Pub Date : 2024-07-26DOI: 10.1177/0034673x241263092
Russell E. Phillips
The purpose of the present study is to gain clarity into the definition of religious fundamentalism. Specifically, the goal of the current research is to engage in a multi-method study defining the various aspects of fundamentalist movements across cultures and religions. Social scientists from around the world with recent peer-reviewed journal publications concerning religion and fundamentalism ( n = 125) complete a survey where they define the construct and rate how representative 29 items distilled from the existing literature represent the term. Quantitative analyses reveal the scientists find Williamson et al.’s intratextual religious beliefs as the most important aspects of religious fundamentalism. Qualitative analyses reveal no theme is prevalent among the majority of scientists, with one category noted by 40 percent of participants, six by 20 percent to 39 percent of respondents, seven by 10 percent to 19 percent, and four reported in 7 percent to 9 percent of the sample. I integrate findings within existing religious fundamentalism theories and provide research suggestions with the purpose of creating a more comprehensive measure of fundamentalism that could be tailored to different cultural and religious contexts and used in future investigations to help applied practitioners better understand and interact with fundamentalists.
{"title":"What Is Religious Fundamentalism? Asking Scientists Who Study the Construct","authors":"Russell E. Phillips","doi":"10.1177/0034673x241263092","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0034673x241263092","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of the present study is to gain clarity into the definition of religious fundamentalism. Specifically, the goal of the current research is to engage in a multi-method study defining the various aspects of fundamentalist movements across cultures and religions. Social scientists from around the world with recent peer-reviewed journal publications concerning religion and fundamentalism ( n = 125) complete a survey where they define the construct and rate how representative 29 items distilled from the existing literature represent the term. Quantitative analyses reveal the scientists find Williamson et al.’s intratextual religious beliefs as the most important aspects of religious fundamentalism. Qualitative analyses reveal no theme is prevalent among the majority of scientists, with one category noted by 40 percent of participants, six by 20 percent to 39 percent of respondents, seven by 10 percent to 19 percent, and four reported in 7 percent to 9 percent of the sample. I integrate findings within existing religious fundamentalism theories and provide research suggestions with the purpose of creating a more comprehensive measure of fundamentalism that could be tailored to different cultural and religious contexts and used in future investigations to help applied practitioners better understand and interact with fundamentalists.","PeriodicalId":47205,"journal":{"name":"Review of Religious Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141800126","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-07-23DOI: 10.1177/0034673x241254556
Corwin E. Smidt
This study assesses the importance of dominion beliefs in relationship to stewardship beliefs in shaping attitudes related to climate change among the American people. Though typically viewed as alternative viewpoints, this study examines two separate measures—one capturing dominion and another capturing stewardship beliefs—allowing for an analysis of how these two viewpoints relate to each other and whether they have differential relationships on attitudes toward climate change. Using a large national sample conducted in 2022, this study reveals that one’s dominion position can only be fully understood in relationship to one’s stewardship position, with the resultant combined measure retaining statistical significance in multivariate analysis, suggesting that theological beliefs related to dominion and stewardship significantly shape climate attitudes beyond what can be accounted for by political variables or other important variables related to climate change.
{"title":"Dominion, Stewardship, and Perceptions of the Problem of Climate Change","authors":"Corwin E. Smidt","doi":"10.1177/0034673x241254556","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0034673x241254556","url":null,"abstract":"This study assesses the importance of dominion beliefs in relationship to stewardship beliefs in shaping attitudes related to climate change among the American people. Though typically viewed as alternative viewpoints, this study examines two separate measures—one capturing dominion and another capturing stewardship beliefs—allowing for an analysis of how these two viewpoints relate to each other and whether they have differential relationships on attitudes toward climate change. Using a large national sample conducted in 2022, this study reveals that one’s dominion position can only be fully understood in relationship to one’s stewardship position, with the resultant combined measure retaining statistical significance in multivariate analysis, suggesting that theological beliefs related to dominion and stewardship significantly shape climate attitudes beyond what can be accounted for by political variables or other important variables related to climate change.","PeriodicalId":47205,"journal":{"name":"Review of Religious Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141811548","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-06-05DOI: 10.1177/0034673x241256281
Robert J. Ridder, Chloe R. Davis, Dane Radigan, Kevin D. Dougherty, Perry L. Glanzer, Sarah S. Schnitker
Religious self-socialization theory posits that chosen exposure to religion can impact future attitudes and behaviors via the internalization of religious messages, but emerging adults in the United States tend to decrease their participation in religious activities during college. Therefore, unique outcomes may arise for the few that maintain or increase religious activity. The present longitudinal study examines whether and how an increase in Bible reading during college impacts various religious and prosocial outcomes for a sample of 295 college students at a Christian university. On average, Bible reading frequency, closeness to God, and social altruism remained constant from first year to senior year, whereas Christian orthodoxy and civic engagement decreased. Multiple regression analyses revealed that an increase in Bible reading was associated with increases in Christian orthodoxy and closeness to God as indicators of religiosity as well as civic engagement and social altruism as indicators of prosociality. Reading the Bible more may help college students grow in their faith and their service to others.
{"title":"Increased Bible Reading, Religious Beliefs, and Prosociality During College","authors":"Robert J. Ridder, Chloe R. Davis, Dane Radigan, Kevin D. Dougherty, Perry L. Glanzer, Sarah S. Schnitker","doi":"10.1177/0034673x241256281","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0034673x241256281","url":null,"abstract":"Religious self-socialization theory posits that chosen exposure to religion can impact future attitudes and behaviors via the internalization of religious messages, but emerging adults in the United States tend to decrease their participation in religious activities during college. Therefore, unique outcomes may arise for the few that maintain or increase religious activity. The present longitudinal study examines whether and how an increase in Bible reading during college impacts various religious and prosocial outcomes for a sample of 295 college students at a Christian university. On average, Bible reading frequency, closeness to God, and social altruism remained constant from first year to senior year, whereas Christian orthodoxy and civic engagement decreased. Multiple regression analyses revealed that an increase in Bible reading was associated with increases in Christian orthodoxy and closeness to God as indicators of religiosity as well as civic engagement and social altruism as indicators of prosociality. Reading the Bible more may help college students grow in their faith and their service to others.","PeriodicalId":47205,"journal":{"name":"Review of Religious Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141384530","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-06-04DOI: 10.1177/0034673x241254766
Ying-Sing Liu, Liza Lee
This study focused on religious development and explored the impact of cultural and religious tourism policies on local religions. The highlight is the use of econometric models to capture the interrelationship between supply (total number of temples) and demand (total number of followers) on religion. Using Taiwan’s Mazu Cultural Tourism Festival Policies in June 2010 as an example, the impact of these policies on Taoism and Buddhism was examined from 2001 to 2021. The results showed that the believer-led model of religious development is superior to the temple-led model. When tourism policies are promoted, they positively impact Taoist temples and believers, but Buddhism does not have such a similar effect. Finally, it was found that after the millennium, when network penetration was greater, local religious beliefs showed signs of weakening. The results of the study indicate that the potential impact of the internet era on local religion deserves subsequent attention.
{"title":"Effects of Religious Tourism Policies on Religious Development","authors":"Ying-Sing Liu, Liza Lee","doi":"10.1177/0034673x241254766","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0034673x241254766","url":null,"abstract":"This study focused on religious development and explored the impact of cultural and religious tourism policies on local religions. The highlight is the use of econometric models to capture the interrelationship between supply (total number of temples) and demand (total number of followers) on religion. Using Taiwan’s Mazu Cultural Tourism Festival Policies in June 2010 as an example, the impact of these policies on Taoism and Buddhism was examined from 2001 to 2021. The results showed that the believer-led model of religious development is superior to the temple-led model. When tourism policies are promoted, they positively impact Taoist temples and believers, but Buddhism does not have such a similar effect. Finally, it was found that after the millennium, when network penetration was greater, local religious beliefs showed signs of weakening. The results of the study indicate that the potential impact of the internet era on local religion deserves subsequent attention.","PeriodicalId":47205,"journal":{"name":"Review of Religious Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141267619","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-06-02DOI: 10.1177/0034673x241255058
Laura Upenieks
The main objective of this study is to examine the trials and tribulations in the lives of priests through an examination of work-related stressors, including feeling disrespected in one’s role as a priest, feelings of overwork, thoughts of leaving the priesthood, and a lack of trust in one’s Bishop, who plays a central role in the daily lives of Catholic priests. This study also assesses how a priest’s relationship with the Eucharist may buffer the effects of these occupational stressors. Drawing from a national sample of priests ( N = 3,515), results show that, in order of magnitude, priests who did not feel respected, those thinking of leaving ministry, priests who perceived that their job required them to do things beyond their vocational calling (overwork), and priests with low levels of trust in their bishop all had lower flourishing scores. Eucharistic centrality buffered the deleterious associations between each form of stress and flourishing. Future research on Catholic priests should continue to explore faith-based resources that can promote flourishing across the domains of human life.
{"title":"Occupational Stressors and Flourishing among Roman Catholic Priests: The Eucharist as the “Source and Summit”","authors":"Laura Upenieks","doi":"10.1177/0034673x241255058","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0034673x241255058","url":null,"abstract":"The main objective of this study is to examine the trials and tribulations in the lives of priests through an examination of work-related stressors, including feeling disrespected in one’s role as a priest, feelings of overwork, thoughts of leaving the priesthood, and a lack of trust in one’s Bishop, who plays a central role in the daily lives of Catholic priests. This study also assesses how a priest’s relationship with the Eucharist may buffer the effects of these occupational stressors. Drawing from a national sample of priests ( N = 3,515), results show that, in order of magnitude, priests who did not feel respected, those thinking of leaving ministry, priests who perceived that their job required them to do things beyond their vocational calling (overwork), and priests with low levels of trust in their bishop all had lower flourishing scores. Eucharistic centrality buffered the deleterious associations between each form of stress and flourishing. Future research on Catholic priests should continue to explore faith-based resources that can promote flourishing across the domains of human life.","PeriodicalId":47205,"journal":{"name":"Review of Religious Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141273057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-05-23DOI: 10.1177/0034673x241248078
Cory Anderson, Jennifer Anderson
{"title":"Book Review: Stolzenberg, Nomi M., and David N. Myers, American Shetetl: The Making of Kiryas Joel, A Hasidic Village in Upstate New York","authors":"Cory Anderson, Jennifer Anderson","doi":"10.1177/0034673x241248078","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0034673x241248078","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47205,"journal":{"name":"Review of Religious Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141107090","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-05-21DOI: 10.1177/0034673x241256282
Jennifer McKinney
{"title":"Book Review: Courtney Ann Irby, Guiding God’s Marriage: Faith and Social Change in Premarital Counseling","authors":"Jennifer McKinney","doi":"10.1177/0034673x241256282","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0034673x241256282","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47205,"journal":{"name":"Review of Religious Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141113362","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-05-10DOI: 10.1177/0034673x241248462
Bethany Gull, Ryan T. Cragun
While there are a number of studies that note religious individuals do not adhere precisely to the formal doctrines and policies of their faith, few prior studies have attempted to explain why religious individuals dissent from their religion’s official positions. We draw on a religious reflexivity framework with a mixed-methods approach to data collection. The quantitative data is from a survey of Utah residents ( n = 1,909) and provides a rough estimate of the percentage of Mormons who do not hew perfectly to the official position of the religion. The qualitative interviews ( n = 20) illustrate that the members who hold more permissive attitudes toward abortion are aware of their dissent and articulate clear reasons for it. Members who hold more restrictive attitudes appear to be unaware that their views are more extreme than their religion’s teachings. Yet, both more and less restrictive groups tend to use their religion’s teachings—interpreted through varied moral systems—to justify their dissent.
{"title":"“I Know That Goes Against My Religion”: Explaining Intrafaith Religious Dissent in Latter-Day Saint Views on Abortion with Religious Reflexivity","authors":"Bethany Gull, Ryan T. Cragun","doi":"10.1177/0034673x241248462","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0034673x241248462","url":null,"abstract":"While there are a number of studies that note religious individuals do not adhere precisely to the formal doctrines and policies of their faith, few prior studies have attempted to explain why religious individuals dissent from their religion’s official positions. We draw on a religious reflexivity framework with a mixed-methods approach to data collection. The quantitative data is from a survey of Utah residents ( n = 1,909) and provides a rough estimate of the percentage of Mormons who do not hew perfectly to the official position of the religion. The qualitative interviews ( n = 20) illustrate that the members who hold more permissive attitudes toward abortion are aware of their dissent and articulate clear reasons for it. Members who hold more restrictive attitudes appear to be unaware that their views are more extreme than their religion’s teachings. Yet, both more and less restrictive groups tend to use their religion’s teachings—interpreted through varied moral systems—to justify their dissent.","PeriodicalId":47205,"journal":{"name":"Review of Religious Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140990632","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-05-01DOI: 10.1177/0034673x241246540
Lang Luo
Folk religions are reviving in contemporary China. They are distinctive from institutionalized religions and share many qualities with the emerging religious phenomena in the West. Despite their significance, however, the lack of concise frameworks and causal analysis methods has hindered a deeper understanding of these religions. By integrating psychological and sociocultural perspectives, this study concentrates on subjective well-being and tailors a micro model applicable to analyzing Chinese folk religions, along with a novel instrumental variable for causal identification. Empirical evidence suggests that folk religions have negative effects on subjective well-being, resulting in a 17.3 percent decrease in subjective well-being compared to the sample mean. This is primarily due to believers seeing folk religions as mere means for achieving earthly targets, therefore suffering from strengthened negative senses and motivated radical behaviors. Nevertheless, investing in folk religions to a high degree might transform believers’ attitudes from seeing folk religions as means to seeing them as ends, thereby alleviating the negativity. This alleviation is mainly derived from positive senses, self-regulation, and inclusive attitudes towards society. Hence, taking religions more seriously and not utilitarianly, or fulfilling unmet targets more effectively, are two paths to eliminate the negative effects.
{"title":"Chinese Exceptionalism? Folk Religions and Subjective Well-being","authors":"Lang Luo","doi":"10.1177/0034673x241246540","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0034673x241246540","url":null,"abstract":"Folk religions are reviving in contemporary China. They are distinctive from institutionalized religions and share many qualities with the emerging religious phenomena in the West. Despite their significance, however, the lack of concise frameworks and causal analysis methods has hindered a deeper understanding of these religions. By integrating psychological and sociocultural perspectives, this study concentrates on subjective well-being and tailors a micro model applicable to analyzing Chinese folk religions, along with a novel instrumental variable for causal identification. Empirical evidence suggests that folk religions have negative effects on subjective well-being, resulting in a 17.3 percent decrease in subjective well-being compared to the sample mean. This is primarily due to believers seeing folk religions as mere means for achieving earthly targets, therefore suffering from strengthened negative senses and motivated radical behaviors. Nevertheless, investing in folk religions to a high degree might transform believers’ attitudes from seeing folk religions as means to seeing them as ends, thereby alleviating the negativity. This alleviation is mainly derived from positive senses, self-regulation, and inclusive attitudes towards society. Hence, taking religions more seriously and not utilitarianly, or fulfilling unmet targets more effectively, are two paths to eliminate the negative effects.","PeriodicalId":47205,"journal":{"name":"Review of Religious Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141048709","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-22DOI: 10.1177/0034673x241249368
Robert Thomson
{"title":"Book Review: Christopher P. Scheitle, The Faithful Scientist: Experiences of Anti-Religious Bias in Scientific Training","authors":"Robert Thomson","doi":"10.1177/0034673x241249368","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0034673x241249368","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47205,"journal":{"name":"Review of Religious Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140674089","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}