Religiosity,Gender, and Natural Disasters: A Qualitative Study of Disaster-Stricken Regions in Iran

While religiosity is emerging as one of the more important subjects in disaster management, identifying gender differences in using religion as a coping method has attracted very little attention. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of religiosity on disaster-affected women and men in the setting of Iran. A field-based investigation using a qualitative approach was carried out to achieve the study’s purpose. Data were collected using in-depth unstructured interviews with 25 participants who had been damaged by recent disasters. Two themes, negative and positive effects of religiosity, and five categories were extracted from the data. Women may be influenced by religion more than men, and thus, they can play key roles in strengthening the positive effects of religiosity.     

Gendered Religiosity

This study uses measures of cognitive and expressive aspects of gender as a social identity from the General Social Survey to examine whether and how they relate to religiosity. I find that religiosity is clearly gendered, but in different ways for women and men. Consistent with the feminine-typing of religion in the Christian-majority context of the United States, gender expression is linked with more religiousness among women but not men. Consistent with religion being a sometimes patriarchal institution, those with more pride in being men are more religious. I conclude that religiosity is gendered, that degendering and secularization processes could go hand-in-hand, and that future research on gender differences in religiosity should further examine variation among women and among men.     

Religiosity and Subjective Wellbeing in Canada

Using the Canadian Ethnic Diversity Survey, I explore how religiosity associates with self-reported levels of wellbeing. The overall association of religious intensity with subjective wellbeing is found to be statistically significant, positive and small. When the impact is allowed to vary by religious group, it appears that Catholics and Protestants are very similar in how religiosity impacts their subjective wellbeing; the association is statistically significantly stronger for Canadian Muslims; and Canadian Jews are the closest group to religious nones. Surprisingly, among different dimensions of religious commitment, the intensity of religious belief is found to be the driver of the overall positive association, across religious groups. Finally, when Canadian population is divided into linguistic groups, religious involvement emerges as a negative predictor of French Canadians’ subjective wellbeing.     

Existential Confrontation and Religiosity

Recent research suggests that religious intrinsicness should predict a failure to confront existential problems whereas an interactional orientation should promote the opposite influence. This study, however, demonstrated that intrinsicness is associated only with traditional religious resolutions of such difficulties and that the interactional approach is essentially unrelated to confrontation with existential realities. These data therefore failed to support claims that orthodox, intrinsic individuals are rigid in their approach to the basic existential questions of life; the data also illustrated the importance of differentiating thought content from thought process in analyzing religious influences on psychological functioning.     

Religiosity and Economic Development in Singapore

This paper examines religiosity in modern and industrialized Singapore. Several theories argue that economic development brings about secularization and the general decline of personal religiosity in modern and industrialized societies. Using data gathered from the World Values Survey-Singapore (2002) as well as data from other sources, this article finds that Singaporeans are not very secularized; they are religious (religion is important in people's lives); they have a high level of belief in (metaphysical) religious aspects; and they fulfill their religious obligations and activities. The main reasons for this apparent lack of secularization are, firstly, that religion is deeply embedded in Singapore society; secondly, that the state has both directly and indirectly promoted religion; and thirdly, that a process of religious rationalization has taken place.     

Religiosity and Cancer Screening

Churches have been suggested as avenues to reach African-American populations with messages about health because of their strong participation in church activities. Membership in several religious denominations has been associated with healthy lifestyle practices that are associated with lower cancer-incidence rates and better coping strategies among cancer patients. Among African-American women, however, belief in God as their doctor might preempt seeking treatment for cancer. The goal of the present study was to examine the influence of church participation and religious beliefs on the utilization of breast and cervical cancer screening among low-income, predominantly African-American women. A cohort consisting of 290 women was surveyed at baseline and one year later to determine the association between screening rates in the past year and measures of religiosity. The majority of women were members of a church (88%), with fairly regular church attendance (51% reported weekly attendance), and strong beliefs regarding God's influence on their health (e.g. 88% agreed that God was their doctor). Church attendance was the only religious variable related to screening frequency in univariate analyses, with those reporting attending church 1–3 times per month more likely to receive mammography screening (p = .013). Churches can provide avenues to reach African-American women about cancer screening; strong religious beliefs do not, however, appear to keep women from receiving regular screening exams.     

Religiosity and Marital Satisfaction

This study examined the association between religiosity and marital satisfaction among first-married and remarried adults. Seven hundred and eighty-seven heterosexually married adults from the Flanders region in Belgium completed the Maudsley Marital Questionnaire (MMQ) and a four-item religiosity scale, measuring marital satisfaction and religiosity respectively. This study found the effect of gender and marital status statistically significant (p < .0001) on religiosity. For marital satisfaction, the effect of gender and marital status statistically significant only for MMQ-S (p < .0001) and MMQ-M (p < .0001) respectively. Religiosity had a significant positive correlation (r = .19, p < .0001) with sexual-adjustment problems (MMQ-S). The ultimate aim of this study was to inform marital and relational therapists the value of a possible association religiosity has on marital satisfaction.This study was conducted at the Institute for the Family and Sexuality Sciences, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, as part of doctoral research.     

Religiosity and coping with loneliness

Loneliness is a universal experience which transcends age, sex, geography, and culture. Religion, and often one's religiosity, are known to affect one's approach to life, behaviour, and social involvement. The present, preliminary study aimed to explore whether coping with loneliness is influenced by one's religious observance. The present study focused on Israeli Jews. 250 participants identified themselves as Secular, Conservative, or Orthodox, by answering a 34-item yes/no questionnaire on loneliness. The three groups statistically significantly differed in their manner of coping with loneliness only on the Religion and Faith subscale, as hypothesized. Similar studies with people of other religious denominations could further highlight that issue.     

Religiosity in Christian Educational Leadership

This study investigated the primary leadership orientations of Christian school leaders and their association with religiosity. To this end, this study adopted two lines of thought and research; the religiosity theory proposed by Batson, Schoenrade, and Ventis (1993) and the leadership theory proposed by Bolman and Deal (1997). Participants of this study were 206 K-12 school leaders affiliated with a Protestant church in the United States. According to the analysis, the human resource frame was the primary leadership frame of the school leaders, and the structural frame was a close second. Quest religiosity was inversely related to the four frames of structural, human resource, political, and symbolic leadership, whereas intrinsic and extrinsic religious orientations were positively related to the frames. Despite this pattern of relationship, in general, the analysis found little statistically meaningful relationship between religiosity and leadership, and this fact engenders an important question whether or not religion has any impact on Christian education, leadership, and behavior.     

Religiosity and obsessive-compulsive behavior in Israeli Jews

Individual differences in obsessive-compulsive (OC) behavior in various cultures correlate with religiosity. The current paper explored the so far unstudied relationship between religiosity and OC behavior in Israeli Jews. Two studies were conducted. Study 1 focused on the relationship between religiosity and OC behavior in a representative sample of Israeli students. Study 2 focused on religious change and OC behavior in a non-random sample of 31 individuals who had become more religious (the MR group), and 30 individuals who were less religious (the LR group) than their parents. Instruments used were the Maudsley obsessive-compulsive inventory (MOCI), the student religiosity questionnaire, and questions about parental home observance, upbringing, and changes in religiosity. In the first study, no association was found between religiosity and OC behavior. Religiosity was related to some degree to perfectionism and to the parental attitude to upbringing. In the second study, a significant difference was observed between the MR and the LR groups on OC behavior as measured by the MOCI. Conclusion, among Israeli Jews a lot of religious observance is non-reflective, and is not associated with individual differences in personality or OC symptoms. Those who undergo religious change may do so in response to their behavioral propensities. One such path is that the more OC become MR, and the less OC less religiously observant.     

Religiosity, self-control, and antisocial behavior: Religiosity as a promotive and protective factor

Three hypotheses with the potential to provide information on the role of religiosity as a promotive and protective factor in early adolescence were tested. Adolescents (N = 166, M age = 13 years, 49% female, 49% European American, 45% African American) and mothers reported their own personal importance of religion and the frequency of their attendance of religious services. Greater mother importance and attendance was associated with greater adolescent importance and attendance. Mother importance was indirectly linked to adolescent antisocial behavior through adolescent importance. Less adolescent importance and attendance were associated with low self-control and low self-control was associated with more antisocial and rule-breaking behavior. Adolescent importance also moderated the links between low self-control and antisocial and rule-breaking behavior such that low levels of self-control were more strongly associated with more antisocial and rule-breaking behavior among adolescents reporting low religious importance compared to adolescents reporting high religious importance.     

The Effects of Religiosity on Psychopathology in Emerging Adults: Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Religiosity

Recent research has suggested that religion may play an important role in determining mental health. Although research has examined the effects of religiosity on specific types of psychopathology, less research has examined psychopathology broadly in the context of particular aspects of religion. Thus, the current study examined intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity and a range of psychopathology in 486 emerging adult college students. Results of a MANOVA indicated a main effect for intrinsic religiosity on a range of psychopathology and an interaction effect between intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity on antisocial personality problems. Implications and limitations of the current study are discussed.     

Religiosity and self-destructive crises in the institutionalized elderly

The relationship of religiosity to self-destructive behavior has largely been considered in terms of the impact of religious affiliation, or church membership, on rates of suicide for various geographical populations. This study departs from that approach and focuses instead on the relationship of intensity of religious commitment to the use of indirect life-threatening behavior (ILTB) among elderly, chronically ill hospital patients. A rating scale to measure the occurrence of ILTB was developed and administered to a sample of 58 patients in a Veterans Administration hospital. Findings for this sample indicate that intensity of religious commitment is a potentially more meaningful measure of religiosity than is formal church membership, that intensity of religious commitment tends to vary inversely with the extent of ILTB observed for the patient, and that "stigma avoidance" may play a role in the tendency for certain religious affiliates to make more extensive use of ILTB.     

Religiosity and unmarried black adolescent fatherhood

This paper examines the relationship between religiosity and unmarried adolescent fatherhood in a select population of unwed black adolescent fathers and their counterparts. The results indicated that the fathers did not differ so much from the nonfathers in the degree that they are religiously oriented but in the manner that they give expression to their religious involvement. The fathers were more likely to be responsive to nongroup modes of institutionalized religion, i.e., media forms; whereas the nonfathers religious involvement was likely to be within institutionalized groups.     

Religiosity and HIV risk behaviors in African-American students

The participants were 256 African-American students between the ages of 18 and 25, from two historically Black universities. The purpose of this study was to see how dimensions of religiosity and spirituality influenced the HIV risk behavior in African-American college students. Each participant completed the Expressions of Spirituality Inventory (ESI) and a survey of sexual attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. The data were analyzed using a series of ANOVAs, t tests, and correlations. The results from the study confirmed that there was a relationship between religiosity/spirituality and one's tendency to engage in HIV risk behaviors in the population of African-American college students. Interestingly, this study was able to reveal that traditional indicators of religiosity, such as association and church attendance, were not predictors of any of the risky sexual behaviors or attitudes. The portions of religiosity with the greatest impact on these behaviors were the Experiential/Phenomenological, the Existential Well-being, and the Cognitive dimensions, with high scores on each indicative of less likelihood of engaging in risky sexual behaviors.     

The Relationship Between Religiosity and Narcissism

Intrinsic religiosity correlated negatively and specifically with the maladaptive exploitiveness dimension of narcissism. Data are discussed in terms of the contemporary controversy regarding humanistic-theistic values.     

Religiosity and psychological distress among blacks

The influence of religion on mental well-being has been the subject of controversy for a long while. Yet little is known about this relationship among black Americans. Using a probability-based sample of 451 urban black Americans, this study examines gender differences in religiosity and explores the ramifications for mental health. Findings indicate that females are more religious than males as evidenced by their greater participation in organizational forms of religious practice such as meetings and other gatherings. However, for both males and females, religiosity varied significantly by age and by marital and parental status. On the other hand, there were no differences in religiosity according to levels of education, income, and employment status for either males or females. With regard to mental health, greater religiosity was associated with fewer depressive symptoms for both males and females. Further, in the event of stressful circumstances, the influence of religion on mental well-being for females was direct, while religious involvement appeared to have an indirect or stress- buffering effect for males.     

Religion,Religiosity, and Happiness

The effect of religion on happiness in the United States is examined. Particular attention is given to the direct effect of religion on attending religious services and the indirect effect on happiness. The key results include Catholic, Jewish, and no religion having negative effects on happiness relative to Protestants. Data from the National Opinion Research Center’s “General Social Survey” are used.     

Spirituality and Religiosity in Urban Adolescents with Asthma

Predictors of multiple dimensions of spirituality/religiosity (S/R) and adolescents’ preferences for having S/R (e.g., prayer) addressed in hypothetical medical settings were assessed in a sample of urban adolescents with asthma. Of the 151 adolescents (mean age = 15.8, 60% female, 85% African-American), 81% said that they were religious and spiritual, 58% attended religious services in the past month, and 49% prayed daily. In multivariable models, African-American race/ethnicity and having a religious preference were associated with higher levels of S/R (R ² = 0.07–0.25, P < .05). Adolescents’ preferences for including S/R in the medical setting increased with the severity of the clinical situation (P < .05).