Self-concept clarity and religious orientations: prediction of purpose in life and self-esteem

The present study concerns the relationship between self-concept clarity, religiosity, and well-being, as well as the mediating influence of religiosity on the relationship between self-concept clarity and sense of meaning in life and self-esteem. Self-concept clarity was found to be a significant predictor of sense of meaning in life and self-esteem; intrinsic religious orientation was found to be a predictor of sense of meaning in life, while the quest religious orientation was a predictor for self-esteem. The cross-products of self-concept clarity and intrinsic religious orientation were found to be related to the sense of purpose in life, which would point to religiosity being a mediator of the relationship between self-concept clarity and sense of purpose in life. The cross-products of self-concept clarity and quest religious orientation were found to be a predictor of self-esteem, which indicates a mediating effect of this religious orientation in the relationship of self-concept clarity and self-esteem.     

Taking religion to heart: the relationship between the Five Factor Model and the New Indices of Religious Orientation among religious students

The relationship between religious orientation and personality has been investigated using several different measures and diverse samples. As part of a larger study, 114 undergraduate students were given the Duke University Religion Index (DUREL) to include only those participants who were considered religious. The final sample of 80 participants were given the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO PI-R) and the New Indices of Religious Orientation (NIRO). Based on the results of the bivariate correlations, higher levels of intrinsic religious orientation were associated with greater Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Multivariate analyses further revealed that Agreeableness was the most important personality variable when predicting intrinsic and quest religious orientations, with higher levels of Agreeableness predicting greater intrinsic and lower quest orientations. While lower levels of Neuroticism predicted greater intrinsic orientation, higher levels of Neuroticism predicted greater quest orientations. Higher Conscientiousness predicted greater intrinsic and lower quest orientations. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

The empirical relationships of the religious orientations to personality

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between the religious orientations and the psychoanalytic character types, as assessed by the Basic Character Inventory (BCI). A person with an intrinsic religious orientation is sincere and integrated in his religiousness. A person with an extrinsic religious orientation uses his religion to promote his personal, social and economic goals. A person with a quest religious orientation is seeking, doubting and changeable in his religiousness. In a sample of 471 subjects, 168 men and 303 women, the level of intrinsic religious orientation was not related to the BCI scores. The levels of extrinsic and quest religious orientations were positively related to the BCI Oral score. Since the oral persons are dependent and craving, it seems likely that they may be extrinsically oriented. And as they also may be insecure, vague and indecisive, it is not unexpected that they also are quest oriented. The changeable quest orientation was also positively related to the changeable BCI Hysterical character.     

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.     

Widows' Spiritual Journeys: Do They Quest?

SUMMARY

Two studies examined the spiritual experiences of older women shortly after their husbands' deaths. The central question was, in the process of becoming and being a widow, do the older women begin a reflective dialogue with existential questions and initiate spiritual journeys as recent widows? One study is based on the widows within a random sample of older adults. The second study involved in-depth interviews with 15 recent widows. Both studies included Batson's measures of means, ends, and quest religious orientations. There was more evidence of an “ends” (intrinsic) orientation among the widows than “means” (extrinsic) for religious involvement; there was also no change over time in these orientations. Their quest orientation, however, became significantly less prevalent in the follow-up. It seems that women indeed quested, and by follow-up engaged their faith for religious consolation. Data from Study 2 revealed two themes: religious involvement provided a sense of continuity and direction, and through faith and prayer the women were able to (re)find meaning and purpose to life.     

Positive Loss and Tragic Memory: On the Preservation of Community

Theologies of disaster have to recognize exceptional disasters in the framework of a general human exposure to vulnerability, while engaging in the formation of human and religious resilience. Resilience is about “bouncing back and forward” in and through precautionary and self‐adaptive responses to disasters. Drawing up a distinction between personal tragedies and socially shared disasters, the basic argument is that the reconnection of disrupted communities lies at the center of both tragedy and disaster. This article describes a post‐secular theology of tragedy and disaster that mainly stays in a vernacular language, referring to basic assumptions of the gospel while refraining from using the heavier repertoires of Christian doctrine.     

Does Masculinity Thwart Being Religious? An Examination of Older Men’sReligiousness

Previous work shows a significant relationship between gender orientation and being religious in samples of college–age and adult men. Before entering later life, men with a feminine orientation have greater religious involvement than other men. In a sample of older men from three Massachusetts counties, this study assessed the bearing of men'sgender orientation and gender ideology on their religious involvement. Gender orientation more than masculinity ideology was found to be a reliable predictor of older men'sreligiousness. Similar to studies of younger men, a feminine orientation was a significant determinant of the older men's religious participation, commitment, and intrinsic orientation. Older men who define self in very masculine terms, however, engaged in a quest religiosity. When the masculinity ideology contains norms that prescribe the virtues of a traditional masculinity and acquiring status, men's religious orientation was extrinsic (or means) oriented. These important findings are discussed in terms of how masculinity is at times a barrier to men's private devotion and at other times can be a trigger to questing.     

Bereavement and Religion Online: Stillbirth,Neonatal Loss,and Parental Religiosity

Stillbirth and neonatal death often trigger immense and long‐lasting grief in parents. These life‐altering losses both call upon and call into question parents’ religious beliefs and practices. This qualitative research examines the impact of stillbirth and neonatal death on parental religiosity, broadly conceived to include personal spirituality and any religious affiliation, including atheism. It examines religion online, a nontraditional but important social context for grief, especially regarding statistically rare tragedies such as stillbirth and neonatal death. Content analysis of postings on a hub website for “babyloss” parents yields four major themes: religious disorientation, religious reorientation, changed relationships with others, and a quest for meaning.     

The Complexity of Quest in Emerging Adults’ Religiosity,Well‐Being,and Identity

The construct of quest as measured by the Quest Scale raises complexities that this study addressed with online surveys measuring religiosity, ego identity, and well‐being of graduates from two Christian colleges. Intrinsic questers (those above the scale midpoint in intrinsic and quest scores but below the extrinsic midpoint) made up over half of those high in intrinsic religiosity and did not differ in Christian orthodoxy, religious identity, religious coping, or well‐being from the pure intrinsics (those high in intrinsic religiosity). Indiscriminately pro‐religious questing individuals (those high in intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity and quest) were less religious and showed poorer coping than intrinsic questers. Quest appears to be a reasonable measure of religious orientation, improving prediction of Christian orthodoxy, religious identity, and religious coping, and was more highly correlated with ego identity exploration than with stress. In association with intrinsic religiosity quest does not appear to indicate weak religiosity or poor well‐being. Instead, intrinsic questers may pursue a distinctive developmental trajectory, a path of existential searching by which emerging adults manage the demands of contemporary culture while maintaining a mature faith.     

The link between time orientation and religious orientation among American college students

The purpose of this study was to explore how an individual’s religion relates to their time orientation. Specifically, we hypothesised (a) intrinsic orientation would positively correlate with future orientation, (b) extrinsic orientation would positively correlate with present-hedonistic orientation, (c) quest orientation would positively correlate with present-hedonistic and future orientations, (d) orthodox orientation would positively correlate with past positive orientation, and (e) secularism would positively correlate with past negative orientation, present-fatalistic and future orientations. Participants (n?=?150) completed an online survey of time orientation and religious orientation. The results showed that perceptions of the past are strongly linked to religious orientation, with more positive perceptions being linked to the more traditional orientations, and less positive perceptions linked to the looser and secularist orientations.     

For Better or Worse: Fundamentalists' Attitudes Toward Outgroups as a Function of Exposure to Authoritative Religious Texts

Fundamentalism not only predicts prejudice toward outgroups but also prosociality toward proximal targets and ingroups. Taking things a step further, we hypothesized that because fundamentalists tend to show submission to religious authority, their attitudes toward unknown targets and outgroups may vary significantly depending on the nature of the authoritative religious texts to which they are exposed. In three studies using hypothetical scenarios, the association between fundamentalism and prosocial attitudes (a) became negative after exposure to a violent biblical text (Study 1; unknown targets), (b) reversed from negative to positive after reading a prosocial biblical text (Study 2; negligent targets), and (c) became negative or positive following a violent versus prosocial biblical text (Study 3; atheist target). Additional results confirmed the uniqueness of fundamentalism compared to general religiosity, quest orientation, and authoritarianism, regarding such dependency upon religious authority. Findings also support the mediating roles of reported submissiveness to religious teachings and perceived symbolic threat.     

We Are a Religious People; We Are a Vengeful People

We evaluate the relation between religiousness and vengeance using multiple indicators of religiousness (religious orientation and church variables) and behavioral as well as self-reports of vengeance. Results from hierarchical regression analyses revealed that intrinsic religious orientation was negatively and extrinsic religious orientation positively related to self-reports of revenge but not to behavioral indicators of revenge. Only quest orientation was related to behavioral indicators of revenge with those higher on quest setting relatively lower levels of shock following a provocation and giving more money to an obnoxious confederate. Of the church variables, the number of religious activities was negatively and frequency of monetary donations positively related to self-reported vengeance. Only frequency of monetary donations, however, was uniquely related to one of the behavioral indicators of revenge, level of shock, with those who give more frequently also retaliating with higher levels of shock.     

The relationship between religious orientation and happiness: the mediating role of purpose in life

Studies have demonstrated a positive association between religiosity and happiness and that other variables including purpose in life may account for this relationship. Few studies have examined the relationship between religious orientation and happiness, therefore the present study investigated whether purpose in life mediates the relationship between religious orientation and happiness. Three hundred and forty-two university students (men?=?117 and women?=?225) from Australia participated in the study. The results indicate that for women, purpose in life mediates the relationship between intrinsic religious orientation and happiness and for men, purpose in life mediates the relationship between extrinsic social religious orientation and happiness. The results are unexpected as intrinsic religious orientation negatively predicted happiness, whereas extrinsic social religious orientation positively predicted happiness. These findings suggest that further studies are needed to advance the understanding of these complex relationships.     

Testing the Culture-Fit Hypothesis with religious beliefs: a multilevel analysis

This study tested the hypothesis that internalising cultural values that fit internalised Christian religious orientations would produce higher levels of well-being than internalising cultural values that are incongruous with one's religious orientation. Participants (n?=?409) completed self-report measures of cultural values (individualism and collectivism), religious orientation (quest and Christian orthodoxy) and well-being. A series of hierarchical regression analyses and hierarchical linear modelling revealed several Cultural Value X Religious Orientation interaction effects. Specifically, people whose cultural values did not cohere with their religious orientation experienced lower levels of well-being than those whose cultural values fit well with their religious orientation.     

The Relationship Between Religious Orientation,Right-Wing Authoritarianism,and Implicit Sexual Prejudice

The relationship between intrinsic, extrinsic, and quest religious orientations, right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), and implicit and explicit attitudes toward homosexual individuals were examined within a sample of predominantly Protestant college students in the United States. Implicit attitudes were measured with the Implicit Association Test, a computer program that recorded reaction times as participants categorized symbols (of heterosexual and homosexual individuals) and adjectives (good or bad words). Participants displayed fairly negative implicit and explicit attitudes toward homosexual individuals (i.e., sexual prejudice). Intrinsic religious orientation uniquely predicted increased explicit sexual prejudice (when extrinsic, quest, and impression management were statistically controlled), and RWA appeared to mediate this effect. In contrast, the positive relationship between intrinsic religion and implicit sexual prejudice did not disappear when controlling for RWA. Although RWA seemed to be related to self-reports of prejudice, intrinsic religious orientation was uniquely related to automatic negative attitudes toward homosexual individuals.     

Quantifying genre: an operational definition of tragedy and comedy based on Shakespeare's plays

Emotion and imagery in the words of Shakespeare's plays, as measured by the Dictionary of Affect in Language, were used to predict genre (tragedy or comedy). Genre distinctions, which were associated with small effect sizes, were established on the basis of 23 plays and then applied to other plays. A discriminant function which combined lower emotional Pleasantness with higher emotional Activation or arousal and more pictorial Imagery successfully (91% of the time) predicted whether a play was a tragedy or a comedy. The genre-discriminating formula provided meaningful categorizations of 23 additional plays. As hypothesized, comedies employed more Pleasant words than tragedies. Tragedies employed more Active words (p < .001). Unexpectedly, comedies rather than tragedies employed words with lower Imagery (greater Abstraction). The predicted elevation of language in tragedy was noted instead in the use of more verse, fewer common words, and fewer personal pronouns (less subjectivity).     

The Relationship Between Religion, Spirituality, Psychological Adjustment, and Quality of Life Among People with Multiple Sclerosis

The present research was comprised of two studies that aimed to explore the role of religious and spiritual variables in the psychological adjustment and quality of life of people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). In study 1, religious behavior and objective levels of spirituality and religiosity were not significantly related to psychological adjustment or quality of life among people with MS. Positive religious coping was negatively related to psychological adjustment and quality of life. In study 2, Intrinsic religious orientation and Quest religious orientation were related to poor psychological adjustment. Implications of the present research for people with MS and other chronic illnesses are discussed.     

Updating Allport's and Batson's Framework of Religious Orientations: A Reevaluation from the Perspective of Self‐Determination Theory and Wulff's Social Cognitive Model

We theoretically and empirically evaluate Allport's intrinsic‐extrinsic and Batson's quest religious orientations through the lens of self‐determination theory (SDT) and Wulff's social‐cognitive model. Confirming our theoretical analysis, we find that Allport's intrinsic‐extrinsic dichotomy fails to correspond empirically to the differentiation between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation within SDT. Whereas Allport's intrinsic religious orientation was positively related to internalized extrinsic motivation, his two extrinsic (i.e., personal and social) religious orientations were not systematically related to any of the discerned motives within SDT. Furthermore, Batson's quest orientation was unrelated to any of the SDT concepts but was positively related to symbolic disbelief. The present findings suggest that Allport's motivational orientations model needs both refinement and relabeling to better fit with recent theoretical evolutions in the field of motivational psychology.     

Islamic Doctrinal Orthodoxy and Religious Orientations: Scale Development and Validation

A measure of Islamic doctrinal orthodoxy was developed, and its relation to personal religious activities was examined. This study also applied the concept of extrinsic, intrinsic, and quest religiosity to Islamic faith as it investigated the structural validity and internal consistency of Islamic versions of the religious orientation scales. A sample of 381 students was taken from three universities in Indonesia. Notably, the scales were found to be psychometrically adequate and their doctrinal orthodoxy and intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity scores significantly related to personal practice of religious activities. A subsequent analysis also revealed that, for Muslims, doctrinal beliefs are largely independent of extrinsic, intrinsic, and quest religiosity and that the three forms of religiosity are three autonomous but continuous dimensions of personal religiosity.     

Mania precipitated by meditation: A case report and literature review

People attending various spirituality and self-development conferences outside the framework of organised religious groups (N = 204) were compared to norms from the general population and to members of New Religious Movements (NRMs) on the following measures: attachment to parents in childhood, adult attachment, need for closure, need for cognition, openness to experience, and quest religious orientation. Results indicated that these people, in comparison to the general population, share with NRM members similar cognitive (need for closure) and affective (insecure attachment in childhood) needs that seem to be addressed by spirituality. However, in comparison to NRM members, participants scored higher on measures reflecting self-growth, that is openness to experience and quest religious orientation, and lower on need for closure. These findings may be interpreted as indicating a desire to seek spirituality but to preserve autonomy. These people were called free-lance spiritual seekers.