The effects of religious contextual norms, structural constraints, and personal religiosity on abortion decisions

Researchers have established that individual religiosity influences abortion attitudes, and that abortion attitudes, in turn, shape abortion restrictions and access. Less clear is whether religion and abortion structural constraints influence abortion decisions. This study examines the several individual, contextual, and structural factors that could shape the abortion decisions of women who conceive before marriage. Special attention is given to the importance of academic aspirations and structural constraints, in contrast to religious beliefs and county religious context, for making an abortion decision. Hierarchical modeling techniques and two waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) are employed. Neither generic religiosity nor conservative Protestant religious context appear to influence women’s abortion decisions. Conversely, young women’s abortion decisions are shaped by academic ambition, identification with a conservative Protestant denomination, proximity to an abortion clinic and the level of public abortion funding in their county of residence.     

Exposure to science,perspectives on science and religion,and religious commitment in young adulthood

Social scientists know very little about the consequences of exposure to scientific knowledge and holding different perspectives on science and religion for individuals' religious lives. Drawing on secularization and post-secular theories, we develop and test several hypotheses about the relationships among exposure to scientific knowledge, perspectives on religion and science, and religious commitment using panel data from the National Study of Youth and Religion. Our findings indicate that religious faith is strongest among young adults who: (1) accommodate scientific knowledge into their religious perspective, or (2) reject scientific knowledge that directly contradicts their religious beliefs about the origins of the world. Young adults are also more likely to have lower religious commitment when they view science and religion as independent institutions, lending support to secularization ideas about how social differentiation secularizes individuals. We further find that mere exposure to scientific knowledge, in terms of majoring in biology or acknowledging conflict between the teachings of religion and science, is usually not sufficient to undermine religious commitment.     

Changing perceived importance of religion in mainland China, 1990–2012: An age-period- cohort analysis

The comprehensive social reform and relaxation of religious regulation in mainland China have encouraged scholars to propose a revival thesis of religion, predicting a rising prevalence of religious adherence in the Reform Era. This study extends the revival thesis by focusing attention on people's subjective religiosity, and investigates age, period, and cohort effects on the transition in perceived importance of religion from 1990 to 2012. Capitalizing on the repeated cross-sectional data of the China sample in the World Values Survey, this study shows that (1) The senior population, relative to the younger counterpart, attaches greater importance to religion. (2) The net period effect suggests that Chinese citizens' perceived importance of religion follows an upward trend by the early 2000s, but no significant growth is detected henceforward. (3) The cohorts who experienced the anti-religion Mao's Era in their adolescent life course stage have an evidently lower probability of viewing religion to be important, in relation to the cohorts of the Reform Era. Theoretical implications of the empirical age-period-cohort patterns for the religious economies theory and change of Chinese religious landscape are discussed.     

Changes in immigrants’ social integration during the stay in the host country: The case of non-western immigrants in the Netherlands

Previous studies on social integration of immigrants were predominantly of static nature. This article provides a dynamic account by distinguishing differences in social integration that develop shortly after immigrants’ arrival in the host country from changes with length of stay. We examine contacts in leisure time between natives and non-western immigrants in the Netherlands. Theories from research on ethnic intermarriage are applied to these more common forms of contact. We use pooled cross-sectional survey data from 1988–2002. The results show that on average social integration increases with length of stay. Ethnicity, migration motive and home country education account for differences in integration that develop shortly after arrival and are maintained or even increased with length of stay, while the size of the immigrant group matters mainly at entry and then loses its influence over time. Age at migration exclusively explains differences in social integration that develop with length of stay.     

Faith's wager: How religion deters gambling

The relationship between religion and gambling has only rarely been investigated in sociology and related fields. Prior studies have found that religion, broadly defined, deters gambling, with different religious traditions exhibiting varying degrees of deterrence. Our study, a quantitative analysis of a recent representative sample of U.S. adults, theorizes and tests how three different dimensions of religion affect three distinct forms of gambling. Religious tradition and religious service attendance are found to reduce the likelihood of casino gambling and lottery play; while religious salience is the only dimension that constrains online gambling. We argue that these findings reflect variation in the social visibility, time intensity, and broader legitimacy associated with gambling forms, and that this variation is crucial for understanding the deterring effects of faith.     

Friends’ religiosity and first sex

Researchers have established that individual religiosity influences sexual behavior and that religious support can increase consistency between personal religiosity and behavior. Researchers are less certain, however, of the effect that religious friendship networks have on sexual behavior. In addition, the effects of network characteristics such as density and one’s position in a social network have not been established. This paper uses a network subsample of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine the effect of friends’ religiosity on the probability of first sex. We find that friends’ religiosity has an independent influence on adolescent sexual behavior that is similar in magnitude to personal religiosity. We also find evidence that friends’ religiosity has the strongest influence on the sexual behavior of adolescents who are embedded in dense social networks, in which teens’ friends are also friends with one another. These results support the hypothesis that group influences depend on the degree of embeddedness within the network and highlight the importance of studying religion as a property of groups as well as individuals.     

宗教社会学新范式探究——以罗德尼·斯达克的宗教市场论为中心

近年来,随着在学术界展开的宗教研究的深入,对宗教的实证研究开始成为宗教学者们关心的热点问题.在国际的宗教社会学研究领域,同样发生了被称为具有“范式转变”意义的理性选择论或宗教市场论.其领军人物是罗德尼？斯达克（Rodney Stark）,他把理性选择理论贯彻到了宗教社会学的研究当中,并且在信仰者个体、宗教群体（组织）之间建构一种“宗教市场”,并作为其研究对象,注重实证资料的收集,为中国宗教社会科学研究提供了一个全面的、系统的新范式.     

Age, period, and cohort effects on religious activities and beliefs

Despite the theoretical emphasis on religious decline in modern societies, sociologists remain divided over trends in religious activity and belief that support or refute claims of religious decline. Much of this disagreement stems from the inability to distinguish between period and cohort effects when analyzing repeated cross-sectional survey data. I use the intrinsic estimator, a recently developed method of simultaneously estimating age, period, and cohort effects, to examine changes in Americans’ religious service attendance, prayer, belief in the afterlife, and biblical literalism. Results show that regular service attendance declines, predominantly across cohorts. There are also period- and cohort-based declines in biblical literalism and a cohort-based decline in prayer. Belief in the afterlife is relatively stable across periods and cohorts. These results provide mixed support for theories of religious decline, and they demonstrate the importance of differentiating between period and cohort effects on social change.     

宗教工作与新疆和谐社会的构建

在新疆,信教群众占总人口的半数以上,宗教与民族、周边环境等问题紧密交织,做好宗教工作,关系到新疆稳定发展的全局及新疆和谐社会的构建。从理论层面和历史经验看,宗教对和谐社会的构建都具有突出的两重性;但从实践层面看,宗教对构建和谐社会的作用,既取决于宗教界的政治立场,更取决于政府政策的取向及管理、引导的水平。促使宗教参与和谐社会的构建,应遵循党的宗教工作方针,紧密结合新疆实际,稳妥处理当前宗教工作中面临的诸多热点问题,引导宗教界为全面建设小康社会贡献聪明才智,走文化宗教之路,使宗教朝着更加理性、宽容和适应时代进步潮流的方向发展。     

论宗教对英语的影响

宗教信仰是一种社会意识形态,是人类社会发展到一定阶段的产物,它渗入到人们生活的各个方面,并给予深刻影响。宗教对语言也有极大的影响。本文主要通过宗教与语言的相互关系,探讨宗教对英语的影响,以及英语语言的宗教色彩。     

宗教情怀与人文理性——论许地山的儒教观

许地山是20世纪初期较早从现代意义上对"儒"及儒教进行宏观审视的学者之一。依许地山,儒在源起上不应止于所谓的"殷民宗教者"而应推设到更为久远的史前时期。原初的儒,本身具有进一步转化成教门的潜能,社会的光景、师儒之职、加之"《书》的理想"促使儒的名号自孔子之后逐渐演变为一种特殊的教义,而儒教正统地位的确立、神学化儒教的生成也有其自身的情势和客观的缘由;作为"伦教运动"的儒教比作为"神教运动"的儒教更合乎情理,故儒教在未来若欲成为一"新宗教",必定要有"社会灵魂",能切实抓住生活的根源,也还要在人群上寻求"更高的联络";现代儒家若能"谋诸宗教的沟通",用"宋儒的精神"以整理儒教的旧教义,就能使之成为一"高尚的宗教"。许地山的儒教观是其宗教情怀与人文理性精神的集中体现,对于儒学的现代开展具有十分重要的提示意义。     

Education and fertility decline in China during transitional times: A cohort approach

We examine the effect of education on birth outcomes in China during the period of economic transition and large-scale changes in mass education and population control measures. Retrospective micro data from the 2008 Chinese General Social Survey and discrete time event history analysis are used to examine the fertility history of several cohorts of women born between 1945 and 1968. We observed births at different parities, distinguishing the education effect across cohorts and rural/urban sectors. We found differences across cohorts consistent with unique features of the Chinese context, such as the radical egalitarian era of educational expansion, and the Reform Era. We also found that despite the increase in some education levels across cohorts (e.g., junior high school in rural areas), birth chances were more likely to be concentrated among less educated women, suggesting the impact of factors related to returns to education and hence the desire for children.     

College for some to college for all: Social background, occupational expectations, and educational expectations over time

The educational expectations of 10th-graders have dramatically increased from 1980 to 2002. Their rise is attributable in part to the changing educational composition of students’ parents and related to the educational profiles of their expected occupations. Students whose parents have gone to college are more likely to attend college themselves, and students expect occupations that are more prestigious in 2002 than in 1980. The educational requirements of particular occupation categories have risen only slightly. These analyses also reveal that educational expectations in recent cohorts are more loosely linked to social background and occupational plans than they were in 1980. The declining importance of parents’ background and the decoupling of educational and occupational plans, in addition to a strong and significant effect of cohort on educational expectations, suggest that the expectation of four-year college attainment is indeed becoming the norm.     

巴哈伊信仰与现代性

巴哈伊信仰是一种新兴的现代性宗教,现代性特征几乎浸透到巴哈伊信仰的各个方面。它的现代性主要表现在宗教灵性的弱化和世俗性的增强、宗教仪式简化、宗教组织的民主化等方面。但是巴哈伊信仰本质上的宗教性特征并没有发生根本改变,它只是涂上了一层比传统宗教更为浓厚的现代性色彩。所以巴哈伊信仰的现代性又存在着尖锐的矛盾,它的现代性是不彻底的。这表现在它所提倡的宗教与科学有限度的和谐、妥协性的现代政治观、宗教经济制度的空想色彩等方面。巴哈伊信仰现代性的矛盾恰恰说明它是一种宗教而不是其他。它的现代性和宗教性二者之间存在着在量的选择上如何适当把握的问题。这种选择将决定着巴哈伊信仰未来的发展。从巴哈伊信仰的现代性所得到的启示是,现存的宗教要想发展,必须根据社会的需要,增强自身的现代性。     

Group size and secular endogamy among the religiously unaffiliated in Canada

High religious intermarriage among the religiously unaffiliated is usually interpreted as evidence of religion's minor importance for this group. Between 1981 and 2011, religious intermarriage among the unaffiliated in Canada declined from 38 percent to 21 percent, while the unaffiliated population tripled from 7 percent to 23 percent. This paper examines the role of demographic factors such as increased group size in decreased religious intermarriage among the unaffiliated. Using census and survey data, we estimate probit models of religious intermarriage for unaffiliated men and women. The models include individual and group-level characteristics. Results show that for both sexes, relative group size was the single largest contributor to decreased intermarriage. Increased group size allowed the expression of endogamous or within-group marital preferences among the unaffiliated. This secular endogamy, or preference for within-group marriage among the unaffiliated, represents an increasingly important form of religion-related marriage as the unaffiliated population grows.     

The ‘friendship dynamics of religion,’ or the ‘religious dynamics of friendship’? A social network analysis of adolescents who attend small schools

Longitudinal social network data on adolescents in seven schools are analyzed to reach a new understanding about how the personal and interpersonal social dimensions of adolescent religion intertwine together in small school settings. We primarily address two issues relevant to the sociology of religion and sociology in general: (1) social selection as a source of religious homophily and (2) friend socialization of religion. Analysis results are consistent with Collins’ interaction ritual chain theory, which stresses the social dimensions of religion, since network-religion autocorrelations are relatively substantial in magnitude and both selection and socialization mechanisms play key roles in generating them. Results suggest that socialization plays a stronger role than social selection in four of six religious outcomes, and that more religious youth are more cliquish. Implications for our understanding of the social context of religion, religious homophily, and the ways we model religious influence, as well as limitations and considerations for future research, are discussed.     

Ethnic intermarriage in longitudinal perspective: Testing structural and cultural explanations in the United States, 1880–2011

Focusing on macro-level processes, this article combines Decennial Census and Current Population Survey data to simultaneously test longitudinal and cross-sectional effects on ethnic intermarriage using structural and cultural explanations. Covering a 130 year period, the results of our multilevel analysis for 140 national-origin groups indicate that structural characteristics explain why some origin groups become more “open” over time while others remain relatively “closed”. Ethnic intermarriage is more likely to increase over time when the relative size of an immigrant group decreases, sex ratios grow more imbalanced, the origin group grows more diverse, the size of the third generation increases and social structural consolidation decreases. Cultural explanations also play a role suggesting that an origin group’s exogamous behavior in the past exerts long-term effects and exogamous practices increase over time when the prevalence of early marriage customs declines. For some of the discussed determinants of intermarriage, longitudinal and cross-sectional effects differ calling for a more careful theorizing and testing in terms of the level of analysis (e.g., longitudinal vs. cross-sectional).     

Growing educational differentials in the retreat from marriage among Korean men

Applying discrete-time hazard models to person-year data constructed from 1% microdata sample of 2010 Korean Census, we explore how men's education affects their transition to first marriage, and how the relationship between education and marriage has changed across three 10-year birth cohorts of Korean men born from 1946 to 1975. Drawing on Oppenheimer's theory of marriage and review of changing educational and economic contexts of Korean men, we develop a hypothesis on growing educational differentials in marriage. We find that the high educated delay marriage until later ages but catch up to the extent to which they are eventually more likely to marry than the low educated. There is a continued trend across cohorts toward the delay and avoidance of marriage at all educational levels. However, the trend of retreat from marriage has been more substantial for men with high school or less education compared to men with a university degree, leading to growing educational gaps over time in marriage. Among the three cohorts, the youngest cohort, among which low educated men's economic prospects have particularly deteriorated due to rapid educational expansion and economic crisis, shows most pronounced decline in marriage.     

Religiosity and reactions to terrorism

Although many of the world’s most serious outbreaks of conflict and violence center on religion, social science research has had relatively little to say about religion’s unique role in shaping individuals’ attitudes about these events. In this paper we investigate whether Americans’ religious beliefs play a central role in shaping attitudes toward the continuing threat of terrorism and their willingness to assist officials in countering these perceived threats. Our analysis of an original data collection of almost 1600 Americans shows that more religious respondents are more likely to express concerns about terrorism. However, this relationship is mediated by their level of conservatism. We also find that more religious respondents are more likely to claim that they will assist government officials in countering terrorism. This relationship remained even after accounting for conservatism, and people’s general willingness to help police solve crimes like breaking and entering.     

Religion and vulnerability among low-risk adolescents

Studies of resilient youth have documented the helpful influence of religion in their lives. In the absence of positive influences among high-risk youth, religion and religious organizations in particular often serve to promote prosocial outcomes. This study, on the other hand, investigates whether religion and religious change are comparably effective influences in reducing the vulnerability of low-risk youth to drinking, drug use, delinquency, problems in school, and poor grades. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study identified at least one influential aspect of religion that serves as a direct protective factor across each mode of vulnerability, and also documented indirect pathways of religious influence. We discuss the findings and consider the variable influence of religion on youth.