Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Openness Of Religious Beliefs To The Influence Of External Information, Darin Freeburg

Faculty Publications

Religious beliefs have important and wide-reaching impacts on society. They also tend to be viewed as impervious to the influence of information external to a religious setting. Eight focus groups were held with attendees of two United Church of Christ congregations. Participants were asked about their core religious beliefs, and transcripts were qualitatively coded for the interplay of belief and infor- mation. Analysis found that beliefs that were focused on people, processes and events external to the congregation showed the char- acteristics of being more open to external information. Specifically, the breadth of these external beliefs allowed for a wider …