Religious Fundamentalism and Religious Orientation Among the Greek Orthodox

The experimenters explored how religious fundamentalism related with religious orientation, irrational thinking, and immature defense mechanisms. They also explored the possible moderational role of the Big 5 personality factors. The participants were predominantly Greek Orthodox College students from a Cypriot University. The experimenters employed a cross-sectional design and required participants to complete a series of self-report measures. Religious fundamentalism significantly predicted irrational thinking. Intrinsic and personal extrinsic religious orientations significantly predicted religious fundamentalism. The results provide support for the idea that the more dogmatically one holds their religious beliefs, the more likely they are to think irrationally.     

Exploring Relationship Between Spiritual Intelligence,Religiosity and Life Satisfaction Among Elderly Pakistani Muslims

This study is an effort to explore the relationship between spiritual intelligence, religiosity and life satisfaction in elderly Pakistani Muslims. A non-probability purposive sampling technique is utilized in order to recruit a sample of 100 elderly people (n = 50 men; n = 50 = women). Standardized questionnaires were used for collecting data. Data analysis was carried out using Pearson product–moment correlation analysis and independent sample t test. Findings revealed a significant correlation between spiritual intelligence, religiosity and life satisfaction among Pakistani elderly Muslim people. Gender differences were considered while conducting the study, and findings are valid for both male and female elderly Pakistani Muslims. Some findings of this study endorse findings of some previous studies, and it adds latest insights to the existing body of knowledge on the subject.     

Prevalence,Predictors, and Implications of Religious/Spiritual Struggles Among Muslims

The current investigation explored prevalence, predictors, and psychological implications of religious and spiritual (r/s) struggles among an Israeli‐Palestinian, Muslim sample. R/s struggle was assessed by the Religious and Spiritual Struggles Scale (Exline et al. 2014), a newly developed scale that assesses a wide array of r/s struggles. Factor analysis of the scale in this study revealed five factors of struggle: Divine and Doubt, Punitive Entities, Interpersonal, Moral, and Ultimate Meaning. Of the 139 Muslim participants, between 1.4 percent and 40.2 percent experienced various r/s struggles. Positive God image and fundamentalism predicted lower levels of struggle, whereas negative God image and universality predicted higher levels of struggle. After controlling for religious variables, we found that both depressive symptoms and generalized anxiety were predicted by Punitive Entities and Ultimate Meaning struggles, while satisfaction with life was predicted by Interpersonal struggle. Possible explanations and implications of the findings are offered, and the limitations of the study are discussed.     

Religious Orientation and Ethnic Identity as Predictors of Religious Coping Among Bereaved Individuals

Religious orientation and ethnic identity inform the religious coping process, but research on this topic is scarce. The authors collected data on these constructs from a sample (N = 319) of bereaved adults. A canonical correlation analysis showed that individuals who engage in traditional spiritual practices and strive to achieve ordinary and transcendental spiritual goals are more likely to engage in positive religious coping (Wilks's Λ = .36, R_c² = .62, p < .001). Also, a multiple regression analysis revealed that individuals with higher levels of ethnic identity development are more likely to engage in positive religious coping (β = .12, t < .05). Finally, a discriminant analysis indicated that ethnic identity and a conservative religious orientation discriminated between Whites and ethnic minority individuals, Wilks's Λ = .71, χ²(4, N = 204) = 70.10, p < .001, R_c² = .26. The authors encourage counselors to strengthen their multicultural and spiritual competencies to provide effective services to a culturally and religiously diverse clientele.     

Religious Quest Orientation and Anti‐Gay Sentiment: Nuancing the Relationship Between Religiosity and Negative Attitudes Toward Homosexuality Among Young Muslims and Christians in Flanders

Public opinion research has repeatedly shown that religious people generally report more prejudice against homosexuality. However, previous research exploring the general mechanisms that underpin this relationship mostly relied on Christian samples in North America. Studies outside North America are few in number and limited in the forms of religiosity they address. Of all indicators that have been studied so far, a religious quest orientation was found to be the only one negatively related to anti‐gay sentiments. This leaves open the question whether the mechanisms for different forms of religiosity can also be found outside North America. Against that background this research note assesses how religious quest orientation, self‐rated religiosity, religious behavior, and authoritarianism are related to prejudice against homosexuality among Christian and Muslim youth aged 14–23 in Flanders (N = 2,834). This study is the first that investigates the relationship between religious quest orientation and anti‐gay sentiments among Muslims. For both Christians and Muslims, we found that even taking into account a wide range of social background and religious characteristics, having a religious quest orientation is related to less prejudice toward homosexuality.     

Hyper‐affiliation to the Religious In‐group Among British Pakistani Muslim Gay Men

This article examines how British Muslim gay men may safeguard membership in the religious group, which can be threatened as a result of self‐identifying as gay. Twenty British Pakistani Muslim gay men were interviewed. Data were analyze using an interpretative phenomenological analysis through the heuristic lens of identity process theory. The following themes are discussed: (i) ‘gay identity casting doubt upon one's Muslim‐ness’; (ii) ‘Ramadan: a symbolic opportunity to be a “true Muslim”’; and (iii) ‘accepting “Muslim views” and religious authenticity’. Data suggest that threatened Muslim identity can lead to hyper‐affiliation to the religious in‐group, which is achieved through a multitude of substrategies. Practical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Differentiating religious coping from Islamic identification in patient and non-patient Pakistani Muslims

Pakistanis suffering from major medical problems and non-patient controls responded to two factors from the Psychological Measure of Islamic Religiousness that operationalised religious coping. Punishing Allah Reappraisal correlated positively with Poorer Psychological Functioning and External Control and negatively with Self-Adjustment. Factor analytic procedures demonstrated that the Islamic Positive Religious Coping and Identification subscale (IPRCIS) contained three dimensions. These Positive Islamic Coping, Islamic Identification, and Extra-Prayer Commitment factors displayed similar linkages with single-item measures of religious orientation and religious interest. Positive Islamic Coping also had noteworthy implications for understanding Muslim religious coping. These data most importantly demonstrated that the IPRCIS is a multidimensional construct, that Punishing Allah Reappraisal is maladaptive, and that the influences of beneficial Muslim forms of coping may be complex.     

Religious identity consolidation and mobilization among Turkish Dutch Muslims

This paper investigates religious identity consolidation in terms of the endorsement of the rights of Dutch Muslims to publicly express their identity, and identity mobilization in terms of the attitude towards normative forms of political organization. Identity consolidation and mobilization were examined as a function of the content of Muslim identity. A distinction was made between an individualized and a communal interpretation of what it means to be a Muslim, in addition to orthodox belief. Personal meaning and personal certainty as two aspects of an individualized interpretation were found to be positively associated to the endorsement of Muslim expressive rights, but not to the attitude towards political organization. Behavioural involvement and Muslim group interdependence were positively associated with identity organization. Orthodoxy was related to both identity consolidation and mobilization. Theoretical implications of these results are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Religious Activities, Religious Orientation, and Aggressive Behavior

Theorists and clinicians have long believed that religious practice may reduce aggression and other destructive behaviors. To date, most evidence for a relationship between religiosity and aggression comes from nonexperimental studies. The purpose of this exploratory study was twofold. First, to examine experimentally whether two religious practices reduce aggressive behavior; second, to determine if specific aspects of religious orientation and spiritual transcendence are related to level of aggression, expressed under controlled laboratory conditions. Sixty-two participants assigned to one of three experimental groups (memorize Bible passages, prayer/meditation, or control group) completed a laboratory task of aggression. Participants also completed religious and spirituality instruments, along with self-ratings of aggressive disposition. Results indicated that neither memorization of biblical passages nor meditation reduced aggression. Intrinsic-oriented religiosity participants self-reported lower aggression than extrinsic-oriented participants, but no differences were found on the laboratory task of aggression. Spiritual transcendence showed no behavioral aggression differences .     

Relationship Among Religious Orientation,Individual Attributes,and Presence of People in Urban Public Space

Journal of Religion and Health - The purpose of this paper is to study the rate of presence in an urban space and how it is related to people’s intrinsic and extrinsic religious orientations...     

South Korean Attitudes Toward Muslims: Revealing the Impact of Religious Tolerance

This study addresses the reasons for the anti-Muslim sentiments held by some South Koreans. The research was motivated by the fact that, although previous studies have paid much attention to this issue in Western regions, such as Europe and the USA, little research has examined the perceptions of Muslims held by people in Asian countries. This empirical study of the nature of anti-Muslim sentiment in South Korea was aided by two theoretical frameworks that relate prejudice to (i) deprivation and (ii) religion. This study analysed data taken from the ‘International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) Topical Module: Religion (2008)’ [ISSP Research Group 2012 ISSP Research Group. 2012. “International Social Survey Programme: Religion III – ISSP 2008.” GESIS Data Archive, Cologne. ZA4950 Data file Version 2.2.0. doi:10.4232/1.11334 Study No. ZA4950.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]. ‘International Social Survey Programme: Religion III – ISSP 2008.’ GESIS Data Archive, Cologne. ZA4950 Data file Version 2.2.0, doi:10.4232/1.11334 Study No. ZA4950]. The results showed that deprivation did not significantly influence South Korean attitudes toward Muslims, whereas prejudice toward Muslims among South Koreans included a distinctly religious component.     

Metaphor,Religious Language,and Religious Experience

Is it possible to talk about God without either misrepresentation or failing to assert anything of significance? The article begins by reviewing how, in attempting to answer this question, traditional theories of religious language have failed to sidestep both potential pitfalls adequately. After arguing that recently developed theories of metaphor seem better able to shed light on the nature of religious language, it considers the claim that huge areas of our language and, consequently, of our experience are shaped by metaphors. Finally, it considers some of the more significant implications of this claim for our understanding of both religious language and religious experience.     

Dressing Religious Bodies in Public Spaces: Gender, Clothing and Negotiations of Stigma Among Jews in Paris and Muslims in London

In recent years religious clothing has become prevalent across many European cities, making religious bodies more visible in public spaces. This paper brings together our separate research on Jews in Paris and Muslims in London. While recognising the clear differences between these two socio-political contexts and distinct religious groups, we suggest that a focus on clothing allows us to consider some points of similarity and difference in the presentation of gendered religious bodies, particularly in situations of heightened stigmatisation. We draw upon Goffman’s notion of impression management, in contexts of risks and threats, to explore how individuals experience and negotiate self presentation as members of stigmatised religious groups. We use rich qualitative data based on indepth interviews to consider how, when faced with collective stigmatisation, actors make deliberate and measured choices to present themselves and attempt to impression manage.