Non-church Members Research Articles

A Czech version of the Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale (OASIS): standardization and psychometric properties

BackgroundThe Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale (OASIS) is a transdiagnostic measure that assesses severity and impairment associated with anxiety disorders. However, its psychometric properties were primarily examined in English-speaking or western countries. Therefore, this study aims to examine its psychometric parameters in the Czech Republic.MethodsA large representative sample (n = 1738), a clinical sample (n = 57) and a retest sample (n = 20) were used. In addition to the OASIS, conventional measures of anxiety, depression, personality traits, self-esteem, life satisfaction, and other scales were also administered. Moreover, we examined the latent structure, reliability, validity, and the cut-off score for the Reliable Change Index (RCI) and the Clinically Significant Change Index (CSI).ResultsHigher anxiety was found in females, religious non-church members, and students. The Confirmatory Factor Analysis supported the adequate fit of the unidimensional solution: x2(4) = 3.20; p < 0.525; CFI = 1.000; TLI = 1.000;RMSEA = 0, SRMR = 0. The measurement equivalence examination indicated that the OASIS measures anxiety invariantly between males and females. The validity of the OASIS was supported by positive associations with neuroticism, depression, perceived stress, guilt, shame, and the established anxiety measures. The internal consistency was excellent (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.96, McDonald’s omega = 0.96). The test-retest reliability was acceptable (r = 0.66). The cut-off for the CSI is 6 and the RCI is 5.32.ConclusionsThe OASIS represents a reliable and valid instrument for assessing anxiety in adults. Due to its shortness, excellent psychometric properties, and percentile norms, it is especially useful for short and accurate screening of anxiety and mapping therapeutic changes in clinical practice.

Bonding or Bridging? Volunteering Among the Members of Six Thriving Evangelical Congregations in the Netherlands

The rise of conservative religion in the West threatens the enduring positive contribution of religion to civil society, if conservative churches, as often assumed, indeed generate more bonding than bridging social capital. Against this background, this study explores the civic engagement of evangelicals in the Netherlands. Two research questions are addressed: (1) To what extent are Dutch evangelicals more involved in religious than non-religious volunteering as compared to mainline Christians and non-church members? and (2) Which decisive factors determine the religious and non-religious volunteering of Dutch evangelicals as compared to mainline Christians and non-church members? Results show that these orthodox Christians are more involved in religious than in non-religious volunteering. Their religious volunteering is determined by their church attendance, Bible reading and social embeddedness in their congregation, while their non-religious volunteering is impeded by their mono-religious orientation and social embeddedness in their congregation and by the volunteering of their parents.

Comparing Political Attitudes of Evangelicals with the Attitudes of Mainline Christians and Non-Church Members in The Netherlands

AbstractEvangelicals are generally considered culturally conservative regarding issues like abortion or homosexuality and sometimes also economically conservative regarding issues like tax reduction. But does this image also apply to Dutch evangelicals who live in a secular environment in which they constitute only a tiny fraction of the number of church members? This article explores the political attitudes of Dutch evangelicals with the help of two research questions: (1) Do Dutch evangelicals hold more conservative political attitudes on economic and cultural issues than Catholics, mainline Protestants and non-church members? and (2) Which decisive factors determine the supposed conservatism among Dutch evangelicals as compared to Catholics, mainline Protestants and non-church members? Analyses of survey data show that Dutch evangelicals are indeed culturally conservative, but more liberal in economic matters. In addition, results also show that their cultural conservatism is related to their religious convictions, while their economic attitudes are unrelated to religion.

Knowledge of and Attitudes Toward Alcoholism Among Church Leaders in Saint Vincent/Grenadines

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) is an Eastern Caribbean country with a high rate of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) but inadequate community mental health resources to address them. This study examined SVG clergy’s potential role in community alcohol interventions. We recruited clergy through a chain referral method. We gathered data through 30 semi-structured interviews and qualitatively coded interview transcripts for themes relevant to the topic of alcoholism. We found that SVG church leaders have considerable knowledge regarding alcoholism on both personal and societal levels. The church leaders’ consistent concern about drinking problems in their communities and their commitment to community outreach suggest they are an energetic resource that should be utilized in future AUD interventions. However, their impact may be hampered by theological divisions, the perception that drinking problems only affect non-church members, non-church members’ possible reluctance to seek help from churches, and a misinformed approach to tackling drinking.

Knowledge of and Attitudes Toward Alcoholism among Church Leaders in Saint Vincent/Grenadines

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) is an Eastern Caribbean country with a high rate of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) but inadequate community mental health resources to address them. This study examined SVG clergy’s potential role in community alcohol interventions. We recruited clergy through a chain referral method. We gathered data through 30 semi-structured interviews and qualitatively coded interview transcripts for themes relevant to the topic of alcoholism. We found that SVG church leaders have considerable knowledge regarding alcoholism on both personal and societal levels. The church leaders’ consistent concern about drinking problems in their communities and their commitment to community outreach suggest they are an energetic resource that should be utilized in future AUD interventions. However, their impact may be hampered by theological divisions, the perception that drinking problems only affect non-church members, non-church members’ possible reluctance to seek help from churches, and a misinformed approach to tackling drinking.

Conservatisme onder Nederlandse evangelische christenen: een hedendaagse ‘religion gap’?

Following the earlier work of the Dutch political scientist Middendorp on conservative views among the Dutch population, this study tries to find out if there is still a relationship between conservatism and religion. Earlier research revealed that also church members became less conservative over time and that the gap between church members and non-church members is closing in this respect. Only orthodox Christians continued to hold more conservative views over time. A distinction which still exists today as the results of this study among evangelical Christians show. This group of orthodox Christians distinguishes itself from both mainline Christians and the secular Dutch not so much by having a conservative outlook on economic matters, but by upholding conservative views in pro life issues.

Philanthropy in a Secular Society

In this study we investigate the relationship between religious and charitable giving. We test how income, the tax-price of giving and the German church tax, differently affect charitable donations of church members, individuals leaving church and nonchurch members. We find crowding in between the church tax and charitable giving for church members, but not for the church-leavers. In contrast to church members, donations of church-leavers and non-members are also highly responsive to the tax deductibility. Additionally, non-donors exhibit a significantly increased probability of leaving church compared to donors. Finally, we demonstrate that leaving church increases donations on the extensive margin but decrease giving along the intensive margin.

Getauft und nicht in die Kirche eintreten! Der theologische ‚Skandal‘ der Missachtung konfessionslosen Christseins

Abstract The article points to increasing numbers of such nonchurch members. It argues that a theological equation between baptism and church membership runs into many theological, logical and practical problems. Practical ways to act adequately towards people who belong to the Christian faith but are nonchurched are suggested.

Over zingeving, recreatie en het ervaren van een scheiding

In this article, the presence of alternative spirituality and its relationship to institutional religion is examined using data collected in Nijmegen between 1998 and 2004. Alternative practices are divided into two groups: practices concerned with personal well-being (Yoga) and practices concerned with alternative spirituality (New Age). First of all, our analyses showed that a majority of the Dutch is not very interested in alternative spirituality. Secondly, individuals believing in a God or higher power are more likely to engage with alternative practices. Belief in a God or higher power explains the lower engagement of non-church members in Yoga. However, these beliefs in a higher power cannot explain why individuals who are divorced are more likely to engage in alternative spirituality.

Denomination, Religious Context, and Suicide: Neo‐Durkheimian Multilevel Explanations Tested with Individual and Contextual Data

In Suicide, Durkheim found that involvement in religious communities is inversely related to suicide risk. In this article, two explanations for this relationship are examined. One is that religious networks provide support. The other is that religious communities prohibit suicide. To examine these hypotheses, individual‐level data on suicide in the Netherlands from 1936 to 1973 are used. The results show that with an increase in the proportion of religious persons in a municipality, the chances of committing suicide decrease for every denomination in that municipality, as well as among nonchurch members. Furthermore, along with the secularization of Dutch society, the impact of religious composition on suicide wanes. These results contradict the network‐support mechanism and confirm the notion that religious communities have a general protective effect against suicide.

The Relationship between Expressions of Spiritual Faith and Parental Involvement in Three Groups of Fathers

This study explores the relationship between spiritual faith and parental involvement in three groups of fathers: evangelical Christians, Latter-day Saints, and fathers for whom faith is not central. Results indicate that all fathers were highly involved, and none of the three groups reported significantly greater involvement with their children than the others. However, fathers who were church members, regardless of affiliation with a spiritual faith group, were more involved than non-church members. In addition, fathers who were currently married for the first time were both more involved with their children and more active in their faith than their peers. This paper presents interpretations of the findings and suggestions for future research.

Religious denomination as a symptom-formation factor of depression in older Dutch citizens.

The type of symptoms in depression is likely to be influenced by cultural environment. As religion represents an important cultural resource for older adults, it is hypothesised that religious denomination represents a symptom-formation factor of depression in the older generation. Focusing on older Dutch citizens, it is expected that depressed Calvinists report: (1) less depressed affect, (2) more vegetative symptoms, and (3) more guilt feelings, than Roman Catholics and non-church members. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was used to distinguish depressed (N=395) and non-depressed (N=2333) older adults, and to assess depressive symptom-profiles. The Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) was used to assess major depressive episodes and criterion-symptoms of depression. Depressed Calvinists, especially males, had higher scores on the vegetative CES-D subscale. The same was found for non-church members with Calvinist parents. Among those who have had a major depressive episode in later life (N=84), support was found for all hypotheses. Feelings of guilt were also more prevalent among Roman Catholics. Religious denomination modified the type of symptoms in late-life depression. As a Calvinist background was associated with less depressive affect and more inhibition, there is a risk of underdiagnosis of major depression in older Calvinists in The Netherlands.

Moral Developments in the Netherlands 1970-1995. a Critical Note To the Secularisation Thesis

AbstractHow have ideas about the intimate men/women relationship developed among Roman Catholics, Protestants and non-church members in the Netherlands since the late sixties? This question has been answered in this article on the grounds of data from several surveys of the Dutch Social Cultural Planning Office (SCP). The investigation was placed in the theoretical framework of the privatisation thesis. It shows that in the last decades the discrepancy in opinion among the three categories has remained rather constant, especially concerning alternative relations and sexuality. Multiple regression shows that the differences in opinion concerning these subjects among the Dutch population have to be ascribed to the factor of churchgoing rather than to social factors. The results primarily confirm the privatisation thesis and make one question the secularisation thesis.

Religion and Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Objectives: To determine whether cardiovascular-disease risk-factor profiles of majority-church members differ from those of non-church members we examined a large population-based random sample. Methods: Data from the two cross-sectional surveys of the Pawtucket Heart Health Program conducted in 1981–82 (n = 2442) and 1983–84 (n = 2799) were evaluated. Trained interviewers collected physiological measures including height, weight, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and a small blood sample (for total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein). Smoking, exercise, sociodemographics, and church membership were determined by self-report. Results: Church members were older, more likely to be female, Portuguese, married, have more people living in their households, and were also more likely to be greater than 20% overweight. Forty-eight percent of church members reported never having smoked cigarettes compared to 35.4% of non-church members. Differences in systolic blood pressure and total cholesterol were attributable to age, sex, and ethnicity. Conclusions: Aside from cigarette-smoking status and body-mass index, the risk profile of the two groups was not different, indicating that health-promotion interventions geared to the general population may not need to be tailored too extensively for members of religious organizations based on health status. On the other hand, the demographic differences and easy access to entire families may require more attention.

Church Members, Non-Church Member s aNd the Intimate Men/Women-Relationship

AbstractHow did the ideas about the intimate men/women-relationship developed among church members and non-church members in the Netherlands since the mid-sixties? This question has been answered in this article on the ground of data of several surveys of the Sociaal Cultureel Planbureau. The investigation was placed in the theoretical framework of the privatization thesis in the sociology of religion. It is shown that during the last decades the discrepancy in the opinion among both groups has decreased strongly concerning birth control propaganda and consciously childless marriages, has decreased slightly concerning division of roles between men and women, and has increased concerning marriage, divorce, division of roles between men and women and sexuality. The attitude against the last mentioned matters seems to be in increasing extent a characteristic element of the identity of church members in the Netherlands.

A Study of the Young Women's Christian Association of China: 1890-1930

In its early days the National Committee of the YWCA of China accepted as its basis that of the World's Committee -- "Faith in God the Father as Creator, in Jesus Christ as only Lord and Saviour, and in the Holy Spirit as Revealer of truth and Source of power for life and service, according to the teaching of Holy Scripture." Active members were those who were members of evangelical churches, "evangelical" being interpreted as those which subscribe to the above basis. The word "Protestant" was deliberately omitted. Active members had the privilege of voting and holding office; no other distinction held between them and associate or non-church members.

Mystical Experience as Related to Present and Anticipated Future Church Participation

The relationship between reported mystical experience and present and anticipated patterns of church participation was investigated in an initial sample of 324 persons. A scale to measure reported mystical experience that allowed for a distinction between the report of mystical experience (Factor I) and its religious interpretation (Factor II) was utilized. Each factor differentially related to church denomination, frequency of church attendance, decision to change church membership, decision to quit church participation, and decision of non-church members to join a church. It was concluded that on the basis of these exploratory data the report of mystical experience is an important variable related to patterns of church participation.