Religious Attendance and Volunteering: Testing National Culture as a Boundary Condition

Numerous studies have documented the importance of religion, and especially of religious congregational attendance, in regard to volunteering. Most of these studies focus on individual and contextual factors, usually within one country. Recent studies suggest that the association between religious attendance and volunteering varies among countries. We hypothesize that national culture plays an important role in explaining volunteering mainly as a moderator of the relationship between religious attendance and volunteering, especially on volunteering to help people in need. To support this position, we used individual‐level data from the World Values Survey (WVS) coupled with national data on cultural measures. This enabled assessment of these relationships using a multilevel analysis of individuals nested in countries. We used two models of national culture, Hofstede (1984) and WVS to explain the differences between countries. We found direct relationships between national culture constructs (power distance and survival/self‐expression values) and volunteering. We also found that individualism, power distance, and survival/self‐expression values moderated the effect of religion on volunteering, with a stronger relationship between religious attendance and volunteering in nationalities with self‐expression values, high power distance, and low individualism. Theoretical and practical implications of this approach are discussed.     

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.     

Baring Their Souls in Online Profiles or Not? Religious Self‐Disclosure in Social Media

This study measured the prevalence of religious self‐disclosure in public MySpace profiles that belonged to a subsample of National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR) wave 3 respondents (N = 560). Personal attributes associated with religious identification as well as the overall quantity of religious self‐disclosures are examined. A majority (62 percent) of profile owners identified their religious affiliations online, although relatively few profile owners (30 percent) said anything about religion outside the religion‐designated field. Most affiliation reports (80 percent) were consistent with the profile owner's reported affiliation on the survey. Religious profile owners disclosed more about religion when they also believed that religion is a public matter or if they evaluated organized religion positively. Evangelical Protestants said more about religion than other respondents. Religiosity, believing that religion is a public matter, and the religiosity of profile owners’ friendship group were all positively associated with religious identification and self‐disclosure.     

Individual Religiosity,Moral Community,and Drug User Treatment

Some scholars have suggested that individual religiosity inhibits deviant behavior. Others have suggested that behavior is more responsive to the influence of religiously‐oriented moral communities than to the religiosity of individuals. Still others have suggested that non‐religious moral communities, such as sports teams or self‐help recovery groups, are just as effective as religious moral communities. The current article examines the associations between addicts' reductions in drug and alcohol use and religiosity, increase in church attendance, and increase in addiction self‐help recovery group attendance, following participation in publicly funded treatment programs. Results indicate that increase in self‐help recovery group attendance and church attendance were independently associated with reduction in alcohol use. Only increase in church attendance was significantly associated with reduction in cocaine use. Self‐assessed religious conviction was not associated with changes in drug use.     

Religion and Gambling Among U.S. Adults: Exploring the Role of Traditions,Beliefs, Practices,and Networks*

Opportunities for legal gambling of various types have expanded rapidly in the United States in recent years. Our study develops a series of theoretical arguments linking multiple dimensions of religious involvement—traditions, beliefs, practices, and networks—with the frequency of gambling activity. Relevant hypotheses are then tested using data from the Panel Study of American Religion and Ethnicity (PS‐ARE), a recent nationwide probability sample of U.S. adults. Findings underscore the importance of co‐religionist networks in deterring gambling. In addition, biblical inerrantists and members of conservative Protestant and sectarian groups are relatively disinclined to gamble. Religious attendance is also inversely associated with gambling frequency. Differences in gambling by religious tradition are amplified among persons with strong co‐religionist networks. Several study limitations are noted, and promising future research directions on the dynamics and functioning of church‐based networks are identified.     

The Moral Community Divide: Underage Marijuana Use Across Religious Contexts

Compared to individual‐level research on religion and marijuana use, much less research has been conducted to investigate how the overall religious context of a geographic location may influence marijuana use during adolescence and early adulthood. Using multilevel analyses on two waves of the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR) merged with county‐level variables from the U.S. Census and the Religious Congregations and Membership Study (RCMS), this study finds that a county's higher Catholic population share is negatively associated with underage marijuana use frequency even after controlling for a wide range of individual and county‐level variables. Besides being robust, the Catholic contextual effect on marijuana use is also diffusive, influencing both Catholic and non‐Catholic youth who live in the same county. This study highlights the importance of viewing religious influence on substance use as a contextual, cultural force across different kinds of religious moral communities.     

From Religious to Consumption‐Related Routine Activities? Analyzing Ireland's Economic Boom and the Decline in Church Attendance

Using Ireland, which experienced an economic boom in the mid 1990s, as a case study, the negative association between economic growth and religious practice is examined by testing two competing hypotheses. Secularization theory argues that the cultural changes that accompany economic growth lead to a decline in religious values. As religious values diminish, so does attendance at religious services. An alternative explanation is that economic growth increases individual purchasing power and therefore consumption‐related behavior. Consumption supplants religion by providing alternative intermediaries (symbols, infrastructures, and practices) for social behavior, but only marginally affects religious values. Using data from the 1988 to 2005 International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), analyses show that the economic boom in Ireland was clearly associated with a decline in religious attendance, while religious values remained stable. Thus, in Ireland the consequences of economic growth deviate from the predictions of secularization theory and therefore support the consumption argument.     

Religion and Subjective Well‐Being Across Religious Traditions: Evidence from 1.3 Million Americans

I examine the relationship between religious service attendance and two domains (cognitive and affective) of subjective well‐being using Gallup Daily Poll data, which has a sample size over 1.3 million. I find that religious attendance is positively associated with both domains of subjective well‐being in all religious traditions examined, including non‐Christian traditions and “religious nones.” The strength of the association varies significantly across the traditions: stronger among Christian groups—particularly among the groups that are, on average, more observant—than among non‐Christian religions or “religious nones.” The stronger association among the observant groups is partly due to the lower level of well‐being among nonattendees in those groups than nonattendees in less observant groups. I also find that the association is stronger among individuals who consider religion an important part of life than among those who do not. Finally, my findings suggest that religious service attendance is equally strongly related to both domains of subjective well‐being.     

Group Size and the Trajectory of Religious Identification

The relative size of religious groups or denominations within societies or nations influences variation in the extent to which group members psychologically identify with their religion. National‐level census data measuring the proportional size of religious groups in New Zealand are merged with nationally representative data on self‐reported psychological identification drawn from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study. A multilevel random coefficient model shows a logarithmic function for the relationship between religious group size and average group‐level religious identification. Members of smaller religious groups (less than 1.5 percent of the population) tend to strongly identify with their religion, whereas members of groups that are larger in size (over 6 percent of the population) tend to be less identified, on average. Religious group cohesion may be a dynamic process. Larger religious groups are less cohesive and experience more contested identities and ideological positions (average group identification is lower).     

Christian Identification and Self‐Reported Depression: Evidence from China

The nexus between religion and mental health in the East has been understudied, where the coexistence of multiple religions calls for scholarly attention to religious identification. This article investigates the impact on self‐reported depression of an individual's identification with Christianity in a non‐Judeo‐Christian and religion‐regulating social setting. Taking advantage of the Chinese General Social Survey 2010, our empirical analyses suggest that people who explicitly identify with Christianity report a significantly higher level of depression compared with both religious nones and self‐claimed Buddhists. In contrast, there is no significant difference in self‐reported depression between religious nones and self‐identified Buddhists. This study supplements current literature on the connection between religious affiliation and mental health with a particular interest in East Asia, suggesting that the consequence on mental health of religious identification is contingent on a religion's social status, and a religion's marginal position may turn religious identification into a detrimental psychological burden.     

Religion and Political Economy in an International Panel

Two important theories of religiosity are the secularization hypothesis and the religion-market model. According to the former, sometimes called a demand-side theory, economic development reduces religious participation and beliefs. According to the latter, described as a supply-side theory, religiosity depends on the presence of a state religion, regulation of the religion market, suppression of organized religion under Communism, and the degree of religious pluralism. We assess the theories by using survey information for 68 countries over the last 20 years, measuring attendance at formal religious services, religious beliefs, and self-identification as religious. In accordance with the secularization view, overall economic development—represented by per capita GDP—tends to reduce religiosity. Moreover, instrumental estimates suggest that this link reflects causation from economic development to religiosity, rather than the reverse. The presence of an official state religion tends to increase religiosity, probably because of the subsidies that flow to organized religion. However, in accordance with the religion-market model, religiosity falls with government regulation of the religion market and Communist suppression. Greater religious pluralism raises attendance at formal services but has no significant effects on religious beliefs or self-identification as religious. Although religiosity declines overall with economic development, the nature of the interaction varies with the dimension of development. For example, religiosity is positively related to education and the presence of children and negatively related to urbanization.     

Religious Beliefs,Diet, and Physical Activity Among Jewish Adolescents

Despite a well‐documented connection between religion and mortality, the link between religion and obesity‐related outcomes and behaviors has not been adequately studied, particularly among adolescents. This study examines whether self‐reported religious beliefs influence decisions about physical activity and diet in a sample of Jewish adolescents (n = 351). The results show that reporting a stronger influence of religious beliefs on health behaviors is associated with behaviors related to physical activity, but not diet. In adjusted regression models, individuals who report that their religious beliefs influence decisions about being physically active “a lot” have significantly more active days per week than those who say their religious beliefs do not influence such decisions. Similar effects are seen with regard to the students’ overall amount of sedentary time. The results shed light on previously documented relationships between religion and health, provide practical implications for religious organizations and leaders, and suggest areas for future research.     

The Limits of Secularization? The Resurgence of Orthodoxy in Post‐Soviet Russia

The collapse of the Soviet Union ended a long period of state repression of religion, facilitating a possible religious revival in Russia. Despite evidence of increasing levels of Russian Orthodox identification in the 1990s, however, the debate over whether post‐Soviet Russia is an exception to secularization trends elsewhere continues. We address this debate by examining trends in Orthodox identification and church attendance and their impact on conservative moral values, as well as the basis of religiosity in age cohorts, using a seven‐wave national, stratified random sample survey covering 1993–2007. The analysis indicates continued growth in Orthodox self‐identification, increased church attendance, and an increasingly strong association between religiosity and conservative morality over this time period. Moreover, signs of religious revival are most pronounced among the cohort of people who came to maturity after communism ended. The resurgence of Orthodoxy in Russia provides a robust exception to secularization trends in Western Europe.     

The Association Between Church Attendance and Psychological Health in Northern Ireland: A National Representative Survey Among Adults Allowing for Sex Differences and Denominational Difference

This study extends previous research concerning the association between religion and psychological health in six ways: (1) by focusing clearly on religious attendance (church attendance); (2) by employing a robust measure of psychological distress (GHQ-12); (3) by studying a highly religious culture (Northern Ireland); (4) by taking sex differences into account (male or female); (5) by taking denominational differences into account (Catholic or Protestant); (6) and by obtaining a national representative sample (N = 4,281 adults aged 16 and above). Results from a 2 (sex) by 2 (denomination) ANCOVA demonstrated that Catholics recorded significantly lower levels of psychological health compared to Protestants, and that females showed significantly lower levels of psychological health compared to males. In addition, females reported higher frequency of religious service attendance than males, and Catholics reported higher attendance rates than Protestants. A significant positive association was found between frequency of religious attendance and GHQ-12 scores, and this association was moderated by sex and denomination. In conclusion, the results suggest that there may be sex and denominational differences in further understanding the relationship between frequency of religious attendance and psychological health.     

The Long Arm of Religion: Childhood Adversity,Religion, and Self‐perception Among Black Americans

Significant associations between childhood adversity and adult mental health have been documented in epidemiological and social science research. However, there is a dearth of research examining this relationship among black Americans, as well as into what cultural institutions and practices may help individuals in dealing with childhood adversity. This study suggests that religion may be an important resource for black Americans in the face of early‐life socioeconomic and health disadvantage. Using data from the National Survey of American Life, a nationally representative sample of both African Americans and black Caribbeans (n = 5,191), this study outlines a series of arguments linking childhood adversity, religiosity, and self‐perception among black Americans. The results suggest some support for religious involvement in moderating—or buffering—the harmful effects of childhood adversity on the self‐esteem and mastery among black Americans, specifically religious service attendance and religious coping. In addition, the results reveal that religion may also amplify the deleterious effects of childhood disadvantage on adult mental health. Study limitations are identified and several promising directions for future research are discussed.     

Probing the link between narcissism and gambling: the mediating role of judgment and decision‐making biases

In this paper, three studies link narcissism to gambling in general, and gambling‐related problems in particular, and the predictive link is shown to be mediated by judgment and decision processes. In Study 1, we demonstrate that narcissism relates to greater self‐reported gambling frequency and gambling‐related monetary expenditures in two samples. We extend these initial findings in Study 2 by showing that narcissism predicts higher reports of gambling‐related pathology, as measured with a DSM‐IV‐based pathological gambling (PG) screen. Finally, we demonstrate in Study 3 that the link between gambling pathology and narcissism is partially mediated by narcissists' overconfidence, heightened risk acceptance, and myopic focus on reward, as measured by participants' behavioral performance on the Georgia Gambling Task (GGT) and Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Discussion focuses on the empirical validation of the long‐assumed narcissism–gambling link, the decision processes that underlie this link, and relations between narcissists' self‐perceptions and their self‐defeating behavior, especially in risk‐relevant contexts. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development and Initial Validation of an Implicit Measure of Religiousness‐Spirituality

An implicit measure of religiousness‐spirituality (RS) was constructed and used in two studies. In Study 1, undergraduates completed a Religiousness‐Spirituality Implicit Association Test (RS‐IAT) and several self‐report measures of RS and related constructs (e.g., religious fundamentalism, authoritarianism). Informants rated the participants’ RS. The RS‐IAT was internally consistent. Implicit RS correlated positively with self‐reported RS, spiritual transcendence, spiritual experiences, religious fundamentalism, and intrinsic religiousness. Informant ratings correlated positively with participants’ self‐reported religiousness but not implicit RS. In Study 2, implicit RS accounted for unique variability in self‐reported attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women when controlling for self‐reported religiousness and right‐wing authoritarianism. These findings demonstrate that an implicit measure of trait RS explains some variability in attitudes that self‐report measures do not. An implicit measure of RS could advance the scientific study of religion beyond what is known from self‐report measures.     

Religion and Civic Engagement in Muslim Countries

Previous studies of religion on civic and political participation focus primarily on Western Christian societies. Studies of Muslim societies concentrate on Islamic religiosity's effect on attitudes toward democracy, not on how Muslim religious participation carries over into social and political arenas. This article examines the relationship between religion and civic engagement in nine Muslim‐majority countries using data from the World Values Surveys. I find that active participation in Muslim organizations is associated with greater civic engagement, while religious service attendance is not. In a subset of countries, daily prayer is associated with less civic engagement. The main area in which Muslim societies differ from Western ones is in the lack of association between civic engagement, trust, and tolerance. Religious participation is a more significant predictor of secular engagement than commonly used “social capital” measures, suggesting a need to adapt measures of religiosity to account for differences in religious expression across non‐Christian faiths.