Religion and Giving in Australia

This article draws on a household survey of giving and volunteering undertaken as part of the Giving Australia project to explore the relationship between religion and the giving behaviour of adult Australians. We find that people who identify themselves as having a religion are more likely to give and to give more on average than people who do not but that this relationship is produced by a subset of this group; namely, people who regularly attend religious services. Indeed, the likelihood of giving and average amounts given by givers over a year increase with levels of attendance at religious services. The relationship holds even after allowing for other factors that affect the likelihood of a person giving and the amount given. It also holds for giving to nonreligious causes (ie when giving to religion is omitted). However, when we also omit giving to charities and look at giving to civic causes alone we find that the frequency of attendance at religious services has an ambiguous relationship with giving. A suggestion in overseas literature that it is participation in religious groups, rather than attendance at religious services that is associated with giving is not supported.     

“宗教礼物论”的可能性：礼物与宗教的内在联系

本文认为，“宗教礼物论”是一个具有潜力的理论视角，它以莫斯等人的礼物理论为基础，探讨宗教现象及其与社会的关系。本文在述评现有文献的基础上，探讨礼物与宗教的内在关系，进而分析礼物理论与宗教社会学的亲和性。文章认为：首先，礼物与宗教是双向关联的，两者相辅相成，不仅宗教现象中蕴含着礼物逻辑，而且宗教为礼物的内在价值提供了神圣性的基础；其次，礼物和宗教都与社会团结的法则直接关联，这一点体现在两者共通的自愿式义务性上，两者既融合了情感性联系和工具性联系，也融合了相互性伦理和等级性伦理；最后，“宗教礼物论”的优势最可能体现在对宗教之“非自主选择性”的分析上，而它的潜在挑战则主要在应对社会变迁与价值倾向上。     

Religious diversity and social policy: an Australian dilemma

The increase in religious diversity produced by the global movement of people and cultures and the proliferation of internal difference within religious communities raises social policy issues. Consideration of these issues is facilitated by understanding that religious groups intersect with social policy in four basic ways: as objects, sources, critics and implementers of policy. A major issue is the challenge societies face in respecting freedoms of religion and belief on the one hand and providing services to all citizens on the other. Resolving these issues requires an awareness of the religious profile of a society and sensitivity to its religious diversity and to the ways services are delivered. Research into the current status of freedom of religion and belief in Australia is used as a case study to identify issues and potential ways to address them. This research reveals that there is a lack of mechanisms for considering and resolving these issues.     

Faith and Politics: The Influence of Religious Beliefs on Political Participation*

Objective. The relationship between religion and political participation has not been rigorously investigated, typically employing only basic measures of church attendance or denomination. In this study, we utilize precise measures of various religious behaviors, traditions, and beliefs to examine their influence on political participation. Methods. Using data from the Baylor Religion Survey 2005, we demonstrate that merely including measures of church attendance or denomination camouflages much of religion's influence on political participation. Results. We find that religious beliefs are significantly related to national political participation. For religious activities, identifying with a religious tradition reduces participation, but participation in church activities increases political participation. Conclusion. Different types of religious beliefs influence political participation differently. Although some macro religious beliefs significantly increase macro political behavior, believers in an involved God are less likely to participate politically. Individualistic, micro beliefs have no affect on national politics. Thus, the scope of the religious belief fits with the scope of the political activity, in that more macro concerns translate to national political participation.     

Risk aversion and religion

We use a dataset for a demographically representative sample of the Dutch population that contains a revealed preference risk attitude measure, as well as detailed information about participants’ religious background, to study three issues. First, we find strong confirmatory evidence that more religious people, as measured by church membership or attendance, are more risk averse with regard to financial risks. Second, we obtain some evidence that Protestants are more risk averse than Catholics in such tasks. Third, our data suggest that the link between risk aversion and religion is driven by social aspects of church membership, rather than by religious beliefs themselves.     

对宗教组织之信任的探索性研究——以上海数据为例

本文利用上海市的调查数据,从宗教归属、人口学变量、社会经济地位因素、社会信任、社会参与和其他机构信任等方面对宗教组织信任进行分析,了解人们对宗教组织信任的现状及影响因素,并对相关的研究进行回应。结果显示,与对其它机构的信任相比,民众对宗教组织的信任处于一个较低水平;宗教归属、社会信任、组织参与和对世俗机构的信任对宗教组织信任的影响最大;阶层、社会参与也有一定的影响;性别、年龄、受教育程度和政治面貌等无影响。     

宗教信仰选择：一个西方宗教经济学的文献梳理

本文在回顾归纳国外宗教经济学相关理论和经验成果的基础上,建立了“供给-需求”分析框架。笔者认为,既有宗教经济学理论主要从供给和需求两个角度来解释信仰选择的作用机制。宗教市场理论从供给出发,认为宗教市场结构是宗教信仰的重要决定因素;宗教社会资本理论、宗教家庭生产模型、宗教人力资本模型和宗教事后保障模型则从需求角度出发,分别强调社会网络的人际依恋、宗教参与的机会成本、宗教产品的生产效率和宗教组织的公共物品供给因素等在宗教信仰选择方面发挥的影响。改革开放以来中国社会宗教信仰领域发生了极大的变化,引入宗教经济学视野一方面能为考察分析当今中国宗教信仰现状及推动其理论发展带来相应的契机,另一方面应考虑中国与西方社会之间的差异以及特殊性,对该视野的运用要有所甄别。     

差序格局下的宗教信仰和信任——基于中国十城市的经验数据

目前学界对宗教与信任关系的研究尚未达成一致意见。基于中国10个城市的调查数据,本研究分析了宗教信仰对社会化信任、一般化信任和差序格局结构中不同半径群体信任的影响。研究发现,1.宗教对信任尤其是社会化信任具有显著的正向影响;2.宗教对信任的影响随着差序格局半径的增加而增加;3.宗教对信任的作用机制主要是信仰效应而非组织效应,此发现部分解释了宗教与信任关系研究结论的矛盾性。     

Religious affiliation and beliefs about racial inequality: White college students’ attitudes about Black-White and Native American-White inequality

Is religious affiliation associated with attitudes about racial inequality? While prior research has explored the relationship between religion and attitudes about Black-White inequality, studies exploring attitudes towards Native Americans are rare. Our study is the first to explore the association between religion and attitudes about Native American-White inequality. We find that religious subcultural differences do exist as Catholics, Protestants, and those with no religious affiliation tend to use different explanations for racial inequality, although the relationship between religious affiliation and attitudes is similar regardless of whether African Americans or Native Americans are the target. We also find that across religious groups there is a greater tendency to use person-centered or individual explanations for Native American-White inequality and structural explanations for Black-White inequality. We argue that consistent findings for the association of religious affiliation and attitudes for different racial groups provide support for the presence of religion specific cultural toolkits.     

涂尔干的宗教社会学

涂尔干的宗教研究是他的社会学方法在宗教学领域的运用。他通过分析澳大利亚土著的图腾制度对宗教的起源做了社会学的解释 ,认为宗教是集体表象的反映 ,图腾的本原是外在于氏族成员的宗教力。他对宗教问题的研究反映了他的社会学准则和基本方法。他的宗教研究是他的社会学理论的组成部分。虽然他受到了宗教学内部的许多批评 ,但是对于中国宗教学的发展仍然有着重要的意义     

现代宗教是理性选择的吗:质疑宗教的理性选择研究范式

本文在关注宗教社会学理论如何给现代社会的宗教现象以合理的解释的同时,对运用理性选择理论解释现代宗教的取向提出商榷。尽管理性选择理论非常强势,号称有相当普遍的解释力,但本文还是试图对以理性选择理论来解释现代社会宗教的有效性提出质疑,认为 “宗教经济”范式中的宗教市场的“供方”与“求方”是理解宗教的错误逻辑,在工具理性和价值理性两个重要概念中有相互混淆和偷换之嫌。本文最后指出,目前仅以宗教市场理论研究中国宗教具有一定的危险性,必须谨慎地使用。     

Comparative study of attitudes to religious groups in New Zealand reveals Muslim-specific prejudice

ABSTRACT

The March 15th terrorist attack started a national dialogue about prejudice in New Zealand. Previous research has investigated attitudes towards Muslims in comparison to ethnic minorities. However, presently, there are no nationally representative studies in New Zealand systematically comparing attitudes to Muslims with attitudes to other religious groups. Here, we present evidence from the New Zealand edition of the International Social Survey Programme module on religion, a national postal survey (N?=?1335) collected between September 2018 and February 2019. We assess perceived threat and negativity towards Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, and Atheists. We find substantially greater perceived threat and negativity towards Muslims compared with other groups. In particular, older people, New Zealand Europeans, men, and those with more right-wing attitudes report greater threat and negativity towards Muslims. In line with previous studies, higher religious identification and higher education predict greater acceptance. Taken collectively, these results reveal that the Muslim Acceptance Gap in this country is substantial, and greater challenges for acceptance are evident among lower-educated, right-wing, older, secular, and male populations. The magnitude of this gap reveals a substantial challenge to the future of New Zealand where religious and secular people can live without evoking prejudice.     

Religious involvement and group identification: The case of Hispanics in the United States

This study examines the link between religious involvement and racial group identification among Hispanics in the United States. Relying on the multifaceted nature of religious involvement, this study focuses on five dimensions of religious involvement—church attendance, prayer, the importance one places on religion, one's belief in God's love, and religious affiliation. Using the data from the Panel Study of American Religion and Ethnicity (1st wave, 2006), this study employs regression analysis. The results show that, among the five dimensions of religious involvement, only church attendance has a significant effect on racial group identification; Hispanics who frequently attend church are more likely to identify with Hispanics. This study suggests that church attendance increases Hispanics’ group identification for two reasons: first, because of the formation of Hispanic-oriented churches; and second, because of the intense interaction among Hispanics within their church communities.     

宗教与美国的外交政策

由美国核心文化WASP和"公民宗教"所塑造的美国国家特质中的宗教性,尤其是强烈的宗教认同感和宗教信仰在其社会生活中的重要地位,使得宗教的影响力相比别国而言更容易渗透到美国外交政策中。宗教价值观念是"美国例外论"和"天命观"的主要根源,在外交政策上表现为"威尔逊主义"外交理念,进而对美国外交决策者的外交思维和外交行为造成影响,并形成对外输出民主价值观念的政策偏好。国内宗教团体利用广泛的社会资本,通过民主的渠道,将自身的政策主张上升到外交决策中并影响美国对外关系的议事日程。传教士利用自身对对象国的了解,为外交决策者提供情报,并有可能受邀参与决策过程从而影响外交决策。     

Do the regulatory standards require religious literacy of U.K. health and social care professionals?

Health and social care professionals need sufficient religious literacy in order to handle the complexities of religious beliefs and practices, including the growing numbers who identify with other belief systems and those who claim to identify with no religion. The extent to which the need for religious literacy has been formalized was examined in an analysis of regulatory frameworks for health and social care professionals in the United Kingdom. Although all but one of the regulators make some reference to religion and beliefs, they are silent on the question as to what is meant by religion and beliefs. Some standards include a requirement not to impose one's own beliefs on others, but there is very little requirement to develop a reflective and self‐critical awareness of one's own stance. Likewise, some standards refer to knowledge and skills required, but greater specificity is required for these to be meaningful.     

诸神之争的再阐释:一个社会学的结构视角

世俗化及逆世俗化范式的对立其实蕴含着更大的连续性,即如何理解宗教多元主义背后的诸神之争,总的来说,韦伯之后那些解释宗教变迁的理论范式均未突破韦伯对宗教的比较研究范畴,难以在当前复杂而多元的文化环境下为个人提供总体指导,但是二者共同揭露了诸神之争条件下西方宗教工具理性和价值理性交互作用所促成的理性化的动力机制,即西方宗教维护自身价值理性的方式从中世纪教会主导的政治性垄断过渡到现代性条件下宗教多元主义的市场化竞争。     

国家规制与宗教组织的发展: 中国佛教的政教关系史的制度分析

政教关系是中国宗教的重要议题。本文基于佛教史的内容,从历史比较的角度梳理了围绕着佛教僧团制度建设与组织发展的有关问题,藉由僧团戒律与度牒制度之间的某种对立与比较,认为戒律作为一种组织和认同机制,体现了僧团自治的努力;通过对中华帝国的传统的宗教治理策略之一的度牒制的原由、作用及本质的分析,认为这一规制措施在本质上体现了政治凌驾于宗教之上的权威地位,但却在实施过程中成为寻租和逐利的工具。通过历史经验的比较,认为宗教组织的纪律、原则等有可能成为社会组织化的机制,指出政教关系的基点在于宗教组织的自治特性与能力,这应当成为国家的宗教治理的前提。     

因病信教农民的宗教心理及其演变:试论把握“信念”概念对理解中国农村宗教实践的启示

本文通过对苏北望村基督徒因病信教现象的考察,关注信教农民的宗教心理及其演变。用"信念"来把握农民"信"的起点心理,它蕴含了个体面临生命困境时寻求宗教帮助并对之赋以期许的自然心态和家庭伦理。"信念"的宗教建构、"信念"的情感嵌入以及"信仰"要求三个宗教操演环节促使个体心理的由俗入圣。基于原有病型及其疗效基础上的个体与宗教间的互动,信徒发生了信念坍塌、信念过渡和信仰升级三种类型的心理分化。"信念"操演与分化构成了农民宗教心理演变的机理,也形塑了农民的信仰方式。文章进一步探讨"信念"对于理解中国农村宗教实践中的个体宗教心理、宗教皈信、宗教复兴等议题所具有的启发。     

从类型学到动态研究：兼论信仰的流动

自从杨庆堃提出“混合宗教”与“制度化宗教”概念之后,类型学建构成为华人宗教研究的主流。本文尝试进行视角的转换,用“基于类型学基础上的动态研究”来分析华人社会中信仰的流动。该视角一方面强调类型学的重要性,认为在研究中国宗教时有必要对“灵”、“义”等本土概念予以社会科学化;另一方面它强调揭示类型之间的联系与变化,将静态的类型学考察转化为动态分析。本文认为,动态的视角有助于关照到被类型学忽略的过程以及隐匿于其中的趋势,继而发展诸多经典理论,即研究神灵的流动有助于理解“神灵的诞生与竞争”,研究信徒的流动可以丰富“改教”理论,对宗教组织流动的研究则可以拓宽“教派-教会”理论的视野。     

Religious freedom and gender equality in India

After India gained independence in 1947, the country's leaders promised its diverse constituents citizenship rights that extended across religion, gender, and caste. Distinct from its previous British rule, India's constitutional law guarantees citizens the right to religious freedom and associated cultural practices, and prohibits gender and caste‐based discrimination. However, in ensuring freedom of religion, the constitution also effectively affirms gender inequality through patriarchal religious and cultural practices. This article examines how the constitutional rights of religious freedom and gender equality have been negotiated among each other in contemporary Indian society. I draw upon three landmark Indian Supreme Court cases that navigate the terrain of affirming both women's civic rights and religious freedom. Findings suggest that the Supreme Court is working toward a more inclusive definition of citizenship, particularly one which supports women's civic rights within the context of religious personal law.