Weekly churchgoing amongst Roman Catholics in Britain: long-term trends and contemporary analysis

Declining communal religious practice in the form of regular churchgoing is a key area in the measurement and study of religious change and secularisation. The general trends in attendance in Britain have been well-researched. However, there has been less consideration of change and continuity in religious practice within different religious traditions. This article provides a detailed assessment of the trends in weekly churchgoing amongst Roman Catholics and then examines the socio-demographic factors associated with regular churchgoing. In long-term perspective, there has been a clear decline in weekly churchgoing amongst Catholics, corroborated by data across several recurrent social surveys. In terms of contemporary churchgoing, weekly attenders are more likely to be older, have higher socio-economic status and have children in the household. But, contrary to the well-established association between women and religiosity, there were no significant differences in weekly attendance between men and women, nor on the basis of ethnic background.     

Church Attendance and Religious Change in Italy, 1968–2010: A Multilevel Analysis of Pooled Datasets

The debate over religious change in Italy is far from having reached unanimous conclusions: some scholars point to an unbroken trend toward a decrease of religiosity, while others highlight the signs of a religious revival, especially in younger generations. Besides difficulties with definitions, different conclusions are also due to a lack of information over a sufficiently long period of time. This problem is tackled here by developing a pooled analysis of repeated cross‐section surveys that span over four decades. Using six different studies, the article analyzes the secularization trend in Italy on the basis of church attendance that, despite well‐founded criticism, continues to be a crucial indicator of this phenomenon. The results, estimated using multilevel models, show that the trend of attendance at Mass in Italy has decreased since the 1960s until today, despite a period of stability at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s. The overall trend looks like a “recumbent S” trend (decrease up to the 1970s, stability in the 1980s, decrease afterwards). Thus, the claims of a religious revival in Italy are not supported by our results.     

Identity Importance and the Overreporting of Religious Service Attendance: Multiple Imputation of Religious Attendance Using the American Time Use Study and the General Social Survey

The difference between religious service attendance measured using conventional surveys and time diaries has been attributed to identity processes; a high level of religious identity importance may prompt overreporting on a survey question. This article tests the hypothesized role of identity importance as an individual determinant of overreporting and the result of socially desirable behavior. A time diary measure of attendance (from the American Time Use Study 2003–2008) is imputed for conventional survey data (from the General Social Survey 2002–2008) using the multiple imputation for multiple studies procedure ( Gelman, King, and Liu 1998a ). Logistic regression models predicting self‐reported attendance and overreported attendance are estimated using identity importance as a key covariate and controlling for demographic variables associated with attendance. Identity importance is a strong predictor of both self‐reported and overreported attendance. Attendance, while a biased measure of actual behavior, may be a good indicator of religiosity.     

Financial strain and psychological well-being among the American and Japanese elderly.

Research in the United States indicates that stressful life events may create psychological distress among older adults by eroding their sense of personal control and by diminishing their feelings of self-worth. The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to replicate these findings with data provided by a recent nationwide survey of elderly people in the United States (N = 1,523) and (b) to compare these findings with results obtained from a nationwide survey of older adults in Japan (N = 1,517). The findings from both surveys are quite similar. The data indicate that financial strain tends to erode feelings of control and self-worth in both cultures, and the weakening of these personal resources in turn tends to increase depressive symptoms.     

Religion,Type A behavior,and health

In a study of air traffic controllers, religious differences are found in the way Type A behavior is associated with several health status indicators. Associations between the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS) and physical illness incidence, health-promotive behavior, diastolic and systolic blood pressure, subjective distress and impulse control problems, and alcohol consumption are examined by religious attendance, religious affiliation, and change in affiliation. Findings confirm that Type A does not vary significantly by religion. However, there are several significant findings between Type A and various health indicators. Type A is associated with illness incidence, overall and more strongly in several religion, subgroups. Type A and alcohol consumption are related positively in Protestants and converts, and negatively in churchgoing Catholics. Type A is related to impulse control problems in churchgoing Protestants and to subjective distress in churchgoing Catholics. Finally, in individuals with weak or no religious ties, Type A is associated with lower blood pressure. This last finding suggests that in some people (for example, the irreligious or unchurched), the coronary-prone behavior pattern may have cardiovascular effects which are salutary in at least one respect.The authors wish to thank Dr. Kyriakos S. Markides and Laura A. Ray for their assistance with this study. Address requests for reprints to Dr. Levin at the Institute of Gerontology, 300 North Ingalls, Ann Arbor, MI 48109.     

Assessing the Impact of a Paid Children,Youth, or Family Worker on Anglican Congregations in England

Drawing on the survey conducted by Christian Research and commissioned by the Youthscape Centre for Research and One Hope, this study examined the impact of a paid children, youth, or family worker on the weekly attendance of 5- to 18-year-old children within 786 Church of England churches with adult attendance ranging from 20 to 250 people. Nearly one-third of these churches had a paid children, youth, or family worker (N?=?259). The data demonstrated that on average the presence of a paid children, youth, or family worker added seven young people between the ages of 5 and 18 years to the total weekly Sunday attendance, after controlling for the weekly adult attendance figures.     

Identity as a Determinant of the Overreporting of Church Attendance in Canada

Recent work has demonstrated that Canadians overreport church attendance at rates similar to respondents in the United States. Overreporting in the United States has been attributed to the importance of religious identity; causes of Canadian overreporting have not been examined. This article draws upon Stryker's identity theory to explain why Canadian survey respondents overreport church attendance. The 2005 Canadian General Social Survey contains observed measures of attendance from both a conventional survey question and a time diary, allowing a direct and rigorous test of the identity explanation. Findings suggest that rates of Canadian overreporting, at about 50 percent, rival rates of overreporting in the United States. Moreover, like overreporting in the United States, Canadian overreporting may be affected by an identity process during the survey interview. Finally, implications for measuring religiosity in both countries are discussed.     

The Intergenerational Transmission of Churchgoing in England and Australia

The family is an important setting for the transmission of values and traditions, and parents have a significant influence on the religious involvement of their children. The family typically provides an initial religious identity and introduces children to religious beliefs, practices and a network of adherents. For both scholars and practitioners, the question of how religion does or does not come to be passed on in families is of crucial importance. In this study we use data from the 2001 International Congregational Life Survey to examine church attendance across three generations in England and Australia. In both England and Australia there is a strong tendency for couples to attend church together; they are making joint decisions and, when churchgoing is favored, encouraging each other in religious practice. The impact of two churchgoing parents on their children is considerably stronger than that of one alone. Our analysis shows that not only parental but also grandparental religious activity has a significant effect. While much of their influence simply results from the upbringing they gave their own children, a substantial proportion of it seems likely to be a direct, unmediated effect on grandchildren.     

Achievement motive,autonomous motivation,and attendance at fitness center: A longitudinal prospective study

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to test whether achievement motive, autonomous forms of exercise motivation (intrinsic motivation, identified regulation), and controlled forms of exercise motivation (introjected regulation, external regulation) would predict gym attendance over 30 consecutive weeks in a sample of new gym members.DesignA longitudinal prospective study with four distinct measurement occasions was employed. Psychological variables and gym attendance were assessed in the first, fourth, 15th, and 30th week after starting the membership.MethodParticipants were 229 new gym members. The implicit achievement motive was measured using the Picture Story Exercise. The explicit achievement motive and exercise motivations were measured with questionnaires. Gym attendance was obtained via self-reports and also recorded electronically. Multilevel growth modeling was used as the main analysis method.ResultsParticipants overestimated their self-reported gym attendance; the overall gap between self-reported and actual attendance was 39%. The achievement motive did not predict participants’ gym attendance over the 30-week period, neither for self-reported nor for actual. The effect of autonomous motivation was mixed. Intrinsic motivation predicted self-reported, but not actual, gym attendance over the 30-week period, whereas the evolution of intrinsic motivation was unrelated to gym attendance. Identified regulation was unrelated to gym attendance, but the increase in identified motivation over time positively predicted both self-reported and actual gym attendance. Controlled motivation was unrelated to gym attendance.ConclusionsContinuous and regular participation in an exercise program is more likely when individuals enjoy the program and consider it personally important.     

After Adversity Strikes: Predictions, Recollections and Reality Among People Experiencing the Onset of Adverse Circumstances

Numerous studies on affective forecasting have demonstrated that people frequently underestimate their ability to adapt to adverse circumstances. But to date, these studies have not assessed people’s affective forecasts early in the experience of these new circumstances. We present two longitudinal studies of people experiencing new adversities. In the first study 54 patients experiencing new limb amputations were recruited to participate in a mailed survey. Patients assessed their well-being, functioning and general health (1) two weeks after discharge from the hospital and (2) three months later. At the first time point patients also predicted their well-being, functioning and general health at three months. In the second study 55 patients experiencing new colostomies were recruited and received mailed surveys at three time points; (1) at baseline (within one week after leaving the hospital), (2) one month after baseline, and (3) seven months after baseline. Again we assessed their actual and predicted well-being, functioning and general health. In both studies the actual change was compared to the change expected by patients. Across both studies, patients expected to significantly improve on all three domains but reported little actual improvement. Together, these studies demonstrated that people with new disabilities overestimate hedonic adaptation—they expect their overall well-being to improve more than it actually does.     

Reliability of drug use responses in a longitudinal study

In a prospective longitudinal study of adolescents' drug use, the trustfulness of the self-reports about drug use was investigated by means of a test for logical consistency. A sample of 1936 high school students completed a written survey in the fall of 1987 and again in spring 1988, seven to eight months later. The findings indicate that the information obtained is logically consistent at one particular point in time. Analyses show, however, that the consistency drops somewhat over time. The legal drug use responses show the highest consistency, the answers regarding hard drugs like amphetamine and heroin show the least favourable consistency, with cannabis and inhalants somewhere in the middle. There seem to be two main reasons for the inconsistent answers: some respondents wilfully underreport their drug consumption. This seems partly to be a function of the level of illegality of the drug. However, poor memory and episodic uses of such drugs seem also to be important. Generally this study agrees with other studies and indicates an overall relatively high level of longitudinal consistency regarding drug use responses. This kind of survey must therefore be regarded as a relatively reliable instrument in collecting information regarding drug use.     

Getting a tool gives wings: overestimation of tool-related benefits in a motor imagery task and a decision task

Two experiments examine whether people overestimate the benefits provided by tool use in motor tasks. Participants had to move different quantities of objects by hand (two at a time) or with a tool (four at a time). The tool was not within reach so participants had to get it before moving the objects. In Experiment 1, the task was performed in a real and an imagined situation. In Experiment 2, participants had to decide for each quantity, whether they preferred moving the objects by hand or with the tool. Our findings indicated that people perceive tool actions as less costly in terms of movement time than they actually are (Experiment 1) and decide to use a tool even when it objectively provides less time-based benefits than using the hands (Experiment 2). Taken together, the data suggest that people overestimate the benefits provided by tool use.     

Modelling the effect of worship attendance and personal prayer on spiritual well-being among 9- to 11-year-old students attending Anglican church schools in Wales

This study employs a modified form of the Fisher 16-item Feeling Good, Living Life measure of spiritual well-being (assessing quality of relationships across four domains: self, family, nature and God) among a sample of 1,328 students drawn from year five and year six classes within Church in Wales primary schools, alongside measures of frequency of worship attendance and frequency of personal prayer. The data demonstrate frequency of personal prayer is a much stronger predictor than frequency of worship attendance in respect of spiritual well-being. This finding is consistent with the view that personal prayer is a key factor in the formation of individual spirituality.     

Social Involvement in Religious Institutions and God-Mediated Control Beliefs: A Longitudinal Investigation

This study examines the relationships among race, education, formal as well as informal involvement in the church, and God-mediated control. Formal involvement in the church was assessed by the frequency of attendance at worship services, Bible study groups, and prayer groups. Informal involvement was measured with an index of spiritual support provided by fellow church members. Data from a nationwide longitudinal survey of older people suggest that both formal and informal church involvement tend to sustain feelings of God-mediated control over time. The findings further reveal that compared to older whites, older African Americans are more likely to have stronger feelings of God-mediated control at the baseline survey and older blacks are more likely to sustain their sense of God-mediated control over time. In contrast, the data suggest that education is not significantly related to feelings of God-mediated control.     

Religion,Personality, and Well-being: The Relationship Between Church Attendance and Purpose in Life

A sample of 517 first-year, undergraduate students attending an Anglican College in Wales completed the Purpose-in-Life Scale (PILS) together with the short-form Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQR) and a measure of church attendance. After controlling for individual differences in personality, the data demonstrate a significant positive correlation between church attendance and scores on the PILS. A growing body of evidence indicates that attendance at religious services tends to promote the psychological wellbeing of college students.     

Effects of question format and collection mode on the accuracy of retrospective surveys of health risk behavior: a comparison with daily sexual activity diaries.

OBJECTIVE: To use prospective diaries to assess the effects of alternative survey question formats and data collection modes on the accuracy of retrospective self-reports of sexual behavior for the same time period. DESIGN: Over a 3-month period, 493 adults completed and returned by mail daily diaries of their sexual activities. Participants then returned to complete a retrospective survey of their sexual activities during the same 3-month time period. Participants were randomized to 1 of 6 retrospective experimental survey conditions that represented the combinations of 2 question formats (in aggregate and by partner) and 3 collection modes (paper questionnaire, computer-assisted self-interview [CASI], and audio-enhanced CASI). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Frequencies of sexual activities and condom use reported in surveys were compared with what participants had recorded in their prospective daily diaries. RESULTS: Relative to activity recorded in daily diaries, participants more often underreported than overreported (61% vs. 28%, p < .05) sexual behavior in retrospective surveys. Greater survey-to-diary consistency in reported behavior was achieved with by-partner question format (p < .032) and CASI collection modes (p < .05) used in surveys. However, median rates of error in survey-to-diary comparisons of reported behavior were as high as 40%. CONCLUSION: Even after refinements in survey question format and use of CASI techniques, there remained substantial error in participants' retrospective reports of sexual practices. These error rates may be comparable to, or even larger than, the expected effect size of some intervention studies. Further research is needed to improve the accuracy of sexual behavior reports.     

Assessing peer and parental influence on the religious attitudes and attendance of young churchgoers: exploring the Australian National Church Life Survey

Drawing on data from the 2011 Australian National Church Life Survey (NCLS), this study was designed to assess peer and parental influence on frequency of church attendance, attitude toward church, and attitude toward Christianity among a sample of 6256 young churchgoers between the ages of eight and 14 years, attending a range of denominations, including Catholic, Anglican, Uniting, Pentecostal, and other Protestant Churches. The data indicated the power of parental example on frequency of church attendance. Frequent attendance among young churchgoers occurred when both parents attend as well. Parental influence worked differently on shaping attitude toward church. The most positive attitude was found among young churchgoers who had the opportunity to talk about God with their parents and who did not feel that their parents made them go to church. Young churchgoers responded to parental encouragement better than to parental pressure. Although peer influence within the church did not make much contribution to frequency of attendance, it made a contribution to shaping positive attitude toward church.     

Sustaining churchgoing young Anglicans in England and Wales: Assessing influence of the home

ABSTRACT

Responding to the problem facing the Church of England, as identified by the Church Growth Research Programme, regarding sustaining churchgoing young Anglicans, and also responding to the Renewal and Reform agenda to address this problem, the present study discusses the roles of three agencies in delivering effective Christian education and Christian formation: local churches, local schools, and the home. Building on a fruitful stream of research within Australia and the UK, the present study drew on two samples of young Anglicans: 2,019 9- to 11-year-old students attending church primary schools in Wales, and 2,323 13- to 15-year-old students attending church secondary schools mainly in England. The data demonstrated that young Anglicans who practised their Anglican identity by attending church did so primarily because their parents were Anglican churchgoers. Moreover, young Anglican churchgoers were most likely to keep going to church if their churchgoing parents (especially mother) talked with them about their faith. The implications from these findings, for an Anglican Church strategy for ministry among children and young people, is that alongside resourcing local churches and promoting deeply Christian schools, it may also be wise for the Church to invest in the education and formation of churchgoing Anglican parents.     

Religion: Not declining but changing. What do the population censuses and surveys say about religion in Estonia?

Abstract

This paper investigates religious affiliation in Estonia, considered to be one of the most secularized countries in the world and in which less than one third of the population affiliates with a religion on population censuses. Firstly, the article scrutinizes these data methodologically, comparing census results with findings from other survey and opinion polls. It finds that census data correlate with those from face-to-face surveys, while postal surveys tend to show considerably higher rates of religiosity and affiliation. Secondly, the article considers the findings themselves. According to census data, 29 percent of the population remained religiously affiliated between 2000 and 2011. However, the census also captures interesting changes over that period that illuminate the situation further. Significantly, Estonia is the first European country in which the traditional majority church has been usurped by a denomination associated with the largest ethnic minority group and which makes a strong connection between cultural and national identities. The article places this finding in the context of Central and Eastern European census data to argue that religious affiliation tends to remain high in societies where religious and national or ethnic identities have close ties, whereas traditional denominations have been declining in societies where these kinds of connections are weak. This factor helps explain variation between experiences of religious change in post-Socialist contexts.