Religious involvement over the life course: problems of measurement and classification

Previous research found declines in Americans’ religious affiliation but few changes in religious beliefs and practices. By 2014, however, markedly fewer Americans participated in religious activities or embraced religious beliefs, with especially striking declines between 2006 and 2014 and among 18- to 29-year-olds in data from the nationally representative General Social Survey ( N = 58,893, 1972-2014). In recent years, fewer Americans prayed, believed in God, took the Bible literally, attended religious services, identified as religious, affiliated with a religion, or had confidence in religious institutions. Only slightly more identified as spiritual since 1998, and then only those above age 30. Nearly a third of Millennials were secular not merely in religious affiliation but also in belief in God, religiosity, and religious service attendance, many more than Boomers and Generation X’ers at the same age. Eight times more 18- to 29-year-olds never prayed in 2014 versus the early 1980s. However, Americans have become slightly more likely to believe in an afterlife. In hierarchical linear modeling analyses, the decline in religious commitment was primarily due to time period rather than generation/birth cohort, with the decline in public religious practice larger ( d = −.50) and beginning sooner (early 1990s) than the smaller ( d = −.18) decline in private religious practice and belief (primarily after 2006). Differences in religious commitment due to gender, race, education, and region grew larger, suggesting a more religiously polarized nation.

This study tested the links between religious involvement (assessed by religious beliefs and religious practices) and life satisfaction and generalized anxiety, and whether these links are mediated by interpersonal forgiveness. It utilized a sample of 706 university students recruited in three Muslim countries: Israel/Palestine, Turkey and Malaysia, and applied a cross-sectional methodology. Participants provided demographic information, and completed measures of religious beliefs, religious practices, interpersonal forgiveness (which is composed of three factors: hopefulness, avoidance, vengeance), life satisfaction and generalized anxiety. The findings indicated a positive link between religious practices and life satisfaction and a negative link between religious practices and generalized anxiety. Religious beliefs were positively tied to life satisfaction and unrelated to generalized anxiety. The hopefulness and avoidance factors of interpersonal forgiveness partially mediated the links between religious practices and life satisfaction, and the avoidance factor partially mediated the link between religious practices and generalized anxiety. On the other hand, none of the interpersonal forgiveness factors mediated the links between religious beliefs and both outcome measures. The findings suggest that religious practices have stronger connections with the health and well-being of Muslims, and that interpersonal forgiveness is one explanatory mechanism through which religious involvement is linked to health and well-being among this religious group.

Testing theories of secularization and religious belief in the Czech Republic and Slovakia

PurposeThe present study aims to examine the association between religious involvement and mental disorder (anxiety disorder, mood disorder, alcohol use disorder) in a general Chinese population, and explore connections between religious belief and mental disorders in the Hui and Han ethnic groups.MethodData were examined from a representative sample of 2,770 community-dwelling adults in the province of Ningxia located in western China. Self-reported religious attendance and the importance of religious in daily life were measured. The WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview was used to diagnose mental disorders.ResultsIn the overall sample, the importance of religious affiliation was positively associated with mental disorders (especially anxiety) (p<0.01). No association was found between any religious characteristic and mood disorders or alcohol use disorders. With regard to analyses within different ethnic groups, religious affiliation was positively associated with mental disorder in Han ethnicity (p<0.01), but not in Hui ethnicity. When stratified by age and ethnic group, religious affiliation was associated positively with mental disorder in younger Han (p<0.01); whereas high religiosity was associated positively with mental disorder in older Hui (p<0.05). Among older Hui, however, religious affiliation was inversely associated with mood disorder (p<0.05).ConclusionsIn contrast to most previous studies in Western populations, religious involvement is less likely to be inversely related to mental disorder in Mainland China, although this association varies by age and ethnic group.

The relationship between religion and happiness has been seriously understudied in non-Western and non-Islamic societies. Taking religious identity and religious practice as strata, the 2015 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) data were used to examine the predicting power of health, politics, and social relationships with regard to happiness in four different groups, as follows: People with a religious identity and practice, people with no religious identity but with a practice, people with a religious identity but no practice, and people with neither a religious identity nor practice. Multiple regression analyses were conducted using the Ordinary Least Squares method. The results demonstrate the influence of the independent variables in the four groups, thus confirming the expectation that different religious practices, as well as identities, play a vital role in moderating the degree of happiness. Physical and mental health are significant predictors of happiness regardless of different religious situations, with the effect of mental health here found to be greater in magnitude on happiness than that of physical health. Political participation was not found to be related to happiness, but having a left-wing political attitude did emerge as strongly predicting happiness. The results concerning social relationships further consolidate the hypothesis that religious practice should be taken into consideration separately from religious identity. This study indicates the importance of further investigating religious practice as an independent factor in religious studies in the context of Chinese society.

The Religious Beliefs, Practices, And Experiences Of Law Professors

Theory and anecdotal evidence suggest that people undergo psychological changes before and after religious conversion and deconversion. Yet, existing research provided inconclusive evidence. Here, we examined psychological change before, during, and after institutional conversion and deconversion in a large-scale longitudinal study. We used 11-wave longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample of Dutch adults (N ~ 20,000) to assess changes in religious beliefs and practices, personality traits, and well-being before, during, and after conversion to and deconversion from Christianity. Converts (N = 181) increased in service attendance and prayer, but not in their belief in God, as they approached conversion. Deconverts (N = 450) declined in religious beliefs and practices before, during, and after deconversion. In terms of personality, converts displayed small, unexpected declines in emotional stability, extraversion, and agreeableness at time of conversion. Deconverts declined in agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness at time of deconversion. Neither group showed changes in their well-being. The present findings suggest that psychological changes during religious conversion and deconversion are generally small and mostly manifest as changes in people's religious beliefs and practices. Findings are discussed in the context of person-religion fit, meaning-making, and sociocultural motive perspectives on religious change.

Awareness of the impact of societal change on family and marital satisfaction led to this study of the relationships between religious belief and practice, marital and family life satisfaction and events within respondents’ lives in Asian contexts. A sample of 3379 respondents from Seventh-day Adventist congregations in Indonesia, the Philippines and Myanmar completed a questionnaire that investigated marital satisfaction; family and parenting; religiosity, religious experience and religious attitudes; personal life experience; and the contribution and potential contribution of family ministries. Both genders are approximately equally represented, most married within their religious affiliation, about a third only completed primary school education, the median age was 40.8, the median number of children was four (4). About 45% had been Adventists for more than 20 years and 75% indicated they held positions in the church. Eighty percent of the respondents attended church at least weekly, 70% engaged in family worships and the same percentage gave 10% tithe or more. Mean scale scores across the groups indicated high self-perception of internal control of beliefs; strong influences from guilt, the expectations of others and the need for approval; and high literalism and regional differences. The majority considered the family ministries department had benefited their church and could best support in the future by premarital and marital ministries; parenting education and guidance in moral decision-making. The data collected confirms the needs of the church for sensitive understanding and caring ministries to singles, couples and families, and has the potential to guide planning and decision-making for the future.

Aims:To Study the religious and ideological views and practice of Palliative Care physician towards Euthanasia.Materials and Methods:An anonymous self administered questionnaire approved by Flemish Palliative Care Federation and its ethics steering group was sent to all physicians(n-147) working in Flemish Palliative Care. Questionnaire consisted of three parts. In first part responded were requested to provide demographic information. In second part the respondents were asked to provide information concerning their religion or world view through several questions enquiring after religious or ideological affiliation, religious or ideological self-definition, view on life after death, image of God, spirituality, importance of rituals in their life, religious practice, and importance of religion in life. The third part consisted of a list of attitudinal statements regarding different treatment decisions in advanced disease on which the respondents had to give their opinion using a five-point Likert scale.99 physician responded.Results:We were able to distinguish four clusters: Church-going physicians, infrequently church-going physicians, atheists and doubters. We found that like the Belgian general public, many Flemish palliative care physicians concoct their own religious or ideological identity and feel free to drift away from traditional religious and ideological authorities.Conclusions:In our research we noted that physicians who have a strong belief in God and express their faith through participation in prayer and rituals, tend to be more critical toward euthanasia. Physicians who deny the existence of a transcendent power and hardly attend religious services are more likely to approve of euthanasia even in the case of minors or demented patients. In this way this study confirms the influence of religion and world view on attitudes toward euthanasia.

Empirical research has found religious affiliation as one of the most important identity and mental health pillars for individuals; however, the common phrase for religious identification: “I am spiritual, not religious” is on the rise in young adults in the United States. Thus, there is a quintessential need for research on religion and communication in this context. Even though there has been little scholarly attention to the role of religion as an inhibitor for communication, communication apprehension scholarship has been providing robust empirical evidence to support this association such as religious receiver apprehension (RRA). RRA is conceptualized as the anxiety or fear associated with receiving either real or anticipated communication about religion with people of other religions. After validating the RRA scale as both generally valid and reliable in the context of this upward trend, 455 young adult participants completed surveys regarding their religious communication behaviors. Findings suggest a relationship between religious receiver apprehension and one’s religious communication apprehension; in other words, the anxiety related to receiving different religious information than one’s religious beliefs also results in higher levels of communicating about one’s religious beliefs. Furthermore, religious receiver apprehension was negatively related to one’s tolerance for religious disagreements as well as one’s attitude towards evangelism, but also for individuals’ religious commitment. Similarly, it is worth considering that the overall majority of participants indicate to belong to particular religious affiliations, as well as identifying themselves as “spiritual but not religious”; this contradiction mirrored in reduced religious commitment seems to reflect an ideology of religious entrepreneurialism, which seems to be more likely tethered to the neoliberalist logic of individualization rather than a new empathetic understanding of religious pluralism, which is better explained as “believing and not belonging.”

BackgroundBelief in God is very common and tied to mental health/illness in the general population, yet its relevance to psychiatric patients has not been adequately studied. We examined relationships between belief in God and treatment outcomes, and identified mediating mechanisms. MethodsWe conducted a prospective study with n=159 patients in a day-treatment program at an academic psychiatric hospital. Belief in God, treatment credibility/expectancy, emotion regulation and congregational support were assessed prior to treatment. Primary outcomes were treatment response as well as degree of reduction in depression over treatment. Secondary outcomes were improvements in psychological well-being and reduction in self-harm. ResultsBelief in God was significantly higher among treatment responders than non-responders F(1,114)=4.81, p<.05. Higher levels of belief were also associated with greater reductions in depression (r=.21, p<.05) and self-harm (r=.24, p<.01), and greater improvements in psychological well-being (r=.19, p<.05) over course of treatment. Belief remained correlated with changes in depression and self-harm after controlling for age and gender. Perceived treatment credibility/expectancy, but not emotional regulation or community support, mediated relationships between belief in God and reductions in depression. No variables mediated relationships to other outcomes. Religious affiliation was also associated with treatment credibility/expectancy but not treatment outcomes. ConclusionsBelief in God, but not religious affiliation, was associated with better treatment outcomes. With respect to depression, this relationship was mediated by belief in the credibility of treatment and expectations for treatment gains.

Religious and cultural beliefs have a significant influence on the maternal experience across many societies, including those of the Santal in Bangladesh. During pregnancy, Santal women often practice several cultural and religious rules for protection, mental peace, and well-being. This study analyzed the religious and cultural beliefs and practices of Santal women during the antepartum period. A qualitative phenomenological approach was applied, involving eight women and eight men from the family who had a recent experience of pregnancy. The data were collected from October 2023 to December 2023. All the respondents were selected through purposive sampling. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted in Bangla. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. The analysis was done employing a thematic approach. Ethical approval was obtained for the study, and confidentiality and anonymity were ensured. The findings of this study revealed that three main types of cultural and religious practices were available among the Santal Christian women during pregnancy. These are religious faith-based maternal practices, traditional protective cultural beliefs and practices, and family-imposed rules. Faith-based maternal practices included personal and combined prayers, vow making, church-based thanks, consultation with priests, and the use of sacred objects such as blessed water, the Bible, Jop mala (rosaries), and stickers. Traditional safeguarding practices and cultural beliefs during pregnancy included movement restrictions, the belief in the evil eye, clan-based protective measures, food restrictions, and avoidance of activities during eclipses. Moreover, family influence during pregnancy highlighted how women followed cultural and religious practices due to social and family pressure. The Santal Christian women adhered to deeply rooted religious and cultural practices during pregnancy. The study suggested that religious and cultural beliefs should be an integral part of healthcare providers' training, enabling them to understand and provide holistic services that cater to the diverse needs of their patients.

IntroductionThe emergence of the virus Sars-CoV-2, and subsequent COVID-19 pandemic, caused a global threat to public health. In such challenging and worrying situations it can be expected that people will seek comfort in religion. However, before the pandemic there were never such wide world disruptions of religious practice–because of social distancing regulations, religiosity cannot be practiced in the same way as it was before the pandemic.MethodsTwo anonymous online surveys were conducted of adult Poles, one during the second wave (N = 1072; November 2020) and one during the third wave of the pandemic (N = 1080; April 2021). The survey samples of participants reflected the Polish population structure in terms of age, sex, size of place of residence, education, and province.ResultsParticipation in institutional religious practices fell threefold to 11.9% during the pandemic, as compared to pre-pandemic times (31.2%). The number of people who did not go to church at all increased from 23.1% to 57.0%. Between the second and third waves, there was a small return to regular practice (from 10.1% to 14.1%). Based on the subjective assessment of the amount of time devoted to prayer, fewer people reporting an increase (10.6%) than a decrease (20.1%) in religious commitment during the pandemic. Logistic regressions showed that an increase in religious commitment can be predicted by older age, more frequent participation in religious practices before the pandemic, and higher life satisfaction. A decrease in religious commitment can be predicted by younger age, less frequent participation in religious practices before the pandemic, and greater number of children in the household.ConclusionOur research indicates a deintensification of religious practices during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. The pandemic has accelerated process of polarization of Polish religiosity.

Not the least important thing I have learned from my participation in the International Buddhist-Christian Theological Encounter is that interreligious dialogue is possible only under certain conditions. Specifically, I am now confirmed in the assumption I made in beginning my participation that one can enter into such dialogue only if one can somehow claim truth for one's own religious beliefs without thereby denying, explicitly or implicitly, that others' religious beliefs also may possibly be true. But how is it possible to claim that one's own beliefs as a Christian are while allowing for at least the possible truth of others' beliefs as well? This is how I, as a Christian, formulate the question-or, at any rate, one of the questions-that I took to be raised by the topic discussed at the most recent meeting of our group: Religious Identity and Openness in a Pluralistic World. One implication of this formulation, obviously, is that, in my view, a necessary aspect of Christian identity, as of religious identity generally, is the confession, or profession, of certain religious beliefs, together with the claim that these beliefs are true. Moreover, by true in this context I understand not merely true, in the sense of agreeing in substance with any other religious or existential beliefs, but also true, in the sense of providing the norm with which any other religious or existential beliefs must agree in order to be beliefs. With this understanding, then, the question I propose to pursue really asks, How is it possible to be a Christian and to claim formal truth for one's own religious beliefs while allowing that others' beliefs also can be formally true? This explains, in turn, why the other operative term in the title of my paper is not simply openness, but genuine openness. One might possibly think-or be thought-to be open to the religious beliefs of others simply because one allowed that their beliefs could indeed be provided only that they substantially agreed with Christian beliefs taken as the norm for judging their truth. But on my analysis of the claim that others themselves make for the truth of their beliefs, one would

This article is devoted to the religious identity and ritual practices of the contemporary Cham Ahier of south-central Vietnam (Bình Thuận and Ninh Thuận provinces). Contemporary understanding of Cham identity was derived from a number of groundbreaking works published by French colonial scholars. However, past thinking about the central role of “Indianized” religions (Hinduism and Buddhism) in the formation of Cham religious beliefs and practices was challenged by more recent publications focused on the growth of Islamic practices in the second millennium CE. Although the contemporary Cham community is divided into different groups that inherited these historic religious differences, the south-central Cham maintain a relatively high level of ethnic and cultural coherence through a reference to the concept of Ahier-Awal cosmological dualism, one which is heavily promoted by Cham intellectuals. This dualist concept helps transcend the religious conflicts between the Cham Ahier (“Cham Hindu”) and Cham Awal (“Cham Muslim”). This article describes the complexities of Cham Ahier religious identity through an analysis of their ritual practices. It approaches the Cham Ahier community and its religious practices within the broader context of the religious milieu, explaining how different sources of religious traditions were appropriated and intertwined, while, at the same time, acknowledging that there were also tensions involved in this process.