Religious Involvement and Political Behavior: a Log-linear Analysis of White Americans, 1952-1968*

The political distinctiveness of major American religious groupings is well-documented, but the role of church attendance in maintaining these cleavages has been unclear. Analysis of white respondents in five national surveys covering 16 years reveals that church attendance is significantly related to party identification and presidential vote in all but one instance. Application of Goodman's log-linear analysis of contingency tables shows that higher rates of church attendance are related to non-Democratic preferences among Protestants and Democratic preferences among Catholics. In several years, the relationship depends as well upon region of residence. The effects, particularly on the vote, seem to be changing systematically over time as the South becomes politically similar to the non-South.     

Religion and women's sex role traditionalism

The relationship between religion and sex role orientation is examined in a 1964 study of 4843 white, married, college graduate women. It was hypothesized that 1) women with different religious affiliations differ in their levels of sex role traditionalism, with Catholics and fundamental Protestants being the most traditional, followed by mainline Protestants, then Jews, and finally by the religiously unaffiliated, who are expected to be the least traditional, and 2) these differences can be explained by differences in social characteristics or degree of religious involvement. Sex role traditionalism was measured by asking respondents to identify with either a feminist (career-oriented) or traditional (family-oriented) viewpoint. Baptists and Catholics had the most traditional sex role attitudes, followed by fundamentalists, then mainline Protestants. Women with no religion and Jewish women were most likely to identify themselves as feminists. The relationship of socioeconomic characteristics and sex role attitudes was weak, while the degree of religious involvement seemed to have an independent effect on traditionalism. 2 factors limit the generalizability of study results. Research suggests that a convergence in fertility behavior between Protestants and Catholics has taken place since 1964, although the basic connection between family values and religion persists. Also, a sample of college graduate women is likely to overrepresent agnostics and athiests and underrepresent other unaffiliated individuals, as well as to be weighted toward the upper socioeconomic groups.     

Research Note: Religious Affiliation and Poverty Explanations: Individual,Structural, and Divine Causes

Abstract

Prior studies of people's explanations for poverty have relied upon individual, structural, and fatalistic explanations. This paper explores an additional explanation for poverty, divine intervention. Using a sample of 360 college students, I show that divine intervention is a distinct explanation for poverty. I then examine if or how six religious groups—conservative, African American, and mainline Protestants, Catholics, the nonaffiliated, and those with “other” beliefs—differ in their views of individual, structural, and divine explanations for poverty. Results show that members of conservative Protestant denominations are more individualistic than Catholics and the nonaffiliated. African American Protestants were significantly more structuralist than conservative Protestants. African American Protestants are more likely than conservative Protestants, and both are more likely than Catholics, the nonaffiliated, and those with “other” beliefs, to believe that divine intervention is an important explanation for poverty.     

Unbuckling the Bible Belt: A State-Level Analysis of Religious Factors and Google Searches for Porn

While the link between individual religious characteristics and pornography consumption is well established, relatively little research has considered how the wider religious context may influence pornography use. Exceptions in the literature to date have relied on relatively broad, subjective measures of religious commitment, largely ignoring issues of religious belonging, belief, or practice. This study moves the conversation forward by examining how a variety of state-level religious factors predict Google searches for the term porn, net of relevant sociodemog raphic and ideological controls. Our multivariate findings indicate that higher percentages of Evangelical Protestants, theists, and biblical literalists in a state predict higher frequencies of searching for porn, as do higher church attendance rates. Conversely, higher percentages of religiously unaffiliated persons in a state predict lower frequencies of searching for porn. Higher percentages of total religious adherents, Catholics, or mainline Protestants in a state are unrelated to searching for porn with controls in place. Contrary to recent research, our analyses also show that higher percentages of political conservatives in a state predicted lower frequencies of porn searches. Our findings support theories that more salient, traditional religious influences in a state may influence residents—whether religious or not—toward more covert sexual experiences.     

Religious Affiliation and Marital Duration Among Those Who File for Divorce in California, 1966-1971

A two percent random sample of couples filing for divorce in California from 1966 through 1971 provides the data base for this study of religious affiliation and duration of marriage to separation. Our goal is twofold: to test the hypothesis that religious affiliation is related to marital duration to separation in the divorcing population, and to examine the conditions under which this relationship holds by using elaboration analysis. Our findings are in the expected direction for the most part, namely, that the percentage of individuals whose marriages lasted five years or more before separation was higher for Jewish and slightly higher for other (Conservative) Protestants, than for the National Council Protestants (Liberal) or Roman Catholics or those reporting no religious affiliation. Thus religious affiliation does make some differences. In addition, this finding holds true for the most part when we controlled on a series of third variables to see what impact they had on the zero order relationship.     

Family Size and College Aspirations: A Note on Catholic-Protestant Differences

Data from a study of college aspirations among 40,000 Minnesota adolescents indicate that the relationship of family size to aspirations is somewhat higher among Protestants than Catholics. Overall aspirational differences between religious groups are minor. Further analysis suggests that these differences are probably not a function of financial capacities but rather of more basic socialization practices. The data are used to illustrate an alternative approach in analyzing the relevance of religion to contemporary society: examining processual differences between religious groups rather than concentrating only on outcomes–such as net differences in aspirations. The paper concludes by speculating that social process may be critical in distinguishing Protestants from Catholics but has generally been neglected in contemporary research on religion.     

The Ties That Divide: Bonding Social Capital,Religious Friendship Networks,and Political Tolerance among Evangelicals*

Previous research has overwhelmingly found that Evangelical Protestants are generally less tolerant of outsiders than those of other religious traditions such as Catholics or Mainline Protestants. Using data from the 2005 Baylor Religion Survey, I examine the extent to which political tolerance is related to a bonding type of social capital that is typical of Evangelical Protestantism. Findings support most of the previous research into the relationship between religion and political tolerance, and support the hypothesis that social embeddedness within one’s congregation predicts intolerance among Evangelical Protestants, but not among those of other religious traditions. Implications for research into religious friendship networks and their potential dysfunctions are discussed.     

Religion and Women's Sex Role Traditionalism

Abstract

The relationship between religion and sex role orientations is examined in a 1964 NORC sample of white, married college graduate women. The analysis finds substantial differences among religious groups. Baptists, Catholics, and fundamentalist Protestants have the most traditional sex role attitudes, followed by mainline Protestants, Jews, and religious “nones.” These differences are not explained by controls for social characteristics or religious involvement. It is argued that many of these differences would still exist in a contemporary, more representative sample. Some alternative explanations of the findings are discussed.     

An Assessment of the Determinants of Religious Participation*

Variations in patterns of church attendance are examined for a 1974 national sample of American Protestants and Catholics. Contrary to past results, socioeconomic status and alienation contribute little, but sociodemographic variables contribute more to the explained variance in church attendance. Region and sex affect church attendance more than education, occupation, or income. Religiosity and confidence in the clergy are the most important determinants of church attendance and together account for half of the total variance explained in church attendance.     

Policy Research and Politics: Some Inferences from the “Coleman Report” for the Policy Role of the Social Scientist

Abstract

The major objectives in this paper are to examine (1) the distribution of socioeconomic characteristics for Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, and (2) the processes of educational, occupational, and income attainment for each religious group. The analysis shows that Catholic and Protestant employed males are not appreciably different in their educational characteristics; however, occupational and income differences are more substantial. The Protestant-Catholic income differences, for example, represent about one-fifth of the mean Catholic income. The analysis also shows that the process of status attainment differs for Protestants and Catholics. The income returns to each additional year of schooling, for example, are higher for Protestants than for Catholics.     

Religious giving in the united states

Research on religious giving in the United States contains several important lessons. Denominations differ immensely in their giving levels, with conservative Protestants giving the most, liberal Protestants giving at moderate levels, and Catholics giving the least. Personal religious commitments and the level of one's disposable income are the main determinants, but, in addition, interpersonal factors produce a strong skew in the amounts given. Annual pledging and deliberate planning of giving have clear effects.     

Changes in Americans’ Views of Prayer and Reading the Bible in Public Schools: Time Periods,Birth Cohorts,and Religious Traditions

I use repeated cross‐sectional survey data spanning the years 1974 to 2010 to examine changes in Americans’ views of prayer and reading the Bible in public schools. Results from logistic regression models show that support for prayer and reading the Bible in public schools was relatively high in the 1970s and that differences between evangelical Protestants and both Catholics and mainline Protestants grew from the 1970s to the first decade of the twenty‐first century. Hierarchical age‐period‐cohort models demonstrate that changes in support for school prayer are due to both period and birth cohort changes, that baby boom cohorts are relatively likely to oppose prayer and reading the Bible in school, and that growing differences in support for prayer and reading the Bible in school between evangelical Protestants and both Catholics and mainline Protestants are predominantly due to changes across birth cohorts. Although religious liberals and conservatives have become more alike in many ways, evangelical Protestants have diverged from affiliates of other major religious traditions in their support for prayer in public schools. These results are relevant to debates regarding the social impact of religious affiliation, generational differences, and Americans’ views of the role of religion in the public sphere.     

Organized Religious Involvement and Mental Health Among Caribbean Black Adolescents

Though religion has been related to better mental health, the aspects of organized religious life most salient for the mental health of Caribbean Black adolescents in the US, beyond religious service attendance, has been understudied. This research utilized a sub-sample of Caribbean Black adolescents from the NSAL-A, a nationally representative U.S. dataset, to examine (1) the prevalence of organized religious involvement (e.g., participation in religious service activities, choice to attend religious services) and (2) the relationship between organized religious involvement and mental health. Results showed that 62 % of Caribbean Black adolescents attend religious services regularly (at least a few times a month) and 49 % or more attend religious services or participate in religious activities (e.g., youth groups) by choice. Additionally, various aspects of organized religious involvement were positively related to coping and self-esteem, and negatively related to depressive symptoms. Religious service attendance was not related to any of the mental health indicators. Study results can inform the development of individual and group level interventions targeted at supporting the mental health of Caribbean Black adolescents.     

Religion,Crime, and Social Trust in Historic Germany: Are Catholics More Inclined to Violate Social Norms than Protestants?

Are Catholics more inclined to violate social norms than Protestants? A tentative answer is yes due to this confession's attitude towards absolution of sins. Opportunities existed for Christians around Reformation times, for example as sales of indulgences. Catholics and Protestants arguably differed historically in their understanding of whether penitence is feasible or not, resulting in different conditions under which Catholics and Protestants decide in situations of social exchange. This is illustrated by ethical game theory and exemplified by historical data. The analysis points to the tentative suggestion that religious socialisation can affect social payoffs of crime and social trust in a long-term perspective.     

Minority Group Status and Self-evaluated Class*

Self-evaluated class status is shown to vary among white Protestants, Catholics, Jews, and black Protestants. Holding economic status constant, Jews are most likely to select the middle- (or upper-) class label, followed by white Protestants, white Catholics, and black Protestants. Thus, the independent effect of minority status on self-evaluated class status reinforces the ranking directly attributable to the economic levels of each of the four groups. Also, the congruence between self-identified class and objective economic status is closer among Jews and white Protestants than among white Catholics or black Protestants. The hypothesis that affiliation with a minority necessarily reduces class consciousness was, therefore, not supported.     

Religion and the environmental opinion in 22 countries: a comparative study

The objective is to test if religiosity affects environmental opinion in Europe. Using data from European Social Survey (ESS) 2002/2003, the study answers three questions. At the societal level: Is public opinion about the environment different in political systems with different Christian traditions? Is environmental concern less or higher in the public opinion depending on the degree of secularization in the political systems? At the individual level: Is the environmental opinion of the individual affected by the personal confession of faith, religious involvement, and the dominant religious context? At the societal level, the findings show stronger concern for the environment in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox countries than in Protestant countries. The tendency also shows a weakened concern for the environment in countries with a rather secular population. At the individual level, there are significant positive effects on environmental care from Catholic culture, negative effect from Protestant culture, and no effect from religious involvement.     

Polarization in Abortion Attitudes in U.S. Religious Traditions, 1972–1998

Studies have shown that attitudes toward abortion are polarizing. Yet, these studies have not focused upon what is often assumed to be the cause of polarization—religion. In this paper I find that polarization has increased between mainline and evangelical Protestants, as well as between black Protestants and both Catholics and white evangelicals. Moreover, I find that mainline Protestants and Catholics are internally polarizing. Finally, while I cannot determine the cause of the internal polarization of Catholics, the polarization within mainline Protestantism is caused by demographic changes. For white evangelicals, demographic changes have restrained polarization that would otherwise have occurred.     

Happily Religious: The Surprising Sources of Happiness Among Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual,and Transgender Adults

This article analyzes the impact of religion on reported levels of subjective well‐being (general happiness) among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) adults. Although previous studies find religious affiliation to be a significant predictor of subjective well‐being among the general population in the United States, limited quantitative research investigates general happiness among sexual and gender minorities. This study augments the existing literature by using a national survey of LGBT adults conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2013. The results show that religious affiliation is a significant predictor of LGBT individuals’ happiness. LGBT individuals who identify as Catholic, agnostic or atheist, or with no particular religious affiliation report lower levels of happiness compared to mainline Protestants. Surprisingly, no significant differences are found between mainline Protestants (whose church doctrine often accepts same‐sex relations) and evangelical Protestants (whose church doctrine often condemns same‐sex relations). In addition, income is the only control variable that affects general happiness. Our analysis reveals interesting differences in the determinants of subjective well‐being between the LGBT and general population.     

Intra-household arrangements: How important are they in terms of male-female subjective well-being?

This paper aims to analyze the impact of different intra-household arrangements, defined in terms of income pooling and decision-making responsibilities, on individual subjective well-being in a number of European countries. Using the EU-SILC 2010 module on intra-household sharing of resources and self-assessed health, as a dimension of subjective well-being, we find that the relationship between self-reported health and family arrangements differs by gender and area of decision. The results provide interesting insights on the potential determinants of individual self-assessed health that go beyond the standard ones. In particular, we identify higher levels of males’ and females’ self-assessed health connected to them controlling or sharing financial decisions. Moreover, males’ self-assessed health is positively linked to female making domestic decisions, and negatively if decisions are of financial type; whereas females’ self-assessed health is positively associated to them taking domestic decisions only in households where incomes are not fully pooled. Thus, our findings might be of help for politicians to design the most effective policies intended to improve individual standards of living and to reduce social inequalities.