Sources of Social Support: Examining Congregational Involvement,Private Devotional Activities,and Congregational Context

Previous studies examining the relationship between religion and providing social support have claimed that religious involvement and social networks explain the higher levels of social support among religious Americans. By limiting its focus to attenders of religious congregations, this study seeks to understand if private devotional activities and congregational context also matter for predicting the provision of social support in a highly religious sample. Utilizing a sample of attenders and their congregations from the 2008/2009 U.S. Congregational Life Survey, a national survey representative of American congregations, this study uses multilevel models to examine the relationships that congregational involvement, private devotional activities, and congregational context have with providing social support. Results suggest that, among attenders of religious congregations, congregational involvement and private devotional activities matter for predicting the provision of social support, but two aspects of congregational context—size and theology—do not.     

Religious Involvement and Status-Bridging Social Capital

Is religious involvement positively associated with having influential friends or is religious involvement unrelated to this kind of social capital? Building on the distinction between the “bonding” and “bridging” aspects of social capital, I distinguish two kinds of bridging social capital—identity‐bridging and status‐bridging—that have been a source of terminological confusion. I examine the relationship between religious involvement and status‐bridging social capital by analyzing data from a large nationally representative survey of the U.S. adult population that included questions about friendships with elected public officials, corporation executives, scientists, and persons of wealth. The data show that membership in a religious congregation and holding a congregational leadership position are most consistently associated with greater likelihood of having these kinds of friendships. The data also show that frequency of religious attendance is largely unrelated to these measures of social capital and that there are some significant variations among religious traditions and size of congregation.     

Church‐based Community Activism: A Comparison of Black and White Catholic Congregations

Scholars have recently examined the role of black churches ein einitiatingcivil rights and social justice activities, community development and rehabilitation projects, and family support and community health outreach programs. Practically all of this research has been on black Protestant churches. This article seeks to address this gap in the literature byinvestigating the extent to which African‐American Catholic congregations engage in social action and social service programs in their communities. Data drawn from a nationwide survey of U.S. Catholic parishes are us d to show that black church s are significantly more likely than white churches to engage in social service and social action activities independent of a variety of demographic, organizational, and structural factors known—or suspected—to influence activism. This finding lends support to the argument that the extra‐religious functions of black churches—Protestant and Catholic—are more deeply ingrained in these religious institutions than is suggested by some analysts. Equally significant is the finding of positive and significant relationships between churches that have parish councils and leadershiptraining programs and congregational activism. This finding lends support to previous findings that suggest that the organizational structure of religious institutions may influence churchgoers opportunities for learning and practicing civic skills relevant to community activism.     

Nonresident fathers' social networks: The relationship between social support and father involvement

Literature and research examining nonresident fathers' involvement with their children has focused primarily on the fathers' relationship with their child's mother. Receiving limited attention in the literature has been the inclusion of examining nonresident fathers' social support networks, the function of these social networks—perceived and received social support, and how these social support networks affect nonresident fathers' involvement with their children. Using data from Wave One of the Fragile Families and Child Well‐being Study, this study examined the social support networks nonresident fathers (n = 895) utilized in their involvement with their children. Results of the regression analyses indicate that nonresident fathers' relationship with their child's mother and perceived social support from their social networks contributed positively to their involvement with their children. Policy and practice implications are discussed.     

Religious Congregations as Mediating Structures for Social Justice: a Multilevel Examination

Scholars in the field of community psychology have called for a closer examination of the mediating role that religious congregations serve in society, especially in relation to the promotion of social justice. The current study provides such an examination, offering a multilevel examination of religious individuals (n = 5,123) nested within religious congregations (n = 62) with a particular focus on how individual and congregational level variables (i.e. theological orientation, frequency of religious attendance, bonding and bridging social capital) predict individual prioritization of and participation in congregational social justice activities. Findings indicated that individual level theological orientation was associated with prioritization, and demographics and social capital bonding were associated with prioritization and participation. Furthermore, congregational bridging social capital was associated with the prioritization of justice, whereas congregational theological orientation moderated the associations between frequency of religious participation for both prioritization of and participation in congregational justice activities. These findings show that specific aspects of the congregational setting (i.e., congregational theological orientation) are important to the individual prioritization of and participation in social justice activities. These findings provide support for the role of religious congregations as mediating structures for social justice. Implications for future research are also discussed.     

The good,the bad and the central of group identification: Evidence of a U‐shaped quadratic relation between in‐group affect and identity centrality

The present research investigates the interrelation between two widely studied dimensions of social group identity—in‐group affect and centrality. Specifically, we test the validity of a quadratic curvilinear relation between in‐group affect and identity centrality. We propose that group members who feel either decidedly positive affect or decidedly negative affect towards their group are more likely to feel that their identity is a central component of their self‐concept relative to group members with neutral affect. We find evidence for a quadratic relation between in‐group affect and identity centrality with respect to people's cultural identity (N = 512), ethnic identity (N = 462), religious identity (N = 61, N = 384) and racial identity (N = 3600, N = 2400). Theoretical and practical implications for the measurement and conceptualization of group identification are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Twenty Years Post‐genocide: The Creation of Mental Health Competence among Rwandan Survivors Through Community‐based Healing Workshops

Twenty years after the genocide, many Rwandans still suffer from the psychological wounds of the past. The country's mental health agenda is based on individualised and psychiatric approaches that help some but cannot be provided on a large scale. Further, many reconciliation initiatives have been based on public testimonies, which have been shown to be potentially re‐traumatising, leading to calls for small‐scale community‐based approaches to healing, which constitute a middle way between individualised and public approaches. Drawing on the concept of ‘mental health competence’ (Campbell and Burgess, 2012), this study evaluates one such approach: the Life Wounds Healing workshops offered by the African Institute for Integral Psychology. Twenty‐one semi‐structured interviews were conducted with former workshop participants, staff members and the institute's founder to investigate their views on how these workshops can help genocide survivors. The results suggest that the workshops succeed in creating mental health competence by establishing a safe social space for people to open up, increasing people's critical understandings of the processes of pain — and potential for healing — that informs behaviour change, generating bonding social capital and offering participants' income‐generating possibilities. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Examining the indirect effects of religious orientations on well‐being through personal locus of control

Religiosity often positively correlates with well‐being. Some orientations towards religion may, however, adversely affect well‐being by decreasing perceptions of personal locus of control—a critical antecedent of mental health. We examined this possibility in a New Zealand‐based national sample of religiously identified adults (N = 1486). As predicted, fundamentalism had a negative indirect effect on life satisfaction, but a positive indirect effect on psychological distress. Conversely, people's intrinsic religious orientation had a positive indirect effect on life satisfaction, but a negative indirect effect on psychological distress. Notably, all four indirect effects were transmitted through personal, but not God, locus of control. These results highlight the diversity of religious orientations and show that religious orientations that deemphasize people's personal locus of control have negative consequences for well‐being.     

Individual and Country‐Level Effects of Social Trust on Happiness: The Asia Barometer Survey

The relationship of individual‐level and country‐level social trust to individuals' happiness was investigated, using cross‐national data of 39,082 participants from 29 Asian countries. For self‐reported happiness, 2.0% of the participants responded they were very happy, while 18.7% were very unhappy. The significant variables associated with happiness were female gender, being age 20–29 years or 60–69 years, married, high income and education, students/retired/homemaker, religious belief, good health, and higher individual and aggregate social trust. Individual health, social trust, and aggregate social trust were all independently associated with people's happiness. People were more likely to be happy if they lived in countries with higher aggregate social trust than countries with poor social trust.     

Conceptualizing ‘social capital’ for health promotion in small local communities: a micro‐qualitative study

This paper reports on a micro‐qualitative case study of peoples' experiences of local community life in a south‐east English town. This material is used as the basis for a critical discussion of the suitability of Putnam's notion of social capital as a conceptual tool for the design and evaluation of ‘community strengthening’ policies and interventions. The study was motivated by a concern that too much debate about social capital has been conducted by academics and policy‐makers in a top‐down manner, with inadequate attention to the realities of life in the local communities that they refer to. Three‐hour semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 37 residents in two less affluent wards in our town of interest. Informants—half men and half women, and spread across the 15–75 age group—were encouraged to talk about their personal experiences of local community life. Interview findings are presented within the ‘norm’ categories of trust, neighbourliness and reciprocal help and support, and the ‘network’ categories of participation in informal networks, voluntary groupings and community activist groupings. Our case study points to a number of ways in which Putnam's concept needs to be refined if it is to inform ‘community strengthening’ policies and interventions in England. Far more notice needs to be taken of the role played by informal networks of friends and neighbours in the construction of local community life. Attention also needs to be given to the complex and shifting geographical spread of peoples' significant social networks. Putnam's conceptualization of cohesive local communities and his unitary notions of trust and local identity may also be unduly essentialist. In our particular communities of interest, they failed to capture the fluidity of local community norms and networks in a rapidly changing society. They also failed to do justice to the extent to which social distinctions—such as age, gender, ethnicity and housing tenure—shape and constrain the way in which people create, sustain and access social capital. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Being Watched by Anthropomorphized Objects Affects Charitable Donation in Religious People

This study assessed the effect of bottom‐up visual cues—the cues of being watched—from anthropomorphized (face‐like) everyday objects on religious people's prosocial behavior. As religious people are more likely than less‐religious people to perceive faces in everyday objects and as perception of face‐like objects promotes prosociality, it was expected that religious people would become more prosocial when they perceived face‐like objects. To test the hypothesis, the study replicated a past finding in a Japanese sample in which religious people tended to perceive a face in everyday objects. Next, results showed that the decision to donate in religious people (compared to less‐religious people) was increased when a face‐like object was displayed with charitable appeals. This effect was not observed with a non‐face‐like object. The current study indicates that interaction with the surrounding environment plays an important role in motivating prosocial behavior among religious people.     

Whether a religious group membership is shared and salient influences perceived similarity,political support,and helping intention toward refugees,but not charitable donation

This research investigates the ways in which (un)shared religious group memberships contribute to individual helping responses through perceived similarity in the context of a refugee emergency. Across three studies (N = 762), we examined religious sub-groups of British people's helping responses to religious subgroups of Syrian refugees, in quasi-experimental and experimental designs. Overall findings suggest that sharing a religious group membership with refugee targets increases perceived similarity, political support, and helping intention, but not charitable donation—regardless of shared group membership being subtle or salient. However, when refugee targets' religious identity is that of a salient unshared group membership, not sharing a religious group membership reduces perceived similarity, political support, and helping intention, among those who are religious—with again charitable donation remaining unchanged. These results provide critical insights into developing more effective and unique strategies to promote and mobilize support for refugees among different groups of potential helpers.     

Sex differences in the structure and stability of children's playground social networks and their overlap with friendship relations

Gender segregated peer networks during middle childhood have been highlighted as important for explaining later sex differences in behaviour, yet few studies have examined the structural composition of these networks and their implications. This short‐term longitudinal study of 119 children (7–8 years) examined the size and internal structure of boys' and girls' social networks, their overlap with friendship relations, and their stability over time. Data collection at the start and end of the year involved systematic playground observations of pupils' play networks during team and non‐team activities and measures of friendship from peer nomination interviews. Social networks were identified by aggregating play network data at each time point. Findings showed that the size of boy's play networks on the playground, but not their social networks, varied according to activity type. Social network cores consisted mainly of friends. Girl's social networks were more likely to be composed of friends and boys' networks contained friends and non‐friends. Girls had more friends outside of the social network than boys. Stability of social network membership and internal network relations were higher for boys than girls. These patterns have implications for the nature of social experiences within these network contexts.     

Aspiration Strain and Mental Health: The Education‐Contingent Role of Religion

This study examines whether dimensions of religious involvement (i.e., perceived divine control, private religious practices, and religious social integration) buffer associations between aspiration strain and mental health outcomes (i.e., psychological distress, loneliness, and optimism). We also test three‐way interactions to determine whether the stress‐buffering effects of religious involvement are amplified among undereducated persons. We test our hypotheses with cross‐sectional survey data from Vanderbilt University's Nashville Stress and Health Study (2011–2014), a probability sample of non‐Hispanic white and black adults from Davidson County, Tennessee (n = 1,252). Results from multivariate regression models confirmed: (1) aspiration strain was positively associated with psychological distress and loneliness, and negatively associated with optimism; and (2) religious involvement attenuated these associations, but only for respondents with less than or equal to a high school education. We discuss the implications and limitations of our findings and outline avenues for future research.     

“Go and Do Likewise”: Investigating Whether Involvement in Congregationally Sponsored Community Service Activities Predicts Prosocial Behavior

Some congregations sponsor activities through which people can serve in the community, like serving meals at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter, offering after-school programs for neighborhood children, and hosting counseling and support groups. This study investigates whether attenders who are involved in congregationally sponsored community service activities (CSCSA) are more likely to engage in forms of prosocial behavior that are not organized or sponsored by their congregation. In doing so, it draws on past literatures about three key predictors of prosocial behavior—congregational involvement, religious beliefs and values, and community involvement. Results from the 2008/2009 U.S. Congregational Life Survey indicate that: (1) even when controlling for congregational involvement, religious beliefs and values, and community involvement, involvement in CSCSA is positively related to providing social support, charitable giving, civic engagement, and involvement in non-congregationally related community organizations; (2) involvement in CSCSA improves the model fit when predicting these outcomes. These results suggest that: (1) despite its similarity to past predictors, involvement in CSCSA matters for predicting prosocial behavior (i.e., it is more than the sum of the past predictors); (2) engaging in prosocial behavior through CSCSA may spill over into attenders’ everyday lives and encourage them to engage in forms of prosocial behavior that are not organized or sponsored by a congregation.     

Residential mobility or mobile residentiality? Exploring the effects of place stability and variety in consumer psychology

Establishing a new residence is a life-changing event with a significant impact on people's psychology and behavior. However, digitalization, the sharing economy, and flexible working conditions have made it easier for people to move, and some people have even abandoned the concept of a permanent residence and adopted a new lifestyle—“mobile residentiality”—in which they seek residence only rarely and temporarily. This article explores the effects of place stability and variety on the consumer's self and identity, social relationships and networks, and personal and societal well-being.     

Individual, Congregational, and Denominational Effects on Church Members' Civic Participation

Previous research demonstrates two aspects of religion that affect civic activity—church participation and religious conservatism. Conservative religious beliefs and membership in conservative denominations are often associated with low levels of civic activity while church participation is said to increase civic activity. This article advances the discussion of the relationship between religion and civic participation by introducing the congregational context. Data from the 1987 Church and Community Planning Inventory show that congregations vary in their members' civic activity—congregational factors associated with conservative Christianity (high levels of biblical literalism and within-church friendships) are strongly and negatively associated with church members' activity in nonchurch organizations. At the individual level, the data show that education and participation in church activities other than religious services have particularly strong, positive effects on church members' activity in nonchurch organizations. The findings demonstrate that a conservative congregational context limits church members' activity in nonchurch organizations, potentially limiting their opportunities to build heterogeneous social networks and social capital that bridges church members to other people in their communities.     

The mosque and social control in Edinburgh's Muslim community

The present paper is based on an ethnographic study of the social organisation of one of the main mosques (Markazi Jamia Masjid‐i‐Anwar‐i‐Madina) in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The main focus of the paper is the ways the mosque operates as an agency of social control among the Muslim population of Edinburgh. This study identifies sabaq—mosque‐based religious education of young Muslims—and the Jom'a (Friday) congregational prayer as the two main mechanisms of social control within the mosque. It is argued that while the social organisation of the mosque is, in some important ways, a response to and shaped by exclusionary practices in the wider society, it plays a central role in the maintenance of order in the Muslim community of Edinburgh.     

Social Networks and the Development of Close Relationships

This study examines the linkage between dose heterosexual relationships and their social networks of dose friends and family members. The central proposition of this study states that relational development will be positively associated with each partner's involvement in the other's social network and the degree of overlap in the individual social networks of each partner. Generally, the findings were consistent with this proposition. Among the indicators of network involvement and overlap, the range of network involvement (i.e., number of known members in the partner's network) emerged as the most powerful predictor of relational development. Findings are reviewed in light of existing theories and research, and suggestions for future research are made.     

Identity,Incentives, and Religious Defense of Human Rights: Marshall Meyer and the DAIA in Argentina's Dirty War

Whether religious groups advance or limit human rights has been a topic of recent debate among human rights scholars. This article studies the conditions under which religious leaders advance human rights in the context of Argentina's Jewish community during the country's 1976–1983 military dictatorship. Three major influences on religious support for human rights—autonomy from a religious community's establishment, a missionary-reformer identity, and congregational mobilization—are highlighted. Original archival research from the papers of U.S.-born rabbi Marshall T. Meyer illustrates his defense of human rights in Argentina, contrasting his work with the inaction of a major established Jewish organization. Quantitative cross-national analysis extends the case study findings by showing a relationship between religious institutions’ autonomy from the state and defense of human rights.