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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

End‐of‐Life Treatment Preferences Among Older Adults: An Assessment of Psychosocial Influences1

We explore the content and correlates of older adults’ end‐of‐life treatment preferences in two hypothetical terminal illness scenarios: severe physical pain with no cognitive impairment, and severe cognitive impairment with no physical pain. For each scenario, we assess whether participants would reject life‐prolonging treatment, accept treatment, or do not know their preferences. Using data from the 2004 wave of the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (N = 5,106), we estimate multinomial logistic regression models to evaluate whether treatment preferences are associated with direct experience with end‐of‐life issues, personal beliefs, health, and sociodemographic characteristics. Persons who have made formal end‐of‐life preparations, persons with no religious affiliation, mainline Protestants, and persons who are pessimistic about their own life expectancy are more likely to reject treatment in both scenarios. Women and persons who witnessed the painful death of a loved one are more likely to reject treatment in the cognitive impairment scenario only. Consistent with rational choice perspectives, our results suggest that individuals prefer treatments that they perceive to have highly probable desirable consequences for both self and family.     

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 INTERGENERATIONAL ASSISTANCE: Distinct Differences by Adult Children's Gender and Parent's Marital Status

Using data from a national and intergenerational survey in 1997, this study examines the link between religion and intergenerational assistance between parents and adult children. Two possibilities are tested. First, religion and assistance are positively associated because religion promotes general prosocial and helping beliefs and behaviors. Second, assistance is greater between parents and adult children who are religiously congruent because strong intergenerational relations are based on parent-child consensus on values and beliefs. The hypotheses are tested separately for continuously married and divorced parents, and interaction models are estimated to determine if the effect of religion varies between adult daughters and sons. Findings support the second argument—religious congruence is more important than individual religiosity in influencing intergenerational assistance. The link between religion and assistance is positive among continuously married parents and adult children, but religion has a mostly negative effect among divorced parents and adult children. Assistance is especially low when either the divorced parent or adult child or both are evangelical Protestants. The disparity in the findings may highlight the different religious and family philosophies of conservative versus mainline religions.     

Living in Sin? Religion and Cohabitation in Britain 1985–2005

Frequency of cohabitation among 13,703 adults from the British Social Attitudes data set for 1985–2005 peaked at around 26–30 years of age and increased significantly over the period of study. Cohabitation frequency was compared between those of no religious affiliation and Christian affiliates who (a) attended church at least once a month, (b) attended church but less than once a month, and (c) never attended church. Active Christians were 3.2 times less likely to cohabit than nonaffiliates, and rates of cohabitation have remained stable over time in this group. Christian affiliates who never attended church were 1.2 times less likely to cohabit than nonaffiliates, suggesting that even affiliation without attendance may indicate greater affinity to Christian moral attitudes compared with nonaffiliates.     

Multiracial Church Attendance and Support for Same‐Sex Romantic and Family Relationships

Research has found that attending a racially diverse congregation promotes more favorable attitudes toward interracial dating, marriage, and adoption, but does participation in an integrated faith community promote tolerance toward other non‐traditional romantic and family forms? This study examines the relationship between involvement in a racially diverse congregation and support for same‐sex romantic and family relationships. Data are taken from the 2005 Baylor Religion Survey. I fit logistic regression models to estimate the effect of attending a multiracial church on support for homosexuality, same‐sex marriage, and same‐sex adoption, net of sociodemographic and religious controls. Results indicate that persons who attend churches where between 25 and 75 percent of attendees are of another race are more likely to support gay sex, marriage, and adoption compared with those who attend more racially homogenous churches. This relationship generally holds when models are estimated for evangelicals and mainline Protestants separately, but not for Catholics. Findings suggest a link between religion‐based racial prejudice and heterosexism/homophobia and that increased exposure to racial diversity may promote a general tolerance toward non‐traditional romantic couples and families.     

A Nietzschean Perspective on Church Affiliation and Self-Esteem Among Same-Sex-Attracted Members of the Mormon Church

The conflict between self-identity and religious doctrine is underinvestigated in lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons. This article examines the association between religious affiliation and self-esteem in a sample of 150 same-sex-attracted current and former members of the Mormon Church and proposes a Nietzschean perspective for clinical social work in this population. Cross-sectional data were collected through a Web-based 18-item survey composed of the Mormon Affiliation Scale and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Analysis methods included univariate analysis using a Dunnett C post hoc test and Pearson correlation. We found a slightly positive association between ceasing church affiliation and improved self-esteem. Recommendations for practice and future research are discussed.     

The Influence of Religion on Latino Education,Marriage, and Social Views in the United States

ABSTRACT

This study analyzes the Hispanic Churches in American Public Life National Survey (n = 2,060) data set to examine the relationship between religious affiliation and commitment and education, marital status, and social views in the U.S. Latino community. The findings indicate that religious affiliation and high rates of religious participation and commitment are important factors that are positively and negatively related to Latino education, marriage, and social action. This study found a positive relationship between high rates of religious participation and commitment and high rates of marriage, social action, and conservative views on church–state relations and social issues like abortion and homosexual relations, but not on other social views like the death penalty and the ordination of women. In general, conservative religiosity (in this case Protestant Evangelicalism and Pentecostalism) is positively related to high rates of marriage and social action. However, the data also suggest that high rates of religious participation and commitment do not necessarily result in higher income and educational levels, although this may be due to the fact that many Latinos recently converted from Catholicism to Protestantism and thus have not had a chance to adopt and benefit from Protestant educational attitudes and resources.     

BONDING AND BRIDGING ACTIVITIES OF U.S. PENTECOSTALS

A growing body of literature weighs the influence of religion on civic life. Largely missing from prior analysis is Pentecostals. With novel religious beliefs and practices, Pentecostals might be expected to focus more on in-group bonding activities than out-group bridging activities. We test this expectation using national data from the 2005 Baylor Religion Survey. We contrast three measures of Pentecostalism: denominational affiliation, speaking in tongues at a place of worship, and self-described Pentecostal/charismatic identity. Results affirm high rates of bonding activity (church attendance and other congregation activity) for contemporary Pentecostals. Results for Pentecostal bridging are more complicated. People in Pentecostal denominations and those who speak in tongues participate less in community organizations and politics. However, this is more a function of social class and general conservatism than religious culture or sense of identity. Comparable to other conservative Protestants, the vitality of Pentecostal groups seems no impediment to democratic society.     

LGBT Religious Activism: Predicting State Variations in the Number of Metropolitan Community Churches, 1974–2000

Armstrong and Bernstein (2008) critique the emphasis movement scholars place upon activism within the formal political sphere, proposing, instead, a multi‐institutional approach which argues that protest can occur within any social institution and that the desired outcomes of activism can include cultural outcomes. The goal of this article is to expand the range of social movement targets studied through an examination of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activism within the institution of religion. In the United States, religion, particularly Christianity, is used as the primary justification for defining same‐sex sexuality as undesirable and denying LGBT individuals full citizenship. The LGBT community challenges these traditional Christian definitions of same‐sex sexuality in numerous ways, including through the creation of LGBT‐affirming congregations. I examine the development and spread of congregations affiliated with the United Federation of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), an LGBT‐affirmative denomination, across all 50 states from 1974 to 2000. Drawing upon organizational ecology, resource mobilization, political opportunity, and theories of religious switching, I find that the distribution of UFMCC congregations challenges the usefulness of traditional explanations for activism.     

THE IMPACT OF RACE ON DENOMINATIONAL VARIATIONS IN SOCIAL ATTITUDES: THE ISSUE AND ITS DIMENSIONS

Although the impact of religious affiliation on social attitudes is a popular research topic in the sociology of religion, few scholars have examined the role that race plays in this relationship. Moreover, studies that do explore the interplay of race and religious affiliation seldom move beyond the general categories of conservative, moderate, and liberal denominational families. Our research uses recent data from the General Social Surveys to compare the social attitudes of African Americans and their white counterparts within established designations of religious affiliation. Along with control variables, we include attitude measures for political tolerance, legalized abortion, gender equality, premarital sex, homosexual lifestyles, and extramarital sexual relations. Our analysis isolates levels of support for these attitudes within categories of race and religious affiliation to determine whether variations emerge and whether they are nested within specific issues, religious denominations, or reflect more general patterns of race differences.     

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.     

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.     

Religion, social mobility and education in Scotland

The relationship among religion, education and social mobility in Scotland is analysed statistically using the Scottish Household Survey of 2001 . The large sample size allows much greater statistical power for this purpose than any previous source, and thus allows a more reliable assessment of claims that the stratifying effect of religion in Scotland may have declined. The questions investigated are as follows. What are the religious differences in the distributions of class origins and class destinations, in the movement between these (absolute mobility), and in the association of these (relative mobility, or social fluidity)? Do changes in social fluidity across cohorts vary among people with different religious affiliation? Are there religious differences in the association of origins and education, in the association of education and destinations, or in the role of education in social fluidity, and do any of these vary over cohorts? The conclusions are that, in younger cohorts, there is no religious difference in social status, and that in older cohorts Catholics are generally of lower status than Protestants and the non‐religious. Social fluidity does not, however, vary among religious groups, even for older cohorts, and does not change over time. The reason for convergence in social status of religious groups over time is probably the equalizing of educational attainment among the groups: there is no evidence for any of the cohorts that the labour‐market rewards to education differ by religion.     

Family Relationships and Religious Identities of GLBQ Christians

ABSTRACT

Nonheterosexual individuals are half as likely as their heterosexual counterparts to report a religious identity. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and queer (GLBQ) emerging adults who maintain a religious identity and affiliation throughout their adolescent and young adult years challenge dominant narratives of sexuality and religion (Pew, 2012, 2013). This study contextualizes these demographic findings and considers their impact on family life and sexual identity. The authors present data from 11 qualitative interviews with GLBQ individuals between the ages of 20 and 25. Results are presented in a model describing how participants constructed a GLBQ Christian identity, and how they perceive the acceptance of their identities in both their families and church communities.     

Does Religion Make a Difference? Assessing the Effects of Christian Affiliation and Practice on Marital Solidarity and Divorce in Britain, 1985–2005

Frequency of divorce and separation among 15,714 adults from the British Social Attitudes data set for 1985–2005 peaked at around 50 years of age, and increased significantly over the period of study. Ratios of marital breakdown were compared between those of no religious affiliation and Christian affiliates with different levels of church attendance. Frequent Christian attendees were 1.5 times less likely to suffer marital breakdown than nonaffiliates, but there was no difference between nonattending Christian affiliates and those of no religion. Infrequent Christian attendees were 1.3 times less likely to suffer marital breakdown compared to nonaffiliates, suggesting that even infrequent church attendance might have some significance for predicting the persistence of marital solidarity.