statistically significant (OR = 0.97, p = 0.055). The potential risk factors identified may assist with anxiety and depression prevention in future COVID-19 waves, and similar national events, and assist with early intervention to treat sufferers.

What factors are associated with advance care planning in community-dwelling older people? Data from TILDA.

To assess advance care planning (ACP) in a large population-representative sample of older people. At Wave 4 of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, participants were asked: Have you made your wishes/preferences known about the kind of care that you would like to receive in the event of serious illness? One quarter (1153/4831) had discussed ACP. Of those, 90% had discussed with family/friends, 10% documented ACP in writing, while 2% had discussed with a healthcare professional. Age ≥ 80years [OR 1.63 (1.31-2.02)], female sex [OR 1.58 (1.37-1.83)], higher educational attainment [OR 1.42 (1.18-1.71)], poorer self-rated health [OR 1.67 (1.06-2.62)] and lower levels of religiosity [OR 1.50 (1.02-2.19)] were independently associated with ACP. Only one in four older people had discussed ACP informally, while less than 3% have ACP documented in writing. Further work is required to educate the public and healthcare professionals regarding treatment choices at end-of-life.

165 WHAT FACTORS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH ADVANCED CARE PLANNING IN COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER PEOPLE?

Abstract Background Advance Care Planning (ACP) involves expressing wishes regarding your future medical care and/or preferences about your end-of-life in the event of serious illness. The aim of this study was to clarify the proportion of community-dwelling older people who engage in ACP and what factors are independently associated with ACP. Methods Participants aged ≥60 years (n = 4,831, mean age 71 years) at Wave 4 of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing were asked: Have you made your wishes/preferences known about the kind of care that you would like to receive in the event of serious illness? If yes, they were asked if this had been documented informally (family/carers or medical professionals) or formally (by written advanced care plan). Logistic regression models assessed the association of covariates of interest with ACP. Results One quarter of the study sample (1,153/4,831) had an ACP. Only 10% (119/1,153) had ACP documented in writing, while only 2% (27/1,153) had discussed ACP with a healthcare professional. Age ≥ 80 years (OR 1.63 (1.31–2.02)), female sex (OR 1.58 (1.37–1.83)), higher educational attainment (OR 1.42 (1.18–1.71), poorer self-rated health (OR 1.58 (1.04–2.39) and lower levels of religiosity (OR 1.50 (1.03–2.19) were independently associated with ACP. Conclusion While ACP may have benefits in extending autonomy and facilitating decision-making, only 1 in 4 of this population-representative sample of older people had engaged in ACP, with only 1 in 50 having their ACP documented in writing. Further work is therefore required to educate the public and healthcare professionals regarding the benefits of ACP.

Religious Piety and Sexual Passion: What Is the Connection?

The association between religiosity and the construct of sexual passion was examined to see whether religiosity is associated with harmonious, inhibited, and obsessive sexual passion styles. Using multiple regression and checking for interactions between religiosity, gender, broad categories of religion (Catholic, other Christian, other religious, nonreligious), and the three sexual passion styles, the following associations were found: Religiosity had a significant curvilinear relationship to all three sexual passion styles, suggesting an overlap in levels of religiosity and the construct of sexual passion. Optimal sexual passion outcomes were found at both higher and lower levels of religiosity, whereas mid-level religiosity was associated with the less beneficial sexual passion outcomes. Religious men were significantly more obsessively passionate than religious women, and religious men and women were similarly high on levels of harmonious and low on inhibited sexual passion. There were no significant interactions between religiosity, broad categories of religion, and sexual passion styles. Understanding how religion and sexual passion are associated could be useful for applied researchers as well as those who work with religious individuals who want to help these individuals develop beneficial patterns of sexual passion.

A Tale of Decline or Change? Working Toward a Complementary Understanding of Secular Transition and Individual Spiritualization Theories

AbstractEvidence is widespread of declining religiosity measures in many countries, including some outside of Europe. Is this a transition toward secularity among general populations, or instead a change in the nature of individual spiritualities? This question is addressed by this study with International Social Survey Programme data spanning 27 years (1991–2018) and 46 nations. Many measures of religiosity and belief are found to be declining in most countries, supporting secular transition theory. Identifying as spiritual but not religious remains a minority phenomenon in areas with low levels of religiosity, but an important phenomenon nonetheless that has seen some growth. We argue here that there is a way forward in these data to understand secular transition and individual spiritualization theories as complementary, not conflicting.

Analytic atheism in a low-religiosity culture: Examining the relationship between analytic thinking and religious belief in Germany

Previous studies report a negative correlation between analytic thinking, typically assessed with the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT), and religious belief. Recent research, however, revealed considerable cross-cultural divergence, suggesting weaker or absent effects in less religious countries. The present research investigated the relationship between analytic thinking and religious belief in three heterogeneous German-speaking samples (N = 3063). In two preregistered re-analyses of existing data sets, analytic thinking as measured with the original CRT and an extended version emerged as a weak, but significant negative predictor of religious belief. However, when controlling for different measures of cognitive ability, this relationship held in some, but not all analyses. Cognitive ability consistently emerged as an independent predictor of (lower) religious belief. A third study closely following prior methodology again found the negative predictive effect of analytic thinking on established and extended measures of religious belief. Taken together, while replicating the relationship between analytic thinking and religious belief in a culture with low levels of religiosity, the present studies provide mixed evidence with respect to the specificity of this effect to an analytic cognitive style. We discuss the implications of these findings for the notion of analytic atheism.

Determinants of induced abortion in Tehran, Iran: the role of contraceptive failure

Objectives Induced abortion is highly restricted in Iran and many married women with unintended pregnancies resort to clandestine procedures, resulting in adverse health outcomes. As there is a lack of reliable data on abortion in Iran, this study aimed to examine factors predisposing women to practise abortion, factors facilitating the use of abortion and factors determining women’s ‘need’ to use abortion to control their number of children. Methods The study used data from the 2014 Tehran Survey of Fertility, conducted among 3012 married women aged 15–49 years. Bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were used. Results About 6% of women reported that they had had an abortion. The proportion was higher among women who were in their later reproductive years, women who were employed, women who intended to continue their education, women who reported a low level of religiosity, women who had two children and women who wanted no/no more children. Multivariate analysis showed that abortion was twice as high among women who had conceived their most recent birth because of the failure of a modern contraceptive method, compared with women who had discontinued or did not use a contraceptive method. Conclusion The high risk of abortion among women experiencing failure of a modern contraceptive method indicates an unmet need for family planning counselling and education rather than a shortage of contraceptive methods.

Comparison of religiosity and spirituality in patients of depression with and without suicidal attempts.

Aim:This study is aimed to compare the religiosity and spirituality of patients with first-episode depression with suicidal ideation and those with recent suicidal attempts. Additional aim was compare the religiosity and spirituality of patients with first-episode depression with healthy controls.Methods:Patients of first episode depression with suicidal ideation and healthy controls were assessed by Centrality of Religiosity Scale (CRS), Duke University Religion Index (DUREL), Brief Religious coping scale (R-COPE), and Spiritual Attitude Inventory (SAI).Results:Patients with depression were divided into two groups based on the presence (n = 53) or absence (n = 62) of suicidal attempts in the previous 14 days. Both the patients with and without suicide attempts were matched for depression severity. Both the patient groups did not differ in terms of religiosity and spirituality as assessed using CRS and SAI. Both depression groups had lower scores on religiosity as compared to healthy controls as assessed on CRS. The two groups also had a lower score on the “sense of hope” which is a part of SAI, when compared to healthy controls. Compared to patients without suicide attempts (i.e., ideators group) and healthy controls, subjects with suicide attempts more often used negative religious coping. Total numbers of lifetime suicide attempts in the attempt group were associated with the ideology domain of the CRS.Conclusion:Compared with healthy controls, patients with depression have lower levels of religiosity and spirituality. In the presence of comparable severity of depression, higher use of negative religious coping is associated with suicide attempts.

Right-Wing Stewards: The Promoting Effect of Religiosity on Environmental Concern among Political Conservatives in a Global Context

AbstractThis article studies the relationship between individuals’ religiosity, political ideology, and environmental concern, in a cross-national setting. Drawing data from multiple waves of the World Values Survey (1999–2009), the final sample of this study includes 44,391 respondents nested in 43 countries. By using a multi-level modeling technique, the study finds that religiosity is positively associated with respondents’ environmental concerns in terms of willingness to pay for the environment, agreement with increased taxes to prevent environmental pollution, and choosing environmental protection over economic interests. Political ideology, measured via individuals’ self-placement on a left-right continuum, does not have a meaningful relationship with environmental concern in a global setting. Nevertheless, there is an interaction effect between religiosity and political ideology. Increased religiosity, particularly among more conservative individuals, is associated with a higher probability of environmental concern. Comparatively, religiosity virtually does not affect liberals’ concern for the natural environment. The gap between liberals and conservatives regarding the natural environment is more pronounced at lower levels of religiosity; as religiosity increases, the gap starts to narrow. Results suggest that religion has the potential to elevate some of the political barriers on the way towards reaching a collective environmental consciousness.

Geographic Variation in Religiosity and Its Impact of Dividend Policies

The main aim of this research is to document the relationship between geographical variations in the religiosity levels and the dividend policies adopted by firms. Using the data provided by the Gallup International, we test our arguments on the firms headquartered in different states of the United States. Our results show that firms headquartered in states with high level of religiosity have higher payout ratios than firms headquartered in states with low level of religiosity. These are results are robust across various proxies of religiosity and dividend policies (decision to pay dividend, decision to increase dividend, and dividend yield). We also show that value of dividend payouts is higher in states with high level of religiosity. We extend prior literature by also documenting the moderating role of religiosity for the value of dividend policy

Geographic Variation in Religiosity and Its Impact of Dividend Policies

The main aim of this research is to document the relationship between geographical variations in the religiosity levels and the dividend policies adopted by firms. Using the data provided by the Gallup International, we test our arguments on the firms headquartered in different states of the United States. Our results show that firms headquartered in states with high level of religiosity have higher payout ratios than firms headquartered in states with low level of religiosity. These are results are robust across various proxies of religiosity and dividend policies (decision to pay dividend, decision to increase dividend, and dividend yield). We also show that value of dividend payouts is higher in states with high level of religiosity. We extend prior literature by also documenting the moderating role of religiosity for the value of dividend policy

From prison to parliament: Victimhood, identity, and electoral support

ABSTRACT Are voters more likely to support candidates who are victims of political persecution? I draw on an original survey with embedded experiments deployed in Turkey ahead of the June 2015 General Election to advance a theory linking political victimhood to an electoral advantage. The results suggest that voters primed with information about a candidate’s political imprisonment, on average, report higher ideological affinity with the candidate. In addition, respondents who identify as co-victims are more likely to say they would vote for a candidate who was imprisoned. These findings are significant and hold regardless of which party the candidate belongs to. Respondents presented with a candidate from the incumbent Justice and Development Party also report higher levels of trust and closeness with the candidate who was imprisoned. This pattern is consistent for voters with low trust in the Justice and Development Party leadership and low levels of religiosity, demonstrating that a history of persecution can broaden candidates’ support.

Acceptance of suffering and death due to cancer in the religions of the world

Cancer undoubtedly occurs in human life as unwanted. Finding yourself in a situation of cancer, it generates a series of thoughts, events that result in the need to confront the new reality. The sense of threat to life makes a person changes the mode of operation and a hierarchy of important things for him. Polish proverb "when in fear, God is near" aptly interprets human behavior in a difficult situation. Often, in such a situation a person is looking for support in religion, religion often begins to have a new meaning for the patient, while being the source of the sense of safety. Thanks to it, religion can shape the patient's level of hope. As the result the patient can better cope with the difficulties to give peace and balance of spirit, certainly needed to overcome the disease and persist in it. The aim of the study was the location of the phenomenon of death and suffering of cancer in the context of cancer. Conclusions: 1.Majority of religions of the world see suffering as an important part of the way of life, which can provide a relief for those suffering from cancer. 2.Most of the major religions of the world present the vision of the immortal soul, which gives hope to the dying people, that life does not end, but it will last, but in a different form. 3.Atheism, as well as low levels of religiosity may increase the fear of death and impede acceptance of suffering. 4. Developing knowledge by medical staff about the religion should be their good practice, allowing them to better understand and support patients.

OSTEOARTHRITIS AND DEPRESSION IN A MALE VA POPULATION

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of disability among older adults. By 2050, approximately 60 million will suffer from arthritis adding up to a total societal cost of $65 billion. Chronic illnesses resulting in pain, and functional decline have been associated with depression in previous studies. The primary goal of this study is to investigate whether OA severity, as measured by the Western Ontario McMasters Arthritis Composite (WOMAC), impacts reported levels of depression and to what degree clinical and sociodemographic variables play a part. A causal model was developed and tested examining the antecedents of OA disease severity and depression. Information on clinical, demographic, socioeconomic, and psychosocial variables was collected on 596 male Veterans with moderate to severe symptomatic OA of the knee\\hip. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis was conducted to determine the factor structure of the WOMAC. A 2nd order three factor solution (pain, stiffness, and function) fit the data well (TLI of .94, a CFI of .94 and a RMSEA of .058). The results of the Structural Equation Model reveal a final model that fit the data well (TLI of .95, a CFI of .97 and a RMSEA of .047). Depression was predicted by higher WOMAC scores (beta=.37 , p<.01); higher levels of comorbidity (beta= .11, p<.05); younger age (beta= -.29, p<.01); being white (beta=-.11, p<.05); lower levels of income (beta= -.12, p<.05); lower levels of religiosity (beta= 11, p<.05). Clinicians should be aware of the impact of disease severity when treating OA patients with depression.

ANALISIS HUBUNGAN ANTARA KEWARGANEGARAAN GLOBAL DAN BUDAYA KONSUMEN GLOBAL: PENGARUH MEDIASI KECERDASAN BUDAYA DAN MODERASI RELIGIUSITAS

This study attempt to examine the complex relationship between global consumer culture and global citizenship by involving the mediating effect of cultural intelligence behavior and the moderating effect of religiosity. The structural equation model was developed to propose some hypothesis with support from previous literature. The empirical analysis involved online survey at the individual level, who voluntarily contributed to respond the survey. They represent young people, who represent various places in Indonesia. The results indicate that global consumer culture has a positive impact on global citizenship with mediating support from cultural intelligence behavior. In addition, the moderating effect of religiosity shows that the individual with high level of religiosity demonstrates high level of global citizenship. However, increasing level of global consumer culture for such individual has less impact on global citizenship than individual who has low level of religiosity. This study extends the discussion on global customer culture, which becomes a main concern to international business.

Religiosity in the system of value orientations of schoolchildren

The article analyzes the results of a sociological study of the place of religiosity in the value orientations of schoolchildren. 703 students of 8-10 grades were interviewed in Zaporozhye in December 2016. Religion is considered one of the sources and pillars of moral consciousness. An important part of religiosity is the transmission of religious values from generation to generation. The level of religiosity can be studied with the help of empirical sociological studies, which allow us to objectively and quantitatively evaluate this level. According to the study, it is argued that religion is on the periphery in the ranking of the life values of adolescents in Eastern Ukraine. From the list of 15 values, the point of religiosity took the penultimate fourteenth place, yielding only to the value of “having power”. In sum, the stations “Rather important” and “Very important” regarding the significance of religious values were chosen by 32.4% of respondents. The data on the value preferences of religious schoolchildren compared to the value preferences of non-religious schoolchildren are given. For religious schoolchildren such values as: the development of their abilities, self-realization, obtaining higher education, family, wealth accumulation and high incomes, achieving a high position in society, gaining respect among people matter more than for nonreligious ones. This does not contradict the provisions of M. Weber and G. Allport. It is concluded that the indicators of social morality are somewhat higher among religious schoolchildren than among nonreligious ones. Religious schoolchildren are more conservative, but their achievement values of life success and material wealth are higher than achievement values of non-religious schoolchildren. One of the reasons for the relatively low level of religiosity among schoolchildren in Eastern Ukraine is the lack of attention of parents to the religious education of children.

Beyond “Heartless Conservative” and “Bleeding Heart Liberal” Caricatures: How Religiosity Shapes the Relationship Between Political Orientation and Empathy

AbstractIs political orientation associated with self‐reported empathy? Popular caricatures frame political orientation in terms of the “heartless conservative” and the “bleeding heart liberal.” Yet, previous research has produced findings that present mixed evidence to support these caricatures. Using data from the 2004 General Social Survey, analyses show that the caricatures of the caring liberal and the cold‐hearted conservative are supported by results for empathy—in which conservatives have lower levels of empathy than liberals—but this pattern holds only when individuals also have low levels of religiosity. In the context of high religiosity, self‐identified conservatives do not have lower empathy than self‐identified liberals, net of a host of sociodemographic characteristics. Our observations demonstrate that patterns in empathy across political orientation are evident only when levels of different forms of religiosity are considered.

Are some immigrants more equal than others? Applying a Threat-Benefit Model to understanding the appraisal of different immigrant groups by the local population

ABSTRACT The study examines the applicability of the Threat-Benefit Model as a means of conceptualising and measuring appraisal of diverse immigrant groups by a local population. A representative sample of adult Jewish Israelis (n = 1600, 52% women, mean age = 44.2) was used to examine locals’ attitudes toward four groups of immigrants: diaspora immigrants from the Former Soviet Union, Ethiopia and western countries (the US, UK, and France) and asylum seekers. The results obtained indicated that the patterns of appraisal of asylum seekers and diaspora immigrants by the local population differed substantially. Appraisal of asylum seekers was characterised by multi-domain negativity, which, in several domains, was not consistent with the group’s socio-demographic characteristics. Contrary to that, appraisal of diaspora immigrants demonstrated variability across different domains, which mainly coincided with the groups’ socio-demographic characteristics. Socio-demographic characteristics of members of the receiving society explained only a small proportion of variance in their appraisal of immigrants, thus suggesting a high level of societal consensus in appraising different immigrant groups. However, a lower level of religiosity was associated with a higher appraisal of most immigrant groups as beneficial and their lower appraisal as threatening for the receiving society. The present study advances scientific knowledge by shedding light on the processes related to intergroup relations in the context of immigration.

Religious In-group Preference: A Replication and Extension into the Domain of Identity

Jewish success has led to questions of how Jews may differ from non-Jews. There is clear evidence that Ashkenazi Jews have greater general cognitive ability. There is more recent evidence that U.S. Jews differ in personality; specifically that they have a higher general factor of personality. Most recently it was also found that U.S. Jews exhibit high levels of in-group preference, despite having a low level of religiosity (itself being strongly positively correlated with in-group preference). In the current investigation this finding is replicated using data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study and inquiry extended to examine differences in personal identity. Consistent with the previous findings, Jews showed high levels of in-group preference and low levels of religiosity. Additionally, Jews put more importance on ethnic, and possibly political, identity. These results are interpreted as Jews conflating identifying as a religious and as an ethnic group. A clear limitation of the study is the small Jewish sample. It is recommended that future research test the replicability of the findings of differences in personal identity.