Religious Involvement Research Articles

Competing Priorities? Testing Multiple Mechanisms That Connect Adolescent Religiosity to Marriage in Young Adulthood

Abstract Religion and family remain tightly linked institutions, but the increasingly varied period of emerging adulthood, which includes delays in marriage transition and reduced religiosity overall, calls for additional research into this relationship. Religious involvement continues to be associated with earlier age at first marriage, for example, but the specific mechanisms responsible for this connection are often only implied or untested. Accordingly, we build on prior literature and hypothesize about three mechanisms that could explain the link between adolescent religiosity and marriage transition in young adulthood: the importance of completing milestone goals prior to marriage, such as completing one’s education and establishing a career, the importance of cohabitation before marriage, and the ideal age of marriage. We use longitudinal data from the National Study of Youth and Religion to investigate each of these mechanisms for a recent cohort of young adults. Using structural equation modeling and measures for adolescent religious attendance, importance, and affiliation, we find that adolescent religiosity is related to the marriage transition primarily through the mechanism of cohabitation. Specifically, religious attendance and importance in adolescence are associated with less support for cohabitation, which in turn is associated with a higher likelihood of marriage transition during young adulthood. Findings for religious affiliation were not as consistent. In the context of demographic shifts in marriage patterns and religious involvement, these analyses provide an important illustration of how these social institutions are still connected.

Frequency and factors related to substance use among Black individuals aged 15-40 years old in Canada: The role of everyday racial discrimination.

Despite evidence that Black individuals are confronted with various types of racial discrimination that put them at risk for alcohol and substance use disorders, no study in Canada has assessed the frequency and factors related to substance use in Black communities. This study thus aims to examine the frequency and factors related to substance use in Black communities in Canada. A total of 845 Black individuals in Canada (76.6% female) completed questionnaires assessing substance use (i.e., alcohol, cannabis, and other drugs), everyday racial discrimination, resilience, religious involvement, and sociodemographic information. Multivariable regression analyses were used to determine factors related to substance use among Black individuals. The findings showed that 14.8% (95% CI [8.60, 20.94]) of participants reported using any substance (i.e., alcohol, cannabis, and other drugs) in the past 12 months. Men reported a significantly higher frequency of substance use than women (25.7% vs. 11.1%; x² = 27.67, p < .001). Everyday racial discrimination (ß = .27, p < .001) and place of birth (born in Canada, ß = .14, p < .001) were positively associated with substance use, whereas it was negatively associated with religiosity, resilience, and gender (being a female; ß = -.08, p < .05; ß = -.21, p < .001; ß = -.12, p < .001). Racial discrimination is associated with substance use among Black individuals in Canada. The study findings inform potential prevention and intervention strategies by examining protective factors related to substance use (e.g., religiosity, resilience, gender) among Black individuals. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Between Fashion and Piety: Hijab Influencers and Religious Communities in the Consumer Socialization of Indonesian Muslims

Fashionable hijab is a trend in Muslim societies worldwide. In Indonesia, hijab commercialization has been especially prominent. This study used consumer socialization theory to examine the relationship between hijab influencers (HIs), religious factors, attitudes toward fashionable hijab, and commodified hijab-style choices. In particular, we examined involvement with HIs, HIs' influence on hijab consumption, religiosity, and religious community involvement to investigate the mechanisms of consumer socialization. Structural equation modeling revealed that hijab influencers, as consumer socialization agents, reinforced positive attitudes toward fashionable hijab, whereas religious community involvement, as a social structural variable, had a negative effect. Finally, positive attitudes toward fashionable hijab positively influenced the pursuit of commodified hijab-style choices. These findings have practical implications for vendors targeting the Indonesian market by distinguishing commodified hijab styles from conservative hijab styles and identifying the factors influencing consumers.

In God We Trust: Effects of spirituality and religion on economic decision making

BackgroundSpirituality and religion (S/R) are highly prevalent and relate to various aspects of mental health. However, S/R is multifaceted, and cognitive and behavioral mechanisms of S/R are unclear. Spiritual beliefs and attitudes, and regular practice of religious rituals, may facilitate general consistency of behavior and attenuate impulsive reactivity to loss and gains. MethodsWe utilized a sophisticated and complex economic decision-making paradigm – the Sequential Investment Task – to probe effects of S/R on behavioral adaptation to positive and negative outcomes (both real and fictive) within a diverse community-based sample (n = 242). S/R was assessed with a wide range of self-report measures. ResultsCollectively, facets of religion had significant effects on task variables, suggesting that religious involvement is associated with more consistency in decision making, and less behavioral change resulting from real gains and fictive losses, but not real losses. Conversely, spirituality was not significantly tied to behavior overall, though some facets (i.e., importance of spirituality and belief in God) predicted greater behavioral consistency. DiscussionThis study suggests that religion, but not spirituality, is associated with greater uniformity of behavioral responding, less reactivity to positive outcomes, and less reactivity to perceived losses, when making investment decisions.

Children’s and Adults’ Perceptions of Religious and Secular Interventions for Incarcerated Individuals in the United States

Religious involvement is prevalent in prisons, a context where questions of moral redemption are particularly salient. We probed the developmental origins of adults’ perceptions that religion might lead to redemption following transgressions. Six- to eight-year-olds (n = 50 United States residents) and adults (n = 53 United States residents) learned about incarcerated characters who had taken religion classes, art classes, or life classes (about right and wrong) while imprisoned. They then rated their agreement with statements assessing attitudes toward the incarcerated individuals, the effectiveness of each character’s time in prison, and their likelihood of recidivism. Children were more likely than adults to report that classes, in general, would effectively rehabilitate incarcerated individuals. However, participants of all ages reported more positive attitudes toward people who took religion classes and life classes rather than art classes. Further, participants of all ages reported that people who took art classes, versus religion or life classes, would be more likely to continue transgressing. These findings highlight the important role that religious and secular learning plays in perceptions of redemption across development.

Predictors of Symptoms of Depression Among Black Seventh-Day Adventists in the United States.

The purpose of this study was to estimate a regression model that best predict symptoms of depression among Black Seventh-day Adventists in the United States. The sample (n = 3,570) was drawn from the Biopsychosocial Religion and Health Study, a sub-study of the larger Adventist Health Study-2 consisting of a random sample (n = 10,998) of Adventists. The results of the study showed that poor sleep quality, hostility, stress, and perceived discrimination were all predictors of symptoms of depression, while religious involvement decreased the likelihood of experiencing those symptoms.

“I wanted to have a Christian family”: Affinities Between Religiosity and Family Styles Among Catholics and Evangelicals in a Low-Income Neighborhood in Santiago

This article explores the relationship between religiosity—as experiential and practical religious involvement—and family styles—as effective kinship expectations and configurations. We begin by identifying three gaps and one risk in the previous literature: excessive focus on (Evangelical) conversion; the paucity of comparative Catholic/Evangelical studies; the absence of an extended family and intergenerational approach; and, although to a lesser extent, a risk of conflation of the religious phenomenon. Based on ethnographic observations and interviews conducted in a low-income neighborhood in Santiago, we investigated native Catholic and Evangelical individuals and couples with similar levels of religiosity and socioeconomic status. We have observed two contrasting family styles. While among Catholics, we found a deep appreciation of intergenerational solidarity with a matrifocal bias, with a secondary importance on the marital relationship; among Evangelicals, we observed a strong conjugality and relative relegation of intergenerational relationships. We explore these results using the lens of “affinities” between religious and family spheres, close to Max Weber’s classic concept of elective affinities. Evangelical religiosity produces solid boundaries with the secular world, including the influence of contextual family culture and non-nuclear kin, combined with an emphasis on individual autonomy and responsibility, which correlates with the notion of conjugality as an elective bond. Catholic religiosity is instead much more tolerant of the secular world, allowing a contextual family culture to permeate family configurations. The Catholic emphasis on Grace as an unconditional and gratuitous divine act, combined with popular devotion to Mary, reinforces the centrality of matrifocal intergenerational ties.

The impact of religious involvement on trust, volunteering, and perceived cooperativeness: evidence from two British panels

Abstract Does religious involvement make people more trusting and prosocial? Considering conflicting theories and mixed prior evidence, we subject this question to a stringent test using large-scale, representative data from the British Household Panel Survey (1991–2009, N ≈ 26,000) and the UK Household Longitudinal Study (2009–2021, N ≈ 80,000). We employ cross-lagged panel models with individual fixed effects to account for time-invariant confounders and reverse causality—two issues that have haunted earlier research. We find that frequency of religious service attendance on average has a positive impact on generalized trust, volunteering, and perceived cooperativeness. Other indicators of religious involvement have weaker effects. We also find variation across religious traditions: the effects of religious attendance are mostly positive for Anglicans and other Protestants, but weaker and mostly statistically insignificant for Catholics, Hindus, and the unaffiliated, and even negative for Muslims when the outcome is perceived cooperativeness. Our findings are robust to alternative model set-ups and hold up after accounting for neighbourhood religious composition, respondent and interviewer ethnicity, and other potential moderators and confounders. Altogether, our study shows that religious involvement can foster prosocial behaviours and attitudes, although in our study this effect is largely restricted to religious service attendance and majority religions.

Life Strain, Negative Emotions, and Religious Involvement in Contemporary China

Explaining religious growth in China remains a challenge for social scientists. Research on Western nations establishes religion as a powerful resource for coping with life strain. However, China's sociopolitical context, which often treats religion as deviant, is thought to function as a deterrent to conversion. When individuals experience life strain, they respond with negative emotions. Because those who experience strain may turn to non-traditional and deviant activities, we argue that they will be less deterred by China's negative framing of religion when seeking resources for coping. Applying lagged dependent variable models to the 2012-2014 China Family Panel Study, we find that life strain is associated with increases in religious affiliation, service attendance, and salience. Further analyses show that negative emotions mediate the effects of life strain on religiosity. Our study makes a substantial contribution to multiple bodies of literature by applying a theory of deviance to the study of religion, modernization, and mental health.

Menjadikan Perempuan Papua Yang Berdaya (Study Analisa GESI Terhadap Perempuan Papua Sebagai Agen Perdamaian dan Kohesi Sosial)

This article aims to describe the results of the GESI analysis. The method used is the GESI (Gender Equality and Social Inclusion) assessment. From the results of the GESI analysis it was found that the role of Papuan women in religious activities was quite high, both in routine religious meetings and involvement in planning religious activity programs and peace education. However, from 4 (four types of involvement) it was found that women's role was only in the "listening position". These results prove that there is an imbalance of systemic decision-making power in society. Thus, capacity building for Papuan women and religious, customary, community and government institutions is needed so that women's roles can be maximized in peace and social cohesion.

Perspectives on Lifespan Religious and Spiritual Development from Scholars across the Lifespan

The purpose of the article is to share our perspectives on the key influences of lifespan religious and spiritual development as scholars from across the lifespan (i.e., the four authors are from different generations, including Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Gen Z). Our perspectives are heavily influenced by our combined 60+ years of research experience in examining the connections between religion and family life. Our discussion is organized around Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological framework and the process-person-context-time model. Within this framework, the key factors we discuss that influence religious/spiritual development include (a) process (i.e., person-religion mismatch and family processes), (b) person (i.e., age, gender/sexual orientation, mental health, personal agency, and experience), (c) context (i.e., home environment, culture, and community), and (d) time (i.e., historical events and the duration of proximal processes). Where possible, we highlight underrepresented religious and ethnic groups. The key domains that we discuss that are influenced by religious/spiritual development include individual and relational outcomes. Finally, we suggest meaningful directions for future research. Given the significant contemporary dynamism in spiritual and religious identity and involvement, in this article, we discuss research and theory that can inform and assist scholars, religious leaders, parents, as well as youth and emerging adults.

Dispositional Optimism in Christian Populations Compared to other Religious Groups: a Scoping Review

IntroductionThere are various ways people cope with life events. One can expect generalized positive or negative outcomes across various life domains, called dispositional optimism. This can be explained by attribution theory: how people explain past events, their causations, and outcomes. Understanding attribution styles is important to help people reframe current circumstances and improve mental wellbeing. Our hypothesis is that people of different religious groups may exhibit various levels of optimism and pessimism based on their values, teachings, and practices. Previous research has found that people of Christian faith, or those with a religious faith in general, look to their religion as a way of coping during life adversities. Certain religious practices such as prayers and Church gatherings have been found to improve mental health through increasing dispositional optimism. While the relationship between religiosity and mental health has been previously examined in different religious populations, there are few studies that focused on comparing this relationship across religions.ObjectivesThe objective of this scoping review is to understand the link between religiosity and mental health, focusing primarily on how people of the Christian religion demonstrate dispositional optimism or pessimism when coping with adverse life events, compared to other religious groups or atheists.MethodsThis scoping review included original peer reviewed study articles that studied mental health in terms of dispositional optimism or pessimism in people of Christian religion compared to other religious groups. This review used online databases, Ovid MEDLINE and PsycInfo, and used extraction tables to analyze the results of past research.ResultsThe results of this scoping review revealed that people of Christian religion, especially those high in religiosity, use their religion as a method of coping. This population also showed higher dispositional optimism compared to atheists or those that believe in other religions. However, when compared to other religions such as Buddhism and Muslim, Christian populations showed lower dispositional optimism.ConclusionsIt is evident that religious involvement is linked to aspects of mental health, but comparing the effects of different religions is still a topic of exploration that can be investigated further to allow deeper understanding of their similarities and differences, as well as the mechanisms by which religion can affect mental health. In this review, a gap in the body of knowledge regarding the relationship between religion and pessimism was revealed. Future research directions could include examining whether dispositional pessimism varies across religious groups, as it does not necessarily have a perfectly inverse relationship with optimism.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Factors Affecting Negative Attitudes towards COVID-19 Vaccines

The aim of this study is to examine the factors affecting negative attitudes (vaccine hesitancy and anti-vaccination) towards vaccines. Data of 4004 people were collected online. Although vaccine hesitancy and anti-vaccination attitudes are two different concepts, there is a strong positive relationship between them. In this study, explanatory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis are used for vaccine questions. Then, quantile regression models at 10p, 50p and 90p values were calculated separately for these two variables (vaccine hesitancy and anti-vaccination). As a result of the estimation, age, gender, education, household income, belief in conspiracy theories, political views, religious involvement are significant predictors. In addition, trust in science, doctors, the government, vaccine companies, COVID-19 vaccines and herbal treatments are other predictive variables. Negative attitudes towards vaccines are relatively higher among the poor, unemployed and socio-economically disadvantaged groups. To reduce negative attitudes towards vaccines, it is important to inform society based on the results of reliable scientific research, to follow transparent policies that will reduce the doubts in people’s minds, and to maintain effective communication policies.

Spiritualizing Politics Without Politicizing Religion: The Example of Sargent Shriver by James R. Price and Kenneth R. Melchin

Reviewed by: Spiritualizing Politics Without Politicizing Religion: The Example of Sargent Shriver by James R. Price and Kenneth R. Melchin David O’Brien Spiritualizing Politics Without Politicizing Religion: The Example of Sargent Shriver. By James R. Price and Kenneth R. Melchin. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2022. 200 pp. $45.00. This is an important book. James R. Price and Kenneth R. Melchin have a fresh address to the very old question of “religion and politics” as it once again explodes across the world and even upsets long settled arrangements here in the United States. The authors want to help clarify the situation which they think has been made difficult by the “fog of the culture wars,” the “proliferation of doctrinaire religious convictions,” and the “growing secularism the academy and the public square.” Price and Melchin are determined not to contribute to these endless debates but instead to “think responsibly about politics and religion” and offer constructive proposals designed to enable communities of faith to help their members carry out their shared responsibilities for public life. Their goal is contained in the title: to “spiritualize politics without politicizing religion.” To do this they intend to “affirm the religion-politics distinction that guards freedom of conscience and diversity of belief” while, with equal conviction, “affirming the religion–politics relations that ensure religious involvement in nurturing values essential for public life.” They understand that balancing religious [End Page 95] integrity and shared responsibility will always be a challenge, perhaps requiring in some cases conscientious objection to agreed-upon policies. The authors believe that religion and politics need to be distinguished from each other, but that politics needs religion to achieve its objectives while Christians need politics to carry out Gospel-based obligations. Faced with religious diversity, religion must avoid the twin temptations of disengagement and withdrawal at one end and theocratic power at the other. Politics on the other hand—and here they usually mean liberal democratic politics—requires the spiritual and moral energy of religion if its citizens are to bear their shared responsibility for self-government. Rather than lament divisions, Price and Melchin look for ways to address these challenges with full respect for religious claims and civic responsibilities. They begin with an extended analysis of the speeches of Sargent Shriver, founding leader of the Peace Corps. Shriver’s life and work illustrates how this worked out with one “exemplary figure.” They find him first as a Catholic layman familiar with church teaching, influenced by the scholastic philosophy of natural law updated by Jacques Maritain, and engaged with lively movements of Catholic Action inspiring women and men of his generation to take on new responsibilities at the centers of American life now open to them. Shriver found leadership roles in public education, race relations, and civic dialogue, first in Chicago, then in Washington in the administration of his brother-in-law John F. Kennedy and his successor Lyndon B. Johnson. Like so many of his generation, Shriver was formed in the remarkable families, parishes, schools, and ideas of the American Catholic community, then took full advantage of new opportunities opened by family aspirations and post-World War II prosperity. Making that move into centers of shared public responsibility while remaining faithful to Christianity and his American Catholic subculture required aspiring middle class Catholics like Shriver to adopt a bilingualism, speaking among themselves of Christian faith, Catholic practice, and the shared values found in church teaching, then using broader terms to embrace others in shared work for common purposes. When, in their professional and public work, they needed to find common ground with non-Catholics, Shriver and others continued to speak of service, respect for the other, and democratic aspirations for liberty and justice, all informed by what Shriver thought of as Christian charity. Some thought this move watered down the claims of faith, but the authors argue that, in the case of Shriver, he in fact expanded and deepened Christian ideals of justice and charity. At one point in his inter-racial work Shriver stated the goal that informed all his work: “to direct the [End Page 96] immense power of religion to shaping the conduct and thoughts of men...

The Relationship between Religion, Substance Misuse, and Mental Health among Black Youth.

Studies suggest that religion is a protective factor for substance misuse and mental health concerns among Black/African American youth despite reported declines in their religious involvement. However, few studies have investigated the associations among religion, substance misuse, and mental health among Black youth. Informed by Critical Race Theory, we evaluated the correlations between gender, depression, substance misuse, and unprotected sex on mental health. Using multiple linear regression, we assessed self-reported measures of drug use and sex, condom use, belief in God, and religiosity on mental health among a sample of Black youth (N = 638) living in a large midwestern city. Results indicated drug use, and sex while on drugs and alcohol, were significant and positively associated with mental health symptoms. Belief in God was negatively associated with having sex while on drugs and alcohol. The study's findings suggest that despite the many structural inequalities that Black youth face, religion continues to be protective for Black youth against a myriad of prevalent problem behaviors.

Euthanasia in opinions of students of medicine.

Euthanasia assumes the deliberate deprivation of life of another human being for the good of that person. At present, euthanasia is legally practiced in Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg, Columbia and Canada. In Poland, euthanasia is strictly prohibited. The aim of this work is to present the opinions of medical students about euthanasia. An anonymous questionnaire was conducted among first-year students of medicine at the Medical University of Lublin, Poland. The anonymous questionnaire consisted of 35 questions that concerned three components of euthanasia attitude: knowledge, evaluation, and acceptance of its use. The study included 281 students of medicine (77.6% of all first-year students). Although euthanasia in Poland is legally prohibited, almost one-fifth of students of medicine expressed a positive attitude towards euthanasia, and over a quarter of students opted for its legalization. Only two independent variables, i.e., family size (number of children) and religious involvement of the respondents, differentiated both the overall assessment of euthanasia and the level of acceptance for its legalization. Non-religious people more often (43.3%) than religiously engaged people (6.4%) expressed positive opinions about euthanasia. The attitudes of students towards euthanasia are often inconsistent. There is a need to evaluate medical study programmes in the context of creating the right attitudes of future doctors towards euthanasia.

“It Makes a Difference!” Religion and Self-Assessed Health among Healthcare Support Professionals of Asian-Indian Origin

Objective: Mixed evidence exists in the research examining the effects of religion on health outcomes. Due to the severity of health conditions experienced by immigrants and racial and ethnic minorities in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic, this research aims to examine the influence of religious involvement on self-assessed health among healthcare support professionals of Asian Indian origin living in the US. Method: The study used oral history narratives of phenomenological tradition, obtained through interviews of 16 healthcare support professionals of Asian-Indian origin and from three different religious backgrounds. The study cohort was made up of individuals residing in the greater Detroit and Lansing areas in Michigan. Findings: Although the narratives indicated that religious engagement plays a positive role in health outcomes among care professionals, simultaneously, it was found that religion-specific meaning intersects their immigration, settlement, family expectations, and work-related experiences in the US. Future research should extend the scholarship examining gender differences in the effect of religion on self-assessed health among healthcare support professionals of Asian-Indian origin.

Religious Involvement and Allostatic Resilience: Findings from a Community Study of Black and White Americans.

Wide inequities in stress and health have been documented between Black and White women and men in the United States. This study asks: How does religion factor into these inequities? We approach this open question from a biopsychosocial perspective, developing three hypotheses for the stress-coping effects of religiosity between groups. We then test our hypotheses with survey and biomarker data from the Nashville Stress and Health Study (2011-2014), a probability sample of Black and White women and men from Davidson County, Tennessee. We find that Black women score the highest on all indicators of religiosity, followed by Black men, White women, and White men. We also find that increased divine control and religious coping predict higher levels of resiliency biomarkers for Black women only and lower levels for White respondents, especially White men. We discuss how our findings inform broader population health inequities and outline several avenues for future research.

Christian churches and social welfare in secular times: How goal congruence shapes religious involvement in morality-based social services

AbstractWe study the extent and nature of Christian engagement in morality policy implementation by means of a comparative case study in Germany. In particular, we observe that the nature of engagement varies between unconnected and corresponding types of activities, and we explain this variation with the policy-specific goal congruence between religious organizations (ROs) and the state. Goal congruence, in turn, can be linked to Catholic and Protestant moral doctrines that tell us about ROs' position on morality issues. The study contributes to the literature on faith-based welfare by highlighting the role of moral doctrines as drivers of ROs' social engagement.

Relações entre espiritualidade e religiosidade em acadêmicos de odontologia do estado da Bahia

ABSTRACT Objective: This study aims to evaluate the correlation between religiosity and spirituality in dental students in the state of Bahia. Methods: Cross-sectional study carried out with 266 dental students from the state of Bahia. To measure religious involvement, the Duke Religious Index (DUREL) was used, while the Spirituality Self Rating Scale (SSRS) was used for spirituality. Results: A total of 266 students were evaluated, with a mean age of 32 years (±11.9), most of them female (62.4%), of self-reported race/color (52.3%), with an income greater than three minimum wages (57.1%) and studying/working from the sixth to the tenth semester (41.0%). The correlations evidenced can be classified as weak for organizational religiosity (OR) (r = 0.406), moderate for non-organizational religiosity (RNO) (r = 0.589) and strong for intrinsic religiosity (RI) (r = 0.677). In the multivariate model, the ORN and RI dimensions proved to be predictors of spirituality, and the elevation of the former implies a consequent increase in spirituality. Conclusion: It is concluded that the RNO and RI dimensions are positively correlated with religiosity.