Digital Commons Network^™

Religiosity And Fear Of Crime, Jonathan Bolen

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Previous research investigating fear of crime has returned little universal agreement as to what exacerbates and what reduces an individual’s level of fear of crime. In this thesis the researcher seeks to add to the mountain of literature on fear of crime and to include a novel independent variable, religiosity, in effort to better inform the fear of crime debate. Analyzing survey data collected from students at an urban university, the researcher finds that (1) females are far more fearful than their male counterparts; (2) religiosity is not informative on varying levels of fear of crime in the sample. An …

Book Review: Daniel M. Bell, Jr., Just War As Christian Discipleship: Recentering The Tradition In The Church Rather Than The State, Brian Stiltner

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

From his conversations in church settings and classrooms, Daniel M. Bell, Jr. has observed that Christians by and large do not know the church’s just war tradition very well, but that they are receptive to learning about it. Most theologians would likely agree that they know a number of Christians who are hungry to see better thinking and more effective action in response to war in our time. Bell, a Lutheran seminary professor and ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, wrote this book to interpret ‘the just war tradition in terms of concrete practices that might contribute to the …

Leisure In The Life Of The 21st Century Black Church: Re-Thinking The Gift, Steven N. Waller Ph.D.

Movement and Being: The Journal of the Christian Society for Kinesiology, Leisure and Sports Studies

Scholarship devoted to examining the role that leisure plays in the life of the Black Church is lacking. Leisure is an important facet of congregational life in African American churches and permeates congregational dynamics on multiple levels. The purpose of this essay is to examine leisure in the life of the Black Church and posit how a healthy, theologically accurate understanding of the value of leisure can help with health and wellness promotion, community-economic development and church growth. The Black Church is defined as the eight historically Black denominations: African Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, Christian Methodist Episcopal, Church …

The Santa Clara Strength Of Religious Faith Questionnaire: Assessing Faith Engagement In A Brief And Nondenominational Manner, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

The Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire is a brief (10-item, or five-item short form version), reliable and valid self report measure assessing strength of religious faith and engagement suitable for use with multiple religious traditions, denominations, and perspectives. It has been used in medical, student, psychiatric, substance abuse, and among general populations nationally and internationally and among multiple cultures and languages. Brief non denominational self report measures of religious and faith engagement that have demonstrated reliability and validity are not common but can have potential for general utility in both clinical and research settings. This article provides an …

Bibler, Thomas Edward (Fa 8), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 8. Interviews conducted by Thomas Bibler. Includes interviews with Joseph Bryan Houk, Bowling, Kentucky, about his life and Christmas and New Year's customs in Hart County and Warren County, Kentucky, and Columbus, Ohio.

The Effect Of Religion On Coming Out And The Sexual Identity Formation Of 18-30 Year Olds Who Self-Identify As Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Or Queer : A Project Based Upon An Independent Investigation, Marissa M. Puntigam

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Religion, particularly within Judeo-Christian traditions, is an often cited rationale for rejection of homosexuality and persons who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer. Given the socio-cultural influence of religion, catalyzed through the media, legislation, churches, and families, such frequent defamation could be believed to elicit a moral dilemma for an individual contemplating his/her own sexual identity. This effect might be detectable through the process and age of coming out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer. This study sought to investigate the direct impact of a religious upbringing on sexual identity formation and was executed through quantitative analysis with a …

American Graffiti: Musings On The Ground Zero Mosque, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses reactions and parallels to a mosque proposed near the site of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in public discourse.

The Ties That Binds: Colonies , Culture And Education Among Immigrants, David Ortmeyer, Aaron Jackson, Michael A. Quinn

Economics Faculty Publications

There is concern among many policy makers of a dual problem: too many immigrants overall but not enough highly-skilled immigrants. Using recently available data we examine the factors which influence both the quantity and average educational level of immigrants in OECD countries in 1990 and 2000. We find that geographic proximity and former colonial relationships positively influence the overall number of immigrants but are negatively related to immigrants’ average educational level. By contrast, variables such as greater economic freedom, more generous asylum policies, and a common language and religion increase both the quantity and educational level of immigrants. More highly …

Is Love A Flimsy Foundation? Soulmate Versus Institutional Models Of Marriage, W. Bradford Wilcox, Jeffrey P. Dew

Faculty Publications

Steven Nock argued that love—understood narrowly in terms of emotional and sexual intimacy—was a flimsy foundation for relationships and that the institution of marriage provided a firmer footing for stable, high-quality relationships than love alone. Relying on data from the Marriage Matters Survey of 1414 married men and women in Louisiana (1998–2004), we extended Nock’s insights to consider whether contemporary marriages organized along institutional lines enjoyed more stability, satisfaction, and less conflict than marriages organized around a soulmate model. Largely consistent with Nock’s perspective, we found that individuals who embraced norms of marital permanency and gender specialization and were embedded …

Living Together: Conservative Protestants And Cohabitation, Anthony E. Healy

Sociology Theses

Recent research finds that conservative Protestants are cohabiting in no small numbers. Given the strict moral orientation of conservative Protestants, that outcome appears paradoxical. This thesis explains that paradox through the culture in action models of Swidler (1986), given the social and economic location of conservative Protestants. The thesis employs pooled General Social Survey data from 1993 to 2008 in which a question is asked that indicates cohabitation. The thesis finds that the social and economic location of conservative Protestants is related to their cohabiting. Though conservative Protestant cohabitors have lessened religiosity, much of the decline in religiosity compared to …

Religious Groups & “Affluenza”: Further Exploration Of The Tv-Materialism Link, Mark D Harmon

School of Journalism and Electronic Media Publications and Other Works

The researcher explores whether previously noted links between television viewing and materialism also appear among those in religious communities. Secondary analyses were conducted using data from six previous studies: Mennonites, American Buddhists, North American Hispanic Youth in Seventh-Day Adventist Congregations, two studies of youth in various Protestant denominations, and a national youth study with an over-sample of parochial students. Across the six studies heavier TV viewing generally correlated with materialist values, especially the value of "making a lot of money" for the young. The results validate Georg Simmel’s observation that even those devoutly dedicated to salvation and the soul are …

Mothering Fundamentalism: The Transformation Of Modern Women Into Fundamentalists, Sophia Korb

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Despite upbringings influenced by modern feminism, many women choose to identify

with new communities in the modern religious revivalist movement in the United States

who claim to represent and embrace the patriarchal values against which their mothers

and grandmothers fought. Because women’s mothering is determinative to the family, it is

therefore central to transforming larger social structures. This literature review is taken from

a study which employed a qualitative design incorporating thematic analysis of interviews

to explore how women’s attitudes about being a mother and mothering change when they

change religious communities from liberal paradigms to fundamentalist, enclavist belief

systems. …

Trust In Others: Does Religion Matter?, Joseph P. Daniels, Marc Von Der Ruhr

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

Though the recent literature offers intuitively appealing bases for, and evidence of, a linkage among religious beliefs, religious participation and economic outcomes, evidence on a relationship between religion and trust is mixed. By allowing for an attendance effect, disaggregating Protestant denominations, and using a more extensive data set, probit models of the General Social Survey (GSS), 1975 through 2000, show that black Protestants, Pentecostals, fundamentalist Protestants, and Catholics, trust others less than individuals who do not claim a preference for a particular denomination. For conservative denominations the effect of religion is through affiliation, not attendance. In contrast, liberal Protestants trust …

"Now I Turn The Remainder Of The Service Into The Hands Of The Pulpit": Leadership In An African American Church, Kaniqua Robinson

Anthropology Theses

The research study examines the influence of an African American religious preacher in organizing his congregation into a socioeconomic community. The research question is as fol-lows: How does the leadership performance influence (a) the social interaction of his congrega-tion, (b) the mobilization of congregates into members of a social group, and (c) the development of his congregation into an economic system? This study examines the Pastor, his role, influence, and management of power. Weber argued that there are three pure types of authority: rational, traditional, and charismatic. For an African American religious preacher, the authority would be considered to be …

Faith-Based Sexual Education: A Comparison Of Comprehensive And Abstinence-Only Programs, Leanna Fortunato

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study sought to evaluate the effects of faith-based sexual education programs. Participants (ages 13-18, N = 128) were surveyed regarding their religious and sexual attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors prior to completing a sexual education program at their church, synagogue, or religious institution and again after completing the program. The sexual education programs were divided into three groups based on program content and duration: abstinence-only-short, comprehensive-short, and comprehensive-long. The first goal was to assess the within-group effects of attending an abstinence-only or comprehensive sexual education program. Participants from all three groups showed an increase in the degree to which they …

“It’S Only A Theory": Science, Religion And Attitudes Toward Evolution, Linda A. Lockett

Political Science Faculty Research

The controversy over evolution is a long standing one in American politics. The issue is often depicted as a conflict between science and religion. In this paper the effects of confidence in science and confidence in religion on attitudes toward human evolution are estimated. Bivariate analysis shows that confidence in science is positively related to belief in human evolution, while confidence in religion has a negative relationship. However, these effects become very weak when controls for religious beliefs and affiliation are imposed. Religious variables, rather than attitudes toward science, seem to be the main sources of attitudes toward evolution.

Hunger For Grace: The Association Between Eating Disorders And Religiousness, Janet Lydecker

Theses and Dissertations

Religiousness is one potential, understudied psychosocial correlate of eating disorders. To assess associations between religiousness and eating disorders, this study developed the Religious Attendance and Belief Scale (Rel-AB), and examined its psychometric properties. Women from a large population-based sample (N = 1510; M(age) = 42.5) completed subscales measuring (1) belief in a personal and loving God, and (2) attendance at religion-related activities, as well as eating disorder measures. Belief was negatively associated with eating disorder symptomatology among women meeting broadly defined criteria for bulimia nervosa. Eating disorders and religiousness were not associated in the overall sample, and associations were largely …

Predicting The Use Of Spiritually-Based Interventions With Children And Adolescents: Implications For Social Work Practice, Connie L. Kvarfordt, Michael Sheridan

Social Work Publications

A cross-sectional survey design with disproportionate random sampling was used to gather data from 283 clinical social workers across the United States. Overall, participants had a positive attitude toward the role of religion and spirituality in social work practice and were favorable of social workers helping youth develop spiritually. While practitioners used a wide range of spiritually-derived interventions with this population, the vast majority reported that these issues were rarely, if ever, addressed in their social work education and training. Three attitudinal variables, two practice related variables, and one personal spiritual/religious variable were found to be most predictive of the …

Anchors Of Religious Commitment In Adolescence, Emily Gwilliam Layton

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores adolescent religious commitment using qualitative data from a religiously diverse (Jewish, Christian, and Muslim) sample of 80 adolescents from California and New England. It identifies a new construct, "anchors of religious commitment," to describe what adolescents are committing to as a part of their religious identity. Seven anchors of religious commitment are discussed: (a) religious traditions, rituals, and laws; (b) God; (c) faith traditions or denominations; (d) faith community members; (e) parents; (f) scriptures or sacred texts; and (g) religious leaders. Various forms of expression are identified within each anchor of religious commitment, with issues of relationships …

The Role Of Religiosity In Stress, Job Attitudes, And Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Eugene J. Kutcher, Jennifer Bragger, Ofelia Rodriguez, Jamie L. Masco

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Religion and faith are often central aspects of an individual's self-concept, and yet they are typically avoided in the workplace. The current study seeks to replicate the findings about the role of religious beliefs and practices in shaping an employee's reactions to stress/burnout and job attitudes. Second, we extend the literature on faith in the workplace by investigating possible relationships between religious beliefs and practices and citizenship behaviors at work. Third, we attempted to study how one's perceived freedom to express his/her religious identity at work was related to workplace attitudes and behaviors. Mixed results suggest that religiosity can be …

Resilience And African American Early Adolescents: The Protective Function Of Religion And Structured After-School Activities, Gloria Patricia Montgomery-Walters

Dissertations

Resilience is defined as the ability to overcome unfavorable circumstances to achieve positive developmental outcomes. Studies of resilience and vulnerability generally reflect individuals' susceptibility to either positive or adverse outcomes when subjected to high-risk circumstances and environments. The current study examines the protective function of religiosity and structured after-school activities against the development of depression for young adolescents exposed to high incidence of community violence and deviant peer affiliation. The results suggest that religious beliefs and practices protects against depression for adolescents exposed to community violence. The implications of this finding as well as the study limitations and future research …

The Practice And Meaning Of Communitarian Spirituality In The Focolare Movement, Nori Henk

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore how individuals come to embrace the FM spirituality as radical, making the spiritually meaningful and plausible for social change through a communitarian lifestyle that affects their everyday life. Within the sociological tradition of studying religion and social movements, this study addresses how religiously-motivated, "non-elite" individuals can be collectively recruited and mobilized into life-long agents of change. My study is based on seventy-five interviews and fieldwork at three sites in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.

In the dissertation, I addressed the following research questions: 1. If a member is defined as one …

Exploring The Relationship Between Work, Family And Religion Among Clergy Families, Lenore Johnson

Dissertations

Studies examining how working adults manage the competing demands of family, home and work shed light on the interconnectedness of public and private life. The notion that private life is a refuge separate from work is highly contested, and the experiences of clergy families add further support to such claims. However, while clergy families experience many of the same strains as other families, the relationship between public and private life is noticeably impacted by the inclusion of religion, adding further complications to the process of balancing multiple responsibilities. In this study, I explore the complex relationship between these aspects of …

Conflicting Ethics: Aboriginal Values And Religious Renaissance, Earle Waugh

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

The Policy Implications Of Revitalizing Traditional Aboriginal Religions, Marc Fonda

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

MitáKuye OwáS’Į (All My Relatives): Dakota Wiconi (Way Of Life) And Wicozani Waste (Well-Being), Mark Ruml

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

Reconciliation With Residential School Survivors: A Progress Report, Jim R. Miller

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

[Review Of] Alyshia Galvez, Guadalupe In New York: Devotion And Struggle For Citizenship Rights Among Mexican Immigrants, Stephanie Reichelderfer

Ethnic Studies Review

Alyshia Galvez's Guadalupe in New York is an important contribution to a growing body of sociological and anthropological work devoted to immigrants and their fight for basic human rights in the United States. Galvez, a cultural anthropologist, uses interviews and observations to study the process of guadalupanismo (worship of Mexico's patron saint, Our Lady of Guadalupe) among recent Mexican immigrants in New York City. Between 2000 and 2008, Galvez gathered information on Marian worship by following members of comités guadalupanos, or social groups organized by parish, and explains her methodology in a useful appendix. Galvez argues that through these comités, …

The Influence Of Religion And Spirituality On Rehabilitation Outcomes Among Traumatic Brain Injury Survivors, Brigid Waldron-Perrine

Wayne State University Dissertations

The long-term consequences of traumatic brain injury affect millions of Americans, many of whom report using religion and spirituality to cope. Little research, however, has investigated how various elements of the religious and spiritual belief systems affect rehabilitation outcomes. The present study sought to assess the use of specifically defined elements of religion and spirituality as coping resources in a sample of traumatically brain injured adults. Furthermore, various mechanisms by which religion and spirituality may affect outcome were explored.

The sample included 88 adults with brain injury from 1 to 20 years post injury and their knowledgeable significant others (SOs). …

God Is A Woman, David Randall Jenkins

David Randall Jenkins

The work-in-process paper demonstrates God is a woman