The death and resurrection of the American religious marketplace

This article expands upon existing academic literature examining both the decline and fragmentation of the American Christian Right. Specifically, it explores the impact of a fragmented evangelical body from a religious market perspective. It asserts that recent declines in evangelical church membership are largely due to the over-generality of its message, which in and of itself is a by-product of the broadcast age. Predictably, this over-generality has failed to cater to the diverse theological and spiritual needs of American churchgoers. However, with the rapid proliferation of Internet technologies, new religious frontiers are being explored and, as a result, many Christians are going elsewhere to tend to their spiritual needs. This process further reinforces the fragmentation of the evangelical body. This article similarly considers how with the growth of new and divergent religious movements, such as creation care and the emerging church, new religious leaders are finding their voice and preaching a message that diverges significantly from the old evangelical vanguard. While some might be tempted to view these developments in purely theological terms, the cultural fragmentation of the American evangelical community is not just a religious issue. A vibrant religious marketplace threatens the religious monopoly of the Christian Right, and by extension, the articulation of social conservatism and Republican politics. As new religious movements grow, so too do new conceptualisations and understandings of what it means to be a Christian and to hold Christian values. In facilitating the breakdown of the religious monologue of the Christian Right, the Internet is unsettling long-established political coalitions and giving rise to new political realities. To support these claims, this article relies on the combination of previous academic works, the reporting of recent religious and political developments, as well as personal interviews. The aim of this article is to provide a rich textual account of the state of evangelical Christianity as it is lived and experienced in a new media saturated environment.     

Ringing the changes: In tribute to Arthur R. Peacocke1

Justin Barrett's consideration of some challenges for religious belief raised by evolutionary and cognitive theories of religion was criticized by Howard Van Till for overstating tensions, mischaracterizing the most important epistemological issues, and proposing a solution that perpetuates war on evolution. We argue that each of these claims is untrue, and is not conducive to dialogue that constructively engages and attempts to resolve tensions between science and religion where they do exist.     

Residents' Attitudes About On-Site Religious Activities: A Comparison of Continuing Care Retirement Communities in Two States

ABSTRACT

Twelve older adults were interviewed in two continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs), one in Florida and the other in Wisconsin. Only the residents in Wisconsin maintained contact with local congregations, probably because most had always lived in communities not far from the CCRC. On-site religious activities such as worship and study groups were important because of the ways they ordered the week and the opportunities they offered for social interaction. In both locations, Protestant residents appreciated the opportunity to worship in ecumenical services conducted by clergy of different Protestant faith traditions. Catholic services were also available in both locations. Suggestions are offered about ways that faith communities can nourish the spiritual lives of persons living in CCRCs by working with chaplains and by conducting small prayer and study groups.     

Ageing and Death: A Buddhist-Christian Conceptual Framework for Spirituality in Later Life

SUMMARY

This study tested the roles of age, religious beliefs and organizational religiosity in the prediction of depressive symptoms and positive affect. Data provided by 129 younger and older adults were used to test a path model in which both direct and indirect effects of age and beliefs on well being were hypothesized. Both age and religious beliefs were positively and significantly associated with organizational religiosity. Individuals who reported more frequent participation in organizational religiosity reported fewer depressive symptoms and higher positive affect. Neither age nor religious beliefs, however, exerted direct effects on the outcomes. Results of the current investigation suggest that a better understanding of the content and function of religious beliefs may add to our understanding of well being and aging. Moreover, we advocate the further investigation of religiosity and positive emotional experiences.     

A Mighty Fortress Is Our Atheism: Defining the Nature of Religiousness in the Elderly

SUMMARY

This article considers current trends in research on religion and aging. By considering the perspective of classical sociology, the author argues that we need to understand religion as a belief system with a particular function, rather than a belief system that necessarily contains certain specific beliefs or behaviors.     

Think crisis–think female: Further evidence

Many studies have demonstrated that interpersonally oriented leadership abilities such as being empathetic, supporting work relationships, or explicitly stating an interest in helping others are particularly relevant in crisis contexts. Since these leadership abilities coincide with stereotypically feminine roles and traits, it has been proposed that a “think crisis–think female” association may exist (Ryan, Haslam, Hersby, & Bongiorno, 2011). In a field study (N = 301 workers and managers) we examined this association and identified two relevant factors that may hinder the acceptance of female leaders and stereotypically feminine characteristics in crisis management: instrumental (male) leadership role models and sexist attitudes. In doing so, we provide new insights into the “think crisis–think female” relationship and illustrate the potential implications of this occurrence for gender studies and for research into work and organizational psychology.     

Socio-demographic and psychopathological risk factors in obsessive-compulsive disorder: Epidemiologic study of school population

We assessed the presence of emotional disorders (obsessive-compulsive, anxiety and depressive) in 1,514 Spanish non-referred children (8–12 years old) to investigate the predictive ability of psychopathological and socio-demographic characteristics, and identify which of these were possible correlates for clinical obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and subclinical OCD. At one year later, 562 subjects (risk group and without risk group) were re-assessed and we established the OCD diagnoses or the subclinical OCD diagnoses. We found that 20 participants presented clinical OCD and 46 participants presented subclinical OCD. Somatic and separation anxiety symptomatology were good predictors for clinical OCD, and obsessive concern was a predictor for subclinical OCD. Clinical OCD was associated with order/checking/pollution symptoms and with a lower socioeconomic status (SES). Subclinical OCD was associated with hyperactive and impulsive manifestations, obsessive concern, and superstition/mental compulsion. An early detection and the follow-up of anxiety or obsessive symptoms in children may be important for preventing the course of OCD.     

Evaluation of the Latin American version of the Life Orientation Test-Revised

The Life Orientation Test (LOT-R) is the most intensively used instrument for the assessment of optimism, but empirical evidence of its psychometric quality in Latin America is lacking. The aim of this study was to test psychometric properties of this questionnaire based on a representative sample of the general population of Colombia (N = 1,500). Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the bi-dimensionality of the questionnaire with two factors, namely Optimism and Pessimism. The sum scores of the optimism and pessimism subscale correlated with r = ?.12. Convergent validity aspects were studied by correlating LOT-R values with anxiety, depression, quality of life, fatigue, mental health, hopelessness, and self-efficacy. Optimism was more strongly correlated with these variables than pessimism. Normative data and mean values for both genders and different age groups are given. Generally, there were only small age and gender effects. Compared to the German norm data, the Colombian participants scored on average one scale point higher in the dimension of optimism. In summary, the LOT-R in its Spanish version is an appropriate and practical tool for screening purposes in individual diagnostics and epidemiological research in Latin American samples.     

Kleptomania: A Review of the Research

Research on kleptomania is limited. Earlier views and recent reports of treatment are reviewed in this article. More study is needed to delineate this impulse-control disorder.     

Editorial

Mauss's contribution to his uncle's classical study, The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, has not been widely acknowledged. It is, however, difficult to assess in the light of inadequate knowledge. This essay is an introduction to the study of the relation of nephew and uncle with regard to this problem. The difference between them as people and their achievements is first briefly considered. Then attention is turned to the way they approached the sociological study of religion. Only two aspects of religion have been selected. The first considers the problems in defining religion. Durkheim holds to the notion of the sacred and Mauss to mana as being central to a definition. The second area is ritual, where there is considerable agreement, although Mauss shows little interest in effervescence. In the final analysis, the two tend to show a complementarity in their work.