Religious Identity Salience Research Articles

Religious Orientation and Identity Salience: An Exploration of Religious Self in Emerging Adults

Religion is seen as an important concept in all parts of the world, yet something that is hard to define. The importance of religion seems to have decreased in today’s world. The present study aimed at studying the salience of religious identity and understanding how it is related with religious orientation. The study also analysed the qualitative statuses of religious identity and relation of these statuses with religious orientation. The data was collected through quantitative methods– Bell Measures for Religious Identity and Religious Orientation Scale were used. The study made some interesting findings where it was found that half of the individuals in the study did not consider religion as an important domain of their identity. Additionally, the remaining found religion to have a medium level of importance in their lives. Significant relations were seen for religious orientations and salience of religious identity, as well as with religious identity statuses.

A Second Chance in the Sunshine State: Religious Identity and Voter Support for Re‐Enfranchisement in Florida

Research has shown religion to be an important predictor of attitudes toward state punishment, yet religious identity has rarely been included in studies of public opinion toward felon disenfranchisement. In November 2018, voters in Florida passed Amendment 4, the “Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative,” to re‐enfranchise Floridians who have completed all the terms of their felony sentences, excluding those convicted of murder or sexual offenses. This study centers on the potential relationship between religious identity, particularly for evangelical Protestants, and punitiveness by examining religious identity as a predictor of attitudes toward felon disenfranchisement. Using data from a 2018 statewide survey of likely Florida voters, this study examines the effect of religious identity and other sociodemographic factors, such as race, on attitudes toward felon disenfranchisement. Results demonstrate that probable voters who identify as evangelical Protestant are less supportive of Amendment 4 (versus non‐religious), controlling for other demographics previously found to be significant in the literature. The lack of support for voter re‐enfranchisement among evangelical Protestants suggests they take a more punitive stance on this issue. Our findings demonstrate the continued salience of religious identity and the need for its inclusion in future studies examining attitudes toward felon disenfranchisement.

A Distinct Dimension of Diversity? A Qualitative Study of Religious Identity in the Workplace

Religious identity is recognised as a neglected facet of diversity with important connections to work behaviour and other outcomes. We conduct a qualitative study interviewing 51 religiously identified participants from four occupational groups: Christian healthcare workers, Christian teachers, Jewish teachers, Christian lawyers and Christian bankers. Following thematic analysis of their experiences, we develop five themes characterizing dynamics of religious identity in the workplace. Findings shed new light on how employees negotiate their religious identity in the workplace including experiences related to “disclosing and discussing religious identity in the workplace”; “tactics in managing conflicting identities”; “relationships between self and others”; “influence of religious values on professional conduct”; and the “salience of religious identity”. The study makes two contributions to research on diversity and inclusion in the workplace. First, we find specific challenges that employees face when negotiating their own (or others) religious identity in the work place. Second, we identify how diversity within a person (intraindividual identity dynamics), between people (interpersonal relations) and in a group (group dynamics) contribute to the functioning of religious identity in the workplace.

Group-based meta-emotion and emotion responses to intergroup threat.

In a secularizing world, religious groups are increasingly threatened by anti-religious groups. We present two studies investigating religious peoples' responses to anti-religious threats. We expected intergroup threats to shape group-based emotions and behavioural intentions through a novel pathway whereby threat affects group-based meta-emotions: the ingroup's perception of the outgroup's emotions towards the ingroup. In Study 1, we experimentally manipulated threat and group salience with participants from two different cultures (British and Latinx/Hispanic). Study 1 demonstrated non-interactive effects of threat increasing negative emotional responses and of group salience strengthening emotional responses. The results illustrated the role of group-based meta-emotions in predicting outgroup-directed emotions and behavioural response intentions. Study 2 used a different manipulation of threat in an American sample and an identity-based manipulation of salience to assess the impact of real-world anti-religious campaigns involving symbolic and realistic threats. Both threat types increased negative group-based meta-emotions, negative outgroup-directed emotions, desire to respond, and opposition to the anti-religious campaign compared to no threat. Overall, religious identity salience had little impact on outcomes. The indirect pathway through meta-emotion replicated, suggesting the importance of considering this novel meta-emotion pathway in intergroup relations.

The Intersections of Latino Identity: Religion, Group Consciousness, and Immigration Policy

Questions of political participation among different races are often applied to the theory of group consciousness. Despite knowledge of intersectional identities and their effects on political participation, religious identity in this discourse has gone largely unnoticed. This paper seeks to apply the theory of group consciousness to religion in hopes of understanding the salience of religious identity. Analyzing Latinos and their perspectives on immigration this paper asks the question: “do Latinos with differences in religious observation, have different perspectives on immigration?” By doing so, this study hopes to uncover the complex nature of intersectional identities and the multidimensional influences of religious group consciousness. This examination suggests that the salience of religious identity fluctuates based on indicators used when measuring religious observance through behavior, and affiliation.

THE IMPACT OF RELIGIOSITY, AND SUSTAINABILITY AWARENESS ON CAMPUS IMPACT SUSTAINABILITY

This paper provides an insight on the impact of religiosity and sustainability awareness on the campus impact sustainability. The nature of this study was to explore the relationships, and using the survey questionnaire for primary data collection. The research question for this research was “Do religiosity and sustainability awareness affecting the campus impact sustainability?” Convenience sampling technique was applied to sample more than 150 students at the Faculty of Business, Economics, and Accountancy, in Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS). Adaptation of three different questionnaires were used to construct the questionnaire of this research. General measures of religiosity refer to its intensity, salience, and importance in the individuals, and mostly are self-report on single item on the subjective importance of religion or the salience of religious identity. For better measurement in religiosity, the authors have adopted the Centrality of Religiosity Scale (CRS) questionnaire developed by Stefan Huber and Odilo W. Huber. The Scale is a set of 15 items measurement on centrality, importance or salience of religious meanings in personality. Four questions were developed to measure the awareness and concern of students about the environmental sustainability. Third part of the questionnaire is a 26-items questionnaire by McNulty. Apart from it, the authors have also included several demographic factors to investigate whether the gender and parent’s education level would influence the variables.Â

Implications of Religious Identity Salience, Religious Involvement, and Religious Commitment on Aggression

ABSTRACTSocial identity can affect perceptions of external threats and the type of response elicited to those threats. Religion is a social identity with eternal group membership and revered beliefs and values; thus, religious identity salience, religious commitment, and religious involvement may have implications for aggressive responses to perceived threats to a person’s religious identity. In a sample of 176 Christians, Muslims, and Jews, we investigated whether people respond aggressively to collective threat as a function of religious identity salience, religious commitment, and religious involvement. Religious commitment was positively related to anger only when religious identity was salient. Religious involvement was negatively related to anger and hostility only when religious identity was salient. Religious identity salience appears to act as a moderator by either enhancing perceptions of threat or by activating internal religious beliefs and values.

Specific Aspects of Minority Stress Associated With Depression Among LDS Affiliated Non-Heterosexual Adults

A nation-wide sample of 634 previous or current members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), non-heterosexual adults (ages 18–33), were surveyed to examine how specific aspects of minority stress are individually and collectively associated with depression, and how such associations differ across sex, sexual orientation, and level of affiliation with the LDS church. When five stressors were examined simultaneously, need for others’ acceptance (NA) was the strongest predictor of depression, followed by internalized homophobia (IH). All minority stress factors were found to be individually predictive of depression and did not differ across sex or sexual orientation subgroups. Differences were observed, however, when considering current LDS status, such that participants who were no longer affiliated with the LDS church reported stronger relationships between some minority stressors and depression. Implications of religious identity salience as a potential mediator of relationships between specific stressors and depression are discussed.

Expressing religious identities in the workplace: Analyzing a neglected diversity dimension

Responding to Jackson and Joshi’s (2011) call for specific models of the effects of particular diversity types and against the backdrop of the rising desire for the public expression of religious identities in the workplace (Hicks, 2003), we develop a framework that systematically explores when and how the expression of diverse religious identities induces relational conflicts in organizational units. In developing this framework, we integrate the respective literatures on religion studies (e.g. Hicks, 2003), identity-disclosure (e.g. Ragins, 2008) and diversity within organizational groups (Jackson and Joshi, 2011). Our framework specifies three paths whereby the public expression of diverse religious identities can engender relational conflicts. As mediators, we discuss perceivers’ attribution of proselytism and religious discrimination, as well as identity threats. Moreover, we examine the moderating roles of actors’ and perceivers’ religious fundamentalism, perceivers’ religious identity salience and minority members’ attribution of majority members’ religious hegemonial claims. At the theoretical level, we delineate particularities of religious identity diversity that distinguish this diversity type from other deep-level diversity attributes. Concerning practical implications, we argue that it is important to not only foster self-expression, but also to be cognizant of the risks that the public expression of religious identities entails.

Religious Population Share and Religious Identity Salience: Is Jewish Identity More Important to Jews in Less Jewish Areas?

Survey data from Jews find that Jewish population density is positively related to rates of synagogue attendance and most other behavioral measures of religious commitment. We ask whether, after controlling for higher rates of religious practice in more Jewish areas, Jewish population concentration has its own separate independent negative effect on Jewish identity salience. Using the 2001 National Jewish Population Survey, we present three main findings. First, the simple correlation between population share and identity salience is positive. Second, after statistically controlling several key control variables, including level of Jewish practice, the overall direct effect of population share is negative. Third, we find that respondents who were raised Jewish but no longer consider themselves Jewish are more likely to reside in low Jewish population share areas. Taken together, our second and third main findings suggest that different kinds of “assimilation” are occurring in high versus low Jewish population share areas.

Political Mobilization of Dutch Muslims: Religious Identity Salience, Goal Framing, and Normative Constraints

This article addresses the question of when and for what purpose Muslims will act collectively in the political arena. The impact of religious identity salience, goal framing, and normative constraints on political mobilization was examined in two Muslim communities with different group positions in Dutch society. Both Moroccan–Dutch and Turkish–Dutch Muslims expressed their willingness to take normative or nonnormative political action to promote religious (“defend Islam”), ethnic (“help homeland”), or superordinate group goals (“protect human rights”). When their Muslim identity was made salient, Moroccan Muslims were more ready to take normative action to promote religious goals and also more likely to engage in nonnormative action. In contrast, Turkish Muslims were less willing to take action when their Muslim identity was salient, except for superordinate human rights goals. Our findings caution against simplistic assumptions about all Muslims by contextualizing the ways in which religion plays out in the political arena.

Religion as a source of variation in the experience of positive and negative emotions

In a series of three studies, we examined the ways in which religion informs the individual experience and valuation of emotions. In Study 1, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Jewish participants (N = 7231) in 49 nations reported the frequency with which they experienced nine discrete emotions. Results indicate group level differences in the frequency with which different emotions are experienced. Study 2 examined whether the patterns of emotional experiences found in Study 1 replicated in the valuation of those emotions by the adherents of those different religious traditions. Study 3 experimentally manipulated the salience of religious identity to examine the effect of religion on the current experience of emotions. Across the studies, findings provide evidence that religion (e.g., Christianity, Buddhism, etc) is related to the experience of, and beliefs about, emotional states. Implications for the study of happiness and positive psychology are discussed in light of the findings.

Identity Change in Northern Ireland: A Longitudinal Study of Students' Transition to University

This two-wave longitudinal study followed a cohort of young people in Northern Ireland (N = 124) to examine how the transition to university impacts on identity change. Drawing on Stryker's (1968, 1987) identity theory, we examined salience, affective and interactional commitment for five identities: family member, friend, student, national and religious identity. The relative salience of national and religious identities did not change over time, but an absolute increase in the salience of religious identity was indicated at Time 2. Regression analysis provided some support for identity theory but suggested a difference between Catholics and Protestants in relation to religious identity. The implications for the identities of young people in Northern Ireland, and, more generally, for identity theory are discussed.

Religiosity and Ethical Behavior in Organizations: A Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

Claims that religion can influence ethical behavior in business are plausible to many people but problematic in light of existing research. Our analysis indicates that religious role expectations, internalized as a religious self-identity, can influence ethical behavior. However, relationships of religious role expectations to behavior are moderated by religious identity salience and religious motivational orientation. We conclude by discussing the influence of organizational context on religious identity salience and the need for innovative and interdisciplinary empirical research on religion and ethical behavior in organizations.

Religiosity and adolescents' premarital sexual attitudes and behaviour: an empirical study of conceptual issues.

A review of the literature concerning the relationship between religiosity and premarital sexual attitudes and behavior revealed inconsistencies in research findings and problems with methodology and operationalization of variables. A postal questionnaire to 527 16-18 year olds examined the associations between 6 models of religiosity (religious upbringing, denominational affiliation, ritual/behavioral, self-attitude/self-schema, and salience of religious identity) and personal sexual standards, attitudes towards sexually active others, virginal status, anticipation of sexual intercourse, and frequency of both coitus and noncoital sexual experiences over the previous year. A negative relationship between religiosity and a number of sexual attitudes and behaviors was observed, though nonsignificant relationships in the case of sexual experiences without intercourse suggested the maintenance of a technical virginity to accord with religious precepts. There was also some evidence that Catholic adolescents were more likely to be sexually active than non-Catholics when current religiosity was controlled for. The results lent strongest support to models which implicated self-conception either in terms of self-attitudes/self-schemas or the salience of religious identity. Implications of the study and suggestions for future research are outlined.

“Render Unto Caesar What Is Caesar's”: Religiosity and Taxpayers' Inclinations to Cheat

Previous research on the relationship between religiosity and involvement in illegal behavior overlooks Hirschi and Stark's original concern with religion as a sanctioning system. While Hirschi and Stark proposed that religion affects compliance with the law by promising heaven and threatening damnation, this study suggests that its sanctions are self-imposed shame and socially-imposed embarrassment. Shame and embarrassment are compatible with a rational choice perspective on illegal behavior—they lower the expected utility of crime and, thus, its likelihood. These two threats stem from two conceptually distinct dimensions of religiosity. People strongly self-identified as religious are more likely to feel ashamed if they violate the law; those involved in a social network based on religion are more likely to be embarrassed. An adult sample's responses to a question concerning the likelihood of cheating on income taxes in the future tests these hypotheses. The threat of shame emanating from religious identity salience is a stronger deterrent than that of embarrassment.