Organized Religious Activities Research Articles

Religiosity, Spirituality, and Tobacco Use by Pregnant Women

Tobacco use during pregnancy is associated with adverse child outcomes. There is evidence that religiosity/spirituality is associated with less tobacco use. This study aims to investigate the association further, including an assessment of overall religiousness and specific aspects of religiosity/spirituality. 404 pregnant women receiving prenatal care in three southern obstetrics practices were surveyed regarding religiosity/ spirituality, other psychosocial characteristics, and recent tobacco. Recent tobacco use was reported by 8% of study participants. In multivariable modeling, black race (OR = 0.32), social support (OR = 0.92), and overall religiousness (OR = 0.57) were significantly associated with lower odds of reporting recent tobacco use. Participation in organized religious activities and self-rated religiosity were the religious/spiritual measures most strongly associated with lower odds of tobacco use. More religious/spiritual women appear to be less likely to use tobacco during pregnancy. Additional research is needed to investigate potential pathways for this association.

Studies of the inner life: the impact of spirituality on quality of life.

This article defines spirituality and relates the importance of spirituality to understanding quality of life. Spirituality is examined through organizational religious activities, non-organizational activities and/or as an expression of faith. Spirituality as a variable in the study of quality of life is not a new concept; however, it has returned to the scene during recent years, and has gone through an evolutionary process.

Environmental influences, employment status, and religious activity predict current cigarette smoking in the elderly

The objective of this study was to describe the smoking histories, patterns of cigarette use, and quitting behaviors in a predominantly African American sample of older adults. Study participants were a convenience sample of senior center attendees in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Self-report questionnaires were used to measure depression, nicotine dependence, smoking motives, and readiness to quit. Results showed that living with another smoker increased the likelihood of current smoking (odds ratio=2.07, 95% CI=1.72–36.73). Being employed or seeking work was also associated with a higher likelihood of current smoking (odds ratio=2.73, 95% CI=2.00–118.76). Subjects who reported less frequent participation in organized religious activities were also more likely to smoke (odds ratio=2.04, 95% CI=1.17–50.38). Both former and current smokers identified personal will power and physician advice as the two most influential factors in successful smoking cessation. However, current smokers believed that nicotine replacement would aid in a successful cessation attempt, while former smokers did not endorse the efficacy of these products. The findings are discussed in terms of implications for intervention.

"God brought all these churches together": issues in developing religion-health partnerships in an Appalachian community.

This study explored health-related and organizational religious activities in an Appalachian community and identified cultural issues in the development of religion-health partnerships. Partnerships between religious groups and health providers are a channel for health promotion efforts to vulnerable populations and must be approached from the culture of the community. An ethnographic, exploratory study of health-related and organizational activities in nonmainline religious groups yielded the use of prayer requests, anointing, testimonial, and denominational links as potential health resources. Organizational decisions were by congregational consensus and theological interpretation. The communal setting of worship as an informal resource to a community of believers, especially the vulnerable, was a viable model for religion-health partnerships in central Appalachia. Implications for nursing practice, education, and research also are addressed.

Aging, health, and the "electronic church".

We tested whether elders substitute religious media use for church attendance when health declines (using multidimensional disengagement theory) with data from a multiracial, population-based sample in the Bible Belt (N = 2,971). In adjusted models, 3-year declines in functional status were significantly associated with concurrent reduction in frequency of church attendance but not with any change in rates of religious media (TV/radio) use. Age-related declines in church attendance were substantively explained by declining functional ability. Changes in religious media use were independent of age and less sensitive to declining functional status or service attendance than to cultural heritage such as race, socioeconomic status, and rural upbringing. Our data do not support the hypothesis that elders with deteriorating health substitute increased engagement with religious media as their participation in organizational religious activities is reduced. However, applicability of the substitution hypothesis to other dimensions of nonorganizational religiousness (e.g., prayer) awaits similar scrutiny.

Religiosity and Sexual Activity Among Older Adolescents

This study investigates religiosity, sexual activity, and sexual permissiveness among older adolescents. Eighty-two college students completed a survey that measured religiosity, sexual permissiveness, self-esteem, frequency of recent sexual encounters, and motivators for sexual activity or abstinence. Guilt, prayer, organized religious activity, and religious well-being predicted fewer sexual encounters. Orthodox beliefs, participation in organized religious activities, and highly-rated importance of faith predicted less permissive sexual attitudes. We conclude that guilt and religious activity can be good motivators for decreasing sexual encounters. We recommend that health practitioners encourage participation in religious activity among adolescents.

Religiosity among Alzheimer's disease caregivers

During a larger evaluation study of a Midwestern Alzheimer's Disease Association Family Caregiver Support Group Program and using their program objectives as the standard of evaluation, qualitative data was recorded. Caregiver statements were categorized into topic areas based on program objectives and content identified as important to caregiver support including knowledge of AD, caregiving problems and strategies, resources, and feelings. Analysis of these statements revealed religiosity as a pervading theme across all topic areas. The purpose of this paper is to describe religiosity as a possible coping resource expressed by support group members while sharing their family and care giving experiences. Statements are discussed in tenns of the Koenig, et al. (1988a) framework delineated in their Springfield Religiosity Schedule (SRS), categorizing them as either organized religious activity, non-organized religious activity, or intrinsic religiosity. The prominence of religion related discussion among caregivers in this evaluation seems to indicate the need for further research regarding the extent and nature of religiosity as a coping mechanism among caregivers, as well as the investigation of programs that support caregiver access to and participation in religious activity.

Informal Support From Black Churches and the Well-Being of Elderly Blacks

This paper explores the type of support black churches and families provide, and how that support relates to the well-being of elderly blacks. Findings indicate that the family network is perceived as more supportive than the church network, but that church support contributes to feelings of well-being. Perceptions of support from the churches and not the spiritual aspects of religion or involvement in organized religious activities were associated with well-being.

Correlates of Religious Non-Involvement among Black Americans

Demographic correlates of religious non-involvement were examined among a national sample of black Americans. Two indicators of religious noninvolvement were investigated: Absence of a current religious affiliation, and failure to attend religious services in adulthood. Multivariate analyses indicated that gender, marital status, age, education, income, and region were all important predictors of religious non-involvement. In addition, a substantial number of blacks who were not involved in organized religious activities, nonetheless indicated that they prayed on a frequent basis and characterized themselves as being fairly religious. Directions for future research on the implications of religious non-involvement are presented.

Dimensions of religiosity in old age: accounting for variation in types of participation.

Research on religiosity and aging has focused more on church attendance than on the religious role and the strength of beliefs and the extent of private devotions. This study of 123 older West Texans examines the degree to which nine variables account for variation in both organized religious activities and private religious behavior. These include three social activity and interaction variables, three religion variables, and three personal variables (health, age, and income). Strength of religious conviction proved to be the strongest predictor of both types of religious participation. Multiple-regression analysis did not support the hypothesis that private religious activity is compensatory; that is, it does not make up for increased social or personal deprivation. Poor health, low income, reduced activity, and living alone did not predict higher levels of nonorganized religious behavior. However, strong kin/friend networks did predict high levels of private devotion. This research suggests that frequent interaction in a social network contributes to the spiritual well-being of elderly persons; that is, it affirms the wholeness of their lives.