DAVID E. CAMPBELL, GEOFFREY C. LAYMAN, WAYDE Z. C. MARSH
Conventional wisdom holds and previous research confirms that for a political candidate, atheism is anathema. But the United States is becoming a more secular nation. Does secularization mean that atheists are acceptable to some Americans, specifically Democrats and voters with low religiosity? Can concerns about atheists be assuaged by appealing to the superordinate identity of “patriotic American”? Drawing on four survey experiments, we find that Democrats are more supportive of an atheist, Republicans less—producing a null effect overall. Furthermore, voters’ reactions to an atheist are not driven by the office, but are shaped by both their partisanship and religiosity. Voters’ negative attitudes are partially assuaged by framing an atheist as a patriotic war hero. As the secular population grows in the United States, it seems likely that atheists will emerge as candidates for elected office. Our data suggest that, contrary to conventional wisdom, atheist candidates are potentially electable.
{"title":"Will Americans Vote for an Atheist?","authors":"DAVID E. CAMPBELL, GEOFFREY C. LAYMAN, WAYDE Z. C. MARSH","doi":"10.1111/jssr.12940","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12940","url":null,"abstract":"Conventional wisdom holds and previous research confirms that for a political candidate, atheism is anathema. But the United States is becoming a more secular nation. Does secularization mean that atheists are acceptable to some Americans, specifically Democrats and voters with low religiosity? Can concerns about atheists be assuaged by appealing to the superordinate identity of “patriotic American”? Drawing on four survey experiments, we find that Democrats are more supportive of an atheist, Republicans less—producing a null effect overall. Furthermore, voters’ reactions to an atheist are not driven by the office, but are shaped by both their partisanship and religiosity. Voters’ negative attitudes are partially assuaged by framing an atheist as a patriotic war hero. As the secular population grows in the United States, it seems likely that atheists will emerge as candidates for elected office. Our data suggest that, contrary to conventional wisdom, atheist candidates are potentially electable.","PeriodicalId":51390,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142266289","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}
This study examines the relationship between Christian nationalism—a political theology and cultural framework that seeks to amalgamate the Christian faith and a country's political life and privilege Christianity in the public square over other faith traditions—and attacks against religious minorities in the United States. Some Christian nationalists believe that it is justifiable to undertake violent actions in order to realize the goals of Christian nationalism. We theorize that the political empowerment of Christian nationalist ideology in the form of politicians expressing Christian nationalist sentiments corresponds to physical attacks on religious minorities carried out by self‐professing Christians. We test this theory using a cross‐sectional, time‐series analysis of antiminority violence in the United States. The results provide robust support for our theory.
{"title":"Christian Nationalism and Violence Against Religious Minorities in the United States: A Quantitative Analysis","authors":"Nilay Saiya, Stuti Manchanda","doi":"10.1111/jssr.12942","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12942","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines the relationship between Christian nationalism—a political theology and cultural framework that seeks to amalgamate the Christian faith and a country's political life and privilege Christianity in the public square over other faith traditions—and attacks against religious minorities in the United States. Some Christian nationalists believe that it is justifiable to undertake violent actions in order to realize the goals of Christian nationalism. We theorize that the political empowerment of Christian nationalist ideology in the form of politicians expressing Christian nationalist sentiments corresponds to physical attacks on religious minorities carried out by self‐professing Christians. We test this theory using a cross‐sectional, time‐series analysis of antiminority violence in the United States. The results provide robust support for our theory.","PeriodicalId":51390,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion","volume":"67 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142196797","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}
Sandra Sevic, Ivan Landripet, Aleksandar Štulhofer
Studies assessing the relationship between religiosity and sexual behaviors in youth are limited by their use of single‐aspect measures of religiosity, assumption of linearity, and focus on coital behaviors. This study assessed how multidimensional latent profiles of religiosity were associated both with sexual risk behaviors and noncoital sex. Data were gathered using a national sample of emerging adults in Croatia (N = 1,210; Mage = 21.74, 48.0 percent female). Latent profile analysis provided a three‐profile model as the most robust solution, differentiating among the low, moderate, and high religiosity groups. The gradient pattern (differences among all profiles) was observed only in the association between religiosity and the frequency of masturbation and experiencing oral sex. The relationship between religiosity and other sexual behaviors either was nonlinear or not found. Overall, religiosity was associated with a more limited sexual repertoire. Its protective effect in sexual risk taking was small but relevant for the most religious youth.
{"title":"Multidimensional Latent Religiosity Profiles and Sexual Behaviors in Late Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood","authors":"Sandra Sevic, Ivan Landripet, Aleksandar Štulhofer","doi":"10.1111/jssr.12939","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12939","url":null,"abstract":"Studies assessing the relationship between religiosity and sexual behaviors in youth are limited by their use of single‐aspect measures of religiosity, assumption of linearity, and focus on coital behaviors. This study assessed how multidimensional latent profiles of religiosity were associated both with sexual risk behaviors and noncoital sex. Data were gathered using a national sample of emerging adults in Croatia (<jats:italic>N</jats:italic> = 1,210; <jats:italic>M</jats:italic><jats:sub>age</jats:sub> = 21.74, 48.0 percent female). Latent profile analysis provided a three‐profile model as the most robust solution, differentiating among the low, moderate, and high religiosity groups. The gradient pattern (differences among all profiles) was observed only in the association between religiosity and the frequency of masturbation and experiencing oral sex. The relationship between religiosity and other sexual behaviors either was nonlinear or not found. Overall, religiosity was associated with a more limited sexual repertoire. Its protective effect in sexual risk taking was small but relevant for the most religious youth.","PeriodicalId":51390,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion","volume":"191 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142196798","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}
{"title":"RACE AND THE POWER OF SERMONS ON AMERICAN POLITICS. By R.Khari Brown, Ronald E.Brown, and James S.Jackson. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2021. xii + 167 pp. $70.00 hardcover, $54.95 ebook.","authors":"CHASE PORTER","doi":"10.1111/jssr.12938","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12938","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51390,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion","volume":"42 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142196799","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}
This study asserts that the secularization theory has the potential to offer insights into the processes of social change experienced by faith groups outside the modern West. The study focuses on the transformation undergone by Alevi groups in Turkey, who are now experiencing a more modern way of life compared to their past. In this qualitative study, data collection was conducted through semistructured interviews during field studies in the cities of Çorum (Turk Alevis) and Tunceli/Dersim (Zaza/Kurd Alevis). Based on the interview findings, the study concludes that the new Alevi generation leads a more modern and at the same time more secular daily life compared to their parents. Therefore, the main assertion of this research is that the classical secularization theory has the potential to provide valuable insights not only for modern societies where Christianity is dominant but also for understanding the transformations occurring within Alevi communities in Turkey.
{"title":"Can the Scope of Secularization Theory Be Expanded Beyond the Modern‐Christian‐West? Exploring the Alevi Experience in Turkey","authors":"Volkan Ertit","doi":"10.1111/jssr.12937","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12937","url":null,"abstract":"This study asserts that the secularization theory has the potential to offer insights into the processes of social change experienced by faith groups outside the modern West. The study focuses on the transformation undergone by Alevi groups in Turkey, who are now experiencing a more modern way of life compared to their past. In this qualitative study, data collection was conducted through semistructured interviews during field studies in the cities of Çorum (Turk Alevis) and Tunceli/Dersim (Zaza/Kurd Alevis). Based on the interview findings, the study concludes that the new Alevi generation leads a more modern and at the same time more secular daily life compared to their parents. Therefore, the main assertion of this research is that the classical secularization theory has the potential to provide valuable insights not only for modern societies where Christianity is dominant but also for understanding the transformations occurring within Alevi communities in Turkey.","PeriodicalId":51390,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141949111","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}
Migration is a prevalent social concern in the Middle East/North Africa. In addition to emigration, the countries struggle to incorporate immigrant and transiting populations. This article examines the influence of ethnodoxy—the linking of Arab and Muslim identity—on public opinion on immigrants and migration in the MENA region. Using original surveys of Egyptian and Moroccan Muslims from February and May–June 2023, it shows the more ethnodoxic respondents are, the more likely they are to hold anti‐immigrant views. These results are consistent with the principle that social identity complexity encourages tolerance and change acceptance. Thus, this study contributes to the growing literature on comparative race and ethnic politics and to the understanding of religion's role in political attitude formation.
{"title":"Ethnodoxy and Immigration Attitudes in the Middle East/North Africa","authors":"Hannah M. Ridge","doi":"10.1111/jssr.12935","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12935","url":null,"abstract":"Migration is a prevalent social concern in the Middle East/North Africa. In addition to emigration, the countries struggle to incorporate immigrant and transiting populations. This article examines the influence of ethnodoxy—the linking of Arab and Muslim identity—on public opinion on immigrants and migration in the MENA region. Using original surveys of Egyptian and Moroccan Muslims from February and May–June 2023, it shows the more ethnodoxic respondents are, the more likely they are to hold anti‐immigrant views. These results are consistent with the principle that social identity complexity encourages tolerance and change acceptance. Thus, this study contributes to the growing literature on comparative race and ethnic politics and to the understanding of religion's role in political attitude formation.","PeriodicalId":51390,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion","volume":"205 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141612957","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}
Blake Victor Kent, Laura Upenieks, Daniel Y. Jang, Christopher G. Ellison, Bradley R.E. Wright
Most studies of religious service attendance and emotional well‐being are only capable of evaluating “trait” aspects of religious attendance, or long‐term patterns and habits that form an attendance routine. Methodological limitations make it difficult to capture the immediate (i.e., “state”) effects of attending a specific religious worship service. Using the SoulPulse Study, a 2‐week microlongitudinal study consisting of two daily cell phone surveys, we move beyond this limitation by examining trait attendance, state attendance, and the interaction of the two on 10 emotional/affective outcome variables. We find that both state attendance and trait attendance are associated with well‐being, though state attendance performs more consistently across the 10 positive and negative emotion items. Leveraging Iannaccone's concept of “religious capital,” we present evidence in state × trait interaction models that only those who have high trait levels of attendance are able to capture the emotional benefit of state attendance. This study informs the broader literature on religious attendance and well‐being by providing evidence that religious attendance can be considered a “practice” that must first be internalized as a set of familiar routines prior to being activated for personal well‐being.
{"title":"“See You Sunday?” Effects of Attending a Specific Weekend Religious Service on Emotional Well‐Being: A State/Trait Analysis of the SoulPulse Study","authors":"Blake Victor Kent, Laura Upenieks, Daniel Y. Jang, Christopher G. Ellison, Bradley R.E. Wright","doi":"10.1111/jssr.12934","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12934","url":null,"abstract":"Most studies of religious service attendance and emotional well‐being are only capable of evaluating “trait” aspects of religious attendance, or long‐term patterns and habits that form an attendance routine. Methodological limitations make it difficult to capture the immediate (i.e., “state”) effects of attending a specific religious worship service. Using the SoulPulse Study, a 2‐week microlongitudinal study consisting of two daily cell phone surveys, we move beyond this limitation by examining trait attendance, state attendance, and the interaction of the two on 10 emotional/affective outcome variables. We find that both state attendance and trait attendance are associated with well‐being, though state attendance performs more consistently across the 10 positive and negative emotion items. Leveraging Iannaccone's concept of “religious capital,” we present evidence in state <jats:italic>×</jats:italic> trait interaction models that only those who have high trait levels of attendance are able to capture the emotional benefit of state attendance. This study informs the broader literature on religious attendance and well‐being by providing evidence that religious attendance can be considered a “practice” that must first be internalized as a set of familiar routines prior to being activated for personal well‐being.","PeriodicalId":51390,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion","volume":"70 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141502217","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}
The racial diversity of churches has been a longstanding topic of interest in the social science of religion. Studies have historically found low levels of racial diversity within churches—but some evidence suggests that diversification is increasing. However, past research has not addressed racial segregation in another significant setting: church attendees’ home neighborhoods. Our article illustrates how large‐scale location data collected from smartphones can estimate the average racial demographics of where church attendees live. Our findings show that church attendees in Omaha, Nebraska—especially those attending Evangelical Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Mainline Protestant churches—live in more homogenously white census blocks than the average census block in the city.
{"title":"Using Large‐Scale Location Data to Examine Racial Diversity and Segregation in Church Attendees’ Home Neighborhoods","authors":"Pierce Greenberg, Sabrina Danielsen, Ryan Wishart","doi":"10.1111/jssr.12936","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12936","url":null,"abstract":"The racial diversity of churches has been a longstanding topic of interest in the social science of religion. Studies have historically found low levels of racial diversity within churches—but some evidence suggests that diversification is increasing. However, past research has not addressed racial segregation in another significant setting: church attendees’ home neighborhoods. Our article illustrates how large‐scale location data collected from smartphones can estimate the average racial demographics of where church attendees live. Our findings show that church attendees in Omaha, Nebraska—especially those attending Evangelical Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Mainline Protestant churches—live in more homogenously white census blocks than the average census block in the city.","PeriodicalId":51390,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141502218","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}
{"title":"MASS OBSERVERS MAKING MEANING: RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY, AND ATHEISM IN LATE 20TH-CENTURY BRITAIN. By James Hinton. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2022 (hardcover), 2023 (Paperback). xii + 190 pp. £81.00 hardback, £26.09 papeback, £20.87 Ebook.","authors":"ROBERT DIXON","doi":"10.1111/jssr.12931","DOIUrl":"10.1111/jssr.12931","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51390,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion","volume":"63 3","pages":"767-768"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-06-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141369351","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}
Tomasz Besta, Michał Jaśkiewicz, Beata Pastwa‐Wojciechowska, Andrzej Piotrowski, Marcin Szulc
We aimed at exploring the interplay between fundamentalism and perception of group norms in predicting willingness to join radical group actions. We conducted three studies in two countries to examine the relationship between religious fundamentalism (RF), general religiosity, and support for radical actions on behalf of various social movements. Three studies (N1 = 305, N2 = 251, and N3 = 137) show positive relation between religious fundamentalism and willingness to engage in radical action in favor of the right‐wing and antivaccine movements. The significant interaction between RF and perception of group norms has also been found: RF was linked to radical action intention at the high level of radical group norms’ perception. We discussed possible explanations of these results and future avenues for research.
{"title":"Religious Fundamentalism and Perception of Group Norms as Predictors of Radical Action Intention","authors":"Tomasz Besta, Michał Jaśkiewicz, Beata Pastwa‐Wojciechowska, Andrzej Piotrowski, Marcin Szulc","doi":"10.1111/jssr.12924","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12924","url":null,"abstract":"We aimed at exploring the interplay between fundamentalism and perception of group norms in predicting willingness to join radical group actions. We conducted three studies in two countries to examine the relationship between religious fundamentalism (RF), general religiosity, and support for radical actions on behalf of various social movements. Three studies (<jats:italic>N</jats:italic><jats:sub>1</jats:sub> = 305, <jats:italic>N</jats:italic><jats:sub>2</jats:sub> = 251, and <jats:italic>N</jats:italic><jats:sub>3</jats:sub> = 137) show positive relation between religious fundamentalism and willingness to engage in radical action in favor of the right‐wing and antivaccine movements. The significant interaction between RF and perception of group norms has also been found: RF was linked to radical action intention at the high level of radical group norms’ perception. We discussed possible explanations of these results and future avenues for research.","PeriodicalId":51390,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2024-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140933931","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}