Going to church: attitudes to church attendance amongst Australian core Catholic youth

Religious communities have an obvious interest in passing on their beliefs and practices to future generations. Many traditional churches, however, report major difficulties in retaining the interest and involvement of adolescents. This study seeks to explore attitudes to a key indicator of traditional practice, church attendance, amongst Australian core Catholic youth (14–15 years of age). Fifty‐eight semi‐structured interviews were conducted with adolescents with a pre‐existing connection with parish communities. Most adolescents interviewed expressed either strong or weak familial pattern of church attendance and predicted a likely decrease in their future participation. This, coupled with the experience of older siblings' reported views about the significance of the Eucharist and a lack of supportive social networks either at school or in the wider community, suggests that many core Catholic adolescents are likely to become less involved in church life in the future.     

Factor analysis of attitudes toward abortion.

700 Ss rated the concept abortion on a series of bipolar adjectives. Factor analysis of the ratings suggested (a) that Ss judged the concept along four orthogonal dimensions, immoral-repelling, cruel-destructive, emotional-serious, and rational-impulsive and (b) that males and females had similar factor structures. Polarity analysis showed that abortion was seen as immoral, repelling, bad, cruel, destructive, ugly, sinful, emotional, serious, rational and impulsive. Although this is highly unfavorable compared to the results of previous research, it appears to represent a liberal trend.     

Humility attenuates negative attitudes and behaviors toward religious out-group members

Humility is marked by the regulation of selfish impulses for the sake of others, including holding a modest view of one’s beliefs (and their relative strengths and weaknesses). In three studies, we evaluated the extent to which humility attenuates negative attitudes, behavioral intentions, and behaviors toward religious out-group members. In Study 1 (N = 159), humility regarding religious beliefs was associated with positive attitudes toward religiously different individuals. In Study 2 (N = 149), relational and intellectual humility were associated with less aggressive behavioral intentions in a hypothetical situation in which their cherished beliefs were criticized. In Study 3 (N = 62), participants implicitly primed with humility administered significantly less hot sauce (a behavioral measure of aggression) to a religious out-group member who criticized their cherished views relative to participants in the neutral prime condition. We highlight the importance of humility in promoting positive attitudes and behaviors toward religious out-group members.     

Intrinsic religious motivation and attitudes toward death among the elderly

Forty-five males and females ages 65 and older completed the Intrinsic Religious Motivation Scale, a measure of faith development (based on Fowler, 1981), and two multidimensional measures of death anxiety (the Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale-Revised and the Multidimensional Fear of Death Scale). Individuals with intrin-sic religious motivation reported significantly lower levels of various types of death anxiety than did individuals with extrinsic religious motivation. No significant rela-tionships were found between stage of faith and attitudes toward death and dying.     

Firstborn preference and attitudes toward using sex selection technology

The authors investigated sex preferences for firstborn children and (a) pro- technology attitudes and willingness to use sex selection technology (SST) and (b) social conformity. College students (N = 469; 239 women, 230 men) answered demographic questions and questions on technology usage and personal preferences and completed a measure of conformity. Findings revealed a significant overall preference for firstborn males, a specific preference of potential SST users for firstborn sons, and a greater willingness of African American students, compared with White students, to use SST. No correlation was found between conformity and potential SST use. Logistic regression results suggested that protechnology attitudes may be predictive of firstborn preferences. Implications of the findings are discussed in relation to gender equality and population sex ratios.     

The impact of sex-role and religious attitudes upon forced marital intercourse norms

A mail survey of Texas residents indicated that norms against forced marital intercourse (FMI) were negatively associated with traditional sex-role attitudes and Judeo-Christian religiosity, but not related to identification with conservative religious denominations. Traditional sex-role attitudes were positively associated with both religious variables. These relationships support literature claiming that the perceived severity of FMI has been mitigated by a traditional patriarchal society and ideology and also support, to a lesser extent, literature suggesting that this patriarchy has been furthered by Judeo-Christian religions.     

Muslim attitudes toward religion,religious orientation and empathy among Pakistanis

Pakistani university students responded to the Muslim Attitudes towards Religion Scale (MARS) along with the Intrinsic, Extrinsic, and Quest Religious Orientation Scales and with measures of adaptive and maladaptive empathy. The MARS most importantly predicted higher Intrinsic Scale scores, and MARS linkages with empathy were at least partially explained by an intrinsic religious orientation. The Extrinsic–Social motivation was lower than the Intrinsic orientation, which in turn was lower that the Extrinsic–Personal form of commitment. Quest reflected a more Extrinsic religious orientation. Numerous gender differences appeared. Comparison with previous British, Iranian, Pakistani and American data illustrated how a well-established research perspective can promote insights into an under-examined religious tradition and how the analysis of an under-examined religious tradition can clarify and qualify a well-established research perspective.     

Indian college students' attitudes toward abortion in different contexts

Two experimental studies used the hypothetical situation of a pregnant woman (the stimulus person) considering the possibility of an abortion and obtained from Bombay college students estimates of the likelihood of an abortion and their own recommendations in favor of abortion. The first study had a 2 (subject's sex) × 2 (reason for abortion: unplanned child vs. female child) × 2 (person more in favor of abortion: stimulus person vs. her husband) × 3 (stimulus person's socioeconomic status: upper, middle, or lower class) factorial design with 15 subjects per cell. Male subjects indicated greater likelihood of abortion than female subjects. Recommendations were stronger for the unplanned rather than female child and for the lower class rather than upper and middle class stimulus persons. The second study had a 2 (subject's sex) × 3 (reason for abortion: unplanned marital pregnancy, premarital pregnancy, or rape pregnancy) × 3 (stimulus person's socioeconomic status: upper, middle, or lower class) factorial design with 15 subjects per cell. Perceived likelihood and strength of recommendation were highest for rape pregnancy followed by premarital pregnancy and marital pregnancy in that order. The interactions in this study suggested a greater vulnerability of the middle class as compared to the other two classes with respect to sexual morality.     

Demon or disorder: A survey of attitudes toward mental illness in the Christian church

The present study assessed the attitudes and beliefs that mentally ill Christians encountered when they seek counsel from the church. Participants (n?=?293) completed an anonymous online survey in relation to their interactions with the church. Analysis of the results found that while a majority of the mentally ill participants were accepted by the church, approximately 30% reported a negative interaction. Negative interactions included abandonment by the church, equating mental illness with the work of demons, and suggesting that the mental disorder was the result of personal sin. Analysis of the data by gender found that women were significantly more likely than men to have their mental illness dismissed by the church and/or be told not to take psychiatric medication. Given that a religious support system can play a vital role in recovery from serious mental disorders, these results suggest that continued education is needed to bring the Christian and mental health communities together.     

Correlations between attitude toward Christianity, prayer, and church attendance among 9- to 11-yr.-olds

Data provided by 150 9- to 11-yr.-old primary school pupils in England showed scores on the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity more highly correlated with (personal) prayer (r = .57) than with (public) church attendance (r = .23), providing support for the view that attitude scales access a deeper level of religiosity less contaminated by those contextual and social factors which may influence public church attendance more than personal prayer.     

Change in religious beliefs, parental pressure, and attitudes of college students toward higher education as related to religious fundamentalism

Men (n = 55) and women (n = 99) college students (M age = 22.3 yr., SD = 6.1, range 18 to 58 years), from a moderate-sized midwestern university reported attitudes toward the goals and purposes of higher education, perceptions of parental pressure and support, and change in religious beliefs. The Religious Fundamentalist Scale, the Quest Scale, Faith-keeping, and Obedience to Parents Scales were also administered. Students classified as religious fundamentalists had more negative attitudes toward the goals and purposes of higher education goals and toward faculty. An interaction of Sex x Fundamentalist Classification indicated that nonfundamentalist college men reported greater change in their religious beliefs, relative to other groups. Perceptions of parental pressure or support were unrelated to scores on fundamentalism. The implications of students' religious backgrounds in relation to academic success were discussed.     

The impact of consultant,consultee, and organizational variables on teacher attitudes toward consultation services

The current study investigated relationships between consultant, consultee, and organizational characteristics and teacher preferences for school-based consultation versus traditional referral services. Stepwise regression analysis revealed that principal initiating structure, number of years of teaching experience, and number of years teaching at the current school each made statistically significant, although weak, contributions to predicting teacher attitudes toward consultation. Initiating structure and number of years of teaching experience were negatively related to consultee preference for consultation, while years of teaching at the current school correlated positively.     

Changing patterns of religious affiliation,church attendance and marriage across five areas of Europe since the early 1980s: trends and associations

This study draws on three waves of the European Values Survey (conducted between 1981 and 1984, between 1989 and 1993, and between 1999 and 2004) across five countries for which full data are available (Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Spain, and Sweden) in order to address five research questions. Question one examined changes in religious affiliation. Across all five countries, the proportions of the non‐affiliated increased. Question two examined changes in church attendance. Across all five countries, the proportions of the non‐attenders increased. Question three examined changes in marital status. Across all five countries the proportions of the population checking the category ‘married’ declined, although in Spain the decline was marginal. Question four examined the association between religious affiliation and being married. The religious affiliated were more likely to be married than the non‐affiliated. Question five examined the association between church attendance and being married. Weekly attenders were more likely to be married than the non‐attenders. Overall these data support the close association between religion and marriage across five European countries (where there are very different religious climates) and support the hypothesis that changing religious values and changing family values go hand‐in‐hand.     

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.     

The role of STI-related attitudes on screening attendance in young adults

This study assessed whether attitudes towards STI screening, visiting a clinic and having an STI (STI stigma) predict STI screening attendance in young adults. Participants (N = 217) rated each of these attitudes and completed measures assessing their STI knowledge, past sexual behaviour and sexual health. STI stigma and having favourable attitudes towards STI screening positively predicted screening attendance. People were less likely to attend if they had a negative attitude towards visiting sexual health clinics. Researchers should assess attitudes towards the attitude object (screening), condition (STI stigma) and process (visiting a clinic) to understand the different ways that attitudes predict behaviour.