Students' Attitudes Toward Religion

A study of the value structure of students investigates correlations of value hierarchies with religious/secular orientations and exposure to school curricula incorporating a course in Orthodox culture.     

College Students' Attitudes Toward Religion

Data on Russian students show that there is a large gap between declaring oneself a believer or identifying oneself with a religion and actually participating in it. Students are in favor of keeping religion and politics separate, and so in general show very weak support for recent statements about making Russian Orthodoxy the new state religion.     

Holy ABCs! The Impact of Religion on Attitudes about Education Policies

Objective . To examine the impact of religion on attitudes about three controversial education policies: creationism, school prayer, and vouchers. Methods . Using a unique, national survey of school board candidates that I undertook in 1998, I use regression analysis to examine which factors, especially religion, explain support for these three policies. Results . This study finds that conservative Christians are more likely to support such policies than mainline Protestants. Additionally, church attendance appears to have an amplifying effect on evangelicals with respect to support for these issues. By contract, those candidates with non-Judeo-Christian religious identifications have much lower levels of support for creationism and school prayer. However, conservative political ideology remains the strongest predictor of support for creationism, prayer in school, and vouchers. Conclusion . Religious beliefs, sometimes enhanced by church attendance, can have a powerful, direct effect on attitudes about creationism, school prayer, and vouchers among school board candidates. Demonstrating such a link becomes important when considering that school board members play a large role in shaping local education policy.     

Environmental Vulnerability in Public Perceptions and Attitudes: The Case of Israel's Urban Centers

Objective. This article investigates how urban environmental vulnerability to hazards reflects in the perceptions and attitudes of the public in three major cities in Israel: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa. Our central argument is that the differences between the residents' perceptions and attitudes toward environmental issues are related mostly to the actual hazard levels of their communities, whereas individual differences in socioeconomic characteristics are of lesser importance in this regard. Methods. The research was based on survey data of representative samples of the adult residents in the three cities. The differences in attitudes and perceptions among the three samples were statistically assessed by means of analysis of variance. Results. We found relatively strong and consistent relationships between actual environmental vulnerability to hazards in the three cities and their residents' attitudes toward environmental issues. The relationships with socioeconomic characteristics, such as education and income, were considerably weaker and less consistent. Conclusions. The results of this research indicate that environmental concern is not exclusive to groups and individuals characterized by postmaterialist values. Rather, the urban public in general is responsive to the environmental vulnerability of its community. This conclusion supports the argument that attitudes toward the environment are mainly affected by instrumental considerations of objective environmental problems rather than by subjective values.     

Public Opinion and Dynamic Representation in the American States: The Case of Environmental Attitudes*

Objective. We investigate causal processes linking environmental conditions, attitudes, and policies in the American states: Is public opinion about ecology shaped by environmental conditions? Are state policymakers responsive to environmental opinions? Does public opinion respond to policy adoption? Methods. Using public opinion data from the DDB Worldwide Life Style Survey to measure aggregate state attitudes about the environment, as well as measures of water quality and policy intervention, we capture the dynamics of representation in the American states on the environment during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Results. Our findings support a thermostatic model of representation—state environmental opinions are influenced by environmental conditions and are responsive to policy outputs alongside improved environmental conditions. Conclusions. This model of the opinion‐policy linkage refines our understanding of representation and focuses us not just on the passage of public policy to address public desires, but the effectiveness of that policy as well.     

The Practice of Religion in Australia

Nominally most Australians are christians, but fewer than one-third regularly attend church. Many privileges flow to christian churches and religious procedures are still imposed in some circumstances. It is commonly assumed that everyone has a religion, though it is doubtful whether the majority have any real belief. Australia should re-examine the place of religion in society.     

The Role of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work Practice: Views and Experiences of Social Workers and Students

Findings from surveys of qualified social work practitionersand students indicate a need for social work education and practiceto focus attention both on the importance of religious and spiritualbeliefs in the lives of many service users and on the potentialusefulness of religious and spiritual interventions. In thisBritish study, undertaken in 2003 and 2004, students were lesslikely than their qualified colleagues to consider religiousor spiritually sensitive interventions as appropriate. Attitudesvaried little between those students who held religious beliefsand those who did not, but Muslim students and qualified socialworkers were more likely to view these types of interventionsas appropriate. The authors conclude that there is a clear needfor all social work practitioners and educators to give greaterpriority to exploring the potential significance of religiousand spiritual beliefs in their training, in their professionalpractice and in the lives and perspectives of service usersand colleagues. Social workers need to be able to respond appropriatelyto the needs of all service users, including those for whomreligious and spiritual beliefs are crucial. ‘Culturallycompetent’ practice depends, amongst other things, onan understanding and appreciation of the impact of faith andbelief.     

Predictors of Posttraumatic Growth Among Adult Tsunami Survivors: The Role of Employment,Religion, and Family Attributes

ABSTRACT

This study examined the positive effects of trauma exposure among adult survivors of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and was guided by a bioecological framework. A total of 301 adults from India were assessed for posttraumatic growth and a set of demographic, individual, family, and social capital variables. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that religion, employment, family type, family flexibility, and family communication were significant predictors of posttraumatic growth. Contrary to expectations, individual factors and social capital did not contribute to posttraumatic growth. Findings imply that helping survivors make meaning out of their traumatic experience may facilitate posttraumatic growth. Intervention to promote increased employment opportunities and family resources is highly recommended for adult trauma survivors. Future trauma research should explore the role of perceived as well as actual familial and community resources, in addition to personal resources, in fostering posttraumatic growth.     

Environmental Attitudes in International Comparison: An Analysis of the ISSP Surveys 1993 and 2000*

Objective. The goal of this article is to compare the concern for the natural environment between the citizens of 26 countries that participated in the 2000 International Social Survey Program (ISSP) and to explain the differences. Prior studies (e.g., Dunlap, Gallup, and Gallup, 1993; Brechin, 1999 ) suggest that the increase of environmental concern is a global phenomenon. However, Inglehart (1995) , as well as Diekmann and Franzen (1999) , argue that the level of environmental concern and knowledge is highly correlated with GNP per capita. Method. The article analyzes new evidence obtained from the ISSP 2000 and compares it to the prior findings based on the ISSP 1993. Results. It is shown that citizens in wealthier nations express greater concern for the global condition of the environment than those in poorer countries. Conclusion. The new analysis of the ISSP 2000 confirms our original notion that support for global environmental protection is strongly correlated with wealth. However, the increase in real GDP between 1993 and 2000 did not lead to a further increase in environmental concern.     

Environmental Policy Attitudes: Issues,Geographical Scale,and Political Trust*

Objectives. This article examines environmental policy attitudes, focusing on the differences in preferences across issue type (i.e., pollution, resource preservation) and geographical scale (i.e., local, national, global). In addition, we study whether an individual's trust in government influences environmental policy attitudes. Methods. Analyzing data from the 2007 Cooperative Congressional Election Study, we estimate a series of OLS regression models to examine the public's environmental policy attitudes. Results. We find stronger public support for government action to address pollution issues than resources issues, and stronger support for local and national pollution abatement than dealing with global problems. We also find that Republicans and ideological conservatives are less likely to support further government effort to address the environment, and that more trusting individuals are more favorable to government action to address pollution and global issues. Conclusion. Environmental policy attitudes vary by the nature of the issue; however, political ideology and partisan affiliation are consistent predictors of preferences across issues, even when controlling for an individual's level of trust in government.     

Religion in School

It has become a banal statement (one that does not elicit objections) that we are living in "troubled" times. This is not the place to talk about the causes of such a situation; what we have to deal with here are the consequences. The breakdown of dogmas in the social consciousness in a period of instability is primarily a threat to young people. We are faced with the danger of producing a generation of "children of perestroika," who have lost their faith in everything and everyone, who are filled with negativism, total denial, and quiet desperation, who carry in themselves, at best, moral deafness and fierce egotism. The crisis of worldview in society may produce a generation of "lukewarm" people who are not capable of any personal or social creativity and service. At the same time, however, the crisis opens possibilities for a genuine rebirth of culture, for reactivation of the quest for "self" on the part of every person and of society as a whole. This active striving on the part of the healthy portion of young people must be met by today's intellectual elite with full knowledge and understanding of the situation, with a readiness and ability to satisfy the needs for a worldview of their fellow citizens, drawing upon all the values of our native and world culture. These needs must be truly satisfied, not by pumping out the latest current "lies" or by manufacturing the "most progressive doctrines of modern times" atthe request of this or that social body, because our society cannot stand to be deceived one more time.     

The Effects of Participation and Resources on Democratic Attitudes: Role of Social Capital in Four Latin and South American Countries

ABSTRACT

Social capital research in Latin and South American countries has been gravely limited by the absence of valid measures of social capital. This study seeks to create a scale for measuring social capital in the Latin and South American context using exploratory and confirmatory statistical procedures. It also seeks to test the effect of social capital on democratic attitudes in Latin America through structural equation modeling methods. Analysis of four countries in Latin and South America suggests that social capital is positively related to democratic attitudes. Recommendations for future studies are highlighted, and scale properties and outcomes are discussed.     

Ethnic Attitudes Among Minority and Majority Children: The Role of Ethnic Identification, Peer Group Victimization and Parents

This study examines the relative importance of key variables proposed by intergroup and social learning theories for understanding ethnic attitudes. The focus is on how ethnic identification, perceived parental attitudes and victimization by peers are related to ethnic attitudes. The sample includes Dutch (N = 295) and Turkish (N = 158) children (10–12 years of age) in the Netherlands. For both ethnic groups, stronger ethnic identification is related to more positive in‐group evaluation, and a higher degree of victimization relates to more negative out‐group evaluation. Furthermore, parental attitudes are related to out‐group evaluation. Higher perceived in‐group favoritism among parents was related to a less positive evaluation of the out‐group. In addition, Turkish parental attitudes turn out to be related to ethnic identification and in‐group evaluation. Further analyses suggest that the effect of perceived parental attitudes on children's group evaluations is not only due to projection. It is concluded that the study of ethnic attitudes among children should focus on group identification as well as on the social influences of parents and peers. Furthermore, it is important to distinguish between in‐group and out‐group aspects of ethnic attitudes and to include both majority and minority children.     

分组教学在《社区工作》课程中的应用研究

《社区工作》课程是社会工作专业的十大主干课程之一,如何上好本门课程,笔者进行了很多探索,本文在实验的基础上,主要分析了分组教学在《社区工作》课程教学中的意义,希望对其他课程的教学改革有所启发.     

Religion and Abortion Attitudes Among U.S. Hispanics: Findings from the 1990 Latino National Political Survey*

Objective. The goal of this article is to examine the relationship between religious involvement, gauged mainly in terms of affiliation and frequency of attendance at services, and abortion attitudes among three major Hispanic subgroups: Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cuban Americans. Method. The study analyzes data from the Latino National Political Survey, a sample of over 2,700 U.S. Hispanics completed in 1990. Results. Committed (i.e., regularly attending) Hispanic Protestants, most of whom belong to conservative groups, are more strongly pro‐life than any other segment of the Latino population, and are much more likely than others to support a total abortion ban. Committed Catholics also tend to hold pro‐life views, but they are relatively more likely to endorse an abortion ban that includes exceptions for rape, incest, and threats to the mother's life. Less devoted Catholics and Protestants generally do not differ from religiously unaffiliated Hispanics in their abortion views. There are also modest variations in the links between religious involvement and abortion attitudes across the three Latino subgroups. Conclusion. Religious factors are highly important predictors of Hispanics' preferences regarding abortion policies. Contrary to some previous discussions, it is committed Protestants, more so than Catholics, who are the staunchest opponents of abortion in the Latino population.