Keeping the faith
Jean-Paul Carvalho
Quarterly Journal of Economics, forthcoming
Abstract:
Veiling among Muslim women is modeled as a commitment mechanism that limits temptation to deviate from religious norms of behavior. Our analysis suggests that veiling is a strategy for integration, enabling women to take up outside economic opportunities while preserving their reputation within the community. This accounts for puzzling features of the new veiling movement since the 1970s. Veiling also has surprising effects on the intergenerational transmission of values. Compulsory veiling laws can lead to a decline in religiosity. Bans on veiling can inhibit social integration and increase religiosity.
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Divergent Effects of Beliefs in Heaven and Hell on National Crime Rates
Azim Shariff & Mijke Rhemtulla
PLoS ONE, June 2012
Abstract:
Though religion has been shown to have generally positive effects on normative ‘prosocial' behavior, recent laboratory research suggests that these effects may be driven primarily by supernatural punishment. Supernatural benevolence, on the other hand, may actually be associated with less prosocial behavior. Here, we investigate these effects at the societal level, showing that the proportion of people who believe in hell negatively predicts national crime rates whereas belief in heaven predicts higher crime rates. These effects remain after accounting for a host of covariates, and ultimately prove stronger predictors of national crime rates than economic variables such as GDP and income inequality. Expanding on laboratory research on religious prosociality, this is the first study to tie religious beliefs to large-scale cross-national trends in pro- and anti-social behavior.
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Support for Redistribution in Western Europe: Assessing the role of religion
Daniel Stegmueller et al.
European Sociological Review, August 2012, Pages 482-497
Abstract:
Previous sociological studies have paid little attention to religion as a central determinant of individual preferences for redistribution. In this article we argue that religious individuals, living in increasingly secular societies, differ in political preferences from their secular counterparts. Based on the theory of religious cleavages, we expect that religious individuals will oppose income redistribution by the state. Furthermore, in contexts where the polarization between religious and secular individuals is large, preferences for redistribution will be lower. In the empirical analysis we test our predictions in a multilevel framework, using data from the European Social Survey 2002-2006 for 16 Western European countries. After controlling for a wide range of individual socio-economic factors and for welfare-state policies, religion plays and important explanatory role. We find that both Catholics and Protestants strongly oppose income redistribution by the state. The cleavage between religious and secular individuals is far more important than the difference between denominations. Using a refined measure of religious polarization, we also find that in more polarized context the overall level of support for redistribution is lower.
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Mario Ferrero
Journal of Conflict Resolution, forthcoming
Abstract:
This article suggests a rational explanation for extreme voluntary sacrifice in situations in which the state of the world when the decision must be made is observable only by the agent. Such explanation is the cult of martyrs, heroes, and saints. This cult may get out of control and fuel fanaticism, or excessive sacrifice from the standpoint of the sponsoring organization. A survey of the historical evidence of Christian martyrdom strongly suggests that martyrs were driven by the expectation of a cult in this world, not by otherworldly rewards. In particular, it is argued that the evidence of excess martyrdom in both Muslim Spain and the Roman Empire strongly speaks for the cult theory.
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A note on the effect of education on religiosity
Javier Arias-Vazquez
Economics Letters, forthcoming
Abstract:
In this note I present a novel finding on the relationship between education and religion in the US. I estimate the effect of education on religiosity using two alternative data sources and complementary identification strategies. My findings are conclusive. Contrary to the previously established positive correlation between formal education and religiosity, my results suggest that education has a negative effect on individuals' religiosity.
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Kenneth Vail, Jamie Arndt & Abdolhossein Abdollahi
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, forthcoming
Abstract:
Building on research suggesting one primary function of religion is the management of death awareness, the present research explored how supernatural beliefs are influenced by the awareness of death, for whom, and how individuals' extant beliefs determine which god(s), if any, are eligible to fulfill that function. In Study 1, death reminders had no effect among Atheists, but enhanced Christians' religiosity, belief in a higher power, and belief in God/Jesus and enhanced denial of Allah and Buddha. Similarly, death reminders increased Muslims' religiosity and belief in a higher power, and led to greater belief in Allah and denial of God/Jesus and Buddha (Study 2). Finally, in Study 3, death reminders motivated Agnostics to increase their religiosity, belief in a higher power, and their faith in God/Jesus, Buddha, and Allah. The studies tested three potential theoretical explanations and were consistent with terror management theory's worldview defense hypothesis. Theoretical implications are discussed.
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Jesus Q. Politician: Religious Rhetoric in the United States, Australia, and Canada
Willie Gin
Politics and Religion, August 2012, Pages 317-342
Abstract:
Sociologist Peter Berger once said that if India is the most religious country and Sweden the least, then the United States is a nation of Indians ruled by Swedes. In terms of use of religious rhetoric by politicians, however, the United States actually comes closer to being a nation of Indians ruled by Indians, while Australia a nation of Swedes ruled by "Swindians," and Canada a nation of "Swindians" ruled by Swedes. This article provides evidence for these claims and assesses theories as to what causes greater use of religious rhetoric by politicians. Size of the religious population and the rights revolution are not decisive in determining whether politicians heavily use religious rhetoric. The article argues that the politicization of religion is related to coalition-building incentives with Catholics.
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Religion and earnings: Is it good to be an atheist with religious parental background?
Thomas Cornelissen & Uwe Jirjahn
Economics Letters, forthcoming
Abstract:
Using German employee data, we find that being raised by two religious parents and having no current religious affiliation is associated with higher earnings. This conforms to the hypothesis that people who are raised religiously and reject religion as adults are economically more successful as they combine a strong, internalized work ethic with an increased interest in present consumption (as opposed to afterlife consumption).
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Islamic Views on Artificial Nutrition and Hydration in Terminally Ill Patients
Sami Alsolamy
Bioethics, forthcoming
Abstract:
Withholding and withdrawing artificial nutrition and hydration from terminally ill patients poses many ethical challenges. The literature provides little information about the Islamic beliefs, attitudes, and laws related to these challenges. Artificial nutrition and hydration may be futile and reduce quality of life. They can also harm the terminally ill patient because of complications such as aspiration pneumonia, dyspnea, nausea, diarrhea, and hypervolemia. From the perspective of Islam, rules governing the care of terminally ill patients are derived from the principle that injury and harm should be prevented or avoided. The hastening of death by the withdrawal of food and drink is forbidden, but Islamic law permits the withdrawal of futile, death-delaying treatment, including life support. Nutritional support is considered basic care and not medical treatment, and there is an obligation to provide nutrition and hydration for the dying person unless it shortens life, causes more harm than benefit, or is contrary to an advance directive that is consistent with Islamic law. The decision about withholding or withdrawing artificial nutrition and hydration from the terminally ill Muslim patient is made with informed consent, considering the clinical context of minimizing harm to the patient, with input from the patient, family members, health care providers, and religious scholars.
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Kevin O'Neal Cokley et al.
Mental Health, Religion & Culture, forthcoming
Abstract:
In the current study gender was tested as a moderator of the relationship between religiosity and mental health among 218 black American college students. It was hypothesised that black women would be higher in religious engagement than black men, and that gender would moderate the relationship between religiosity and mental health. Contrary to hypotheses, no significant gender differences in religious engagement were found. However, moderated multiple regression analyses revealed that increases in religious engagement were predictive of lower anxiety and depression for black women, but higher anxiety for black men. Implications for addressing religion when counselling black college students are discussed.
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Religion and Support for Democracy: A Comparative Study for Catholic and Muslim Countries
Man-Li Gu & Eduard Bomhoff
Politics and Religion, August 2012, Pages 280-316
Abstract:
This article presents a cross-country empirical analysis of the relationship between religion and political attitudes among the Catholic and Muslim publics, using the most recent data from the World Values Survey. We find that public support for democracy is stronger among the better educated in both the Catholic and Muslim countries. Contrary to the conventional belief that pious believers are less receptive to democracy, individual religiosity, measured by belief in God, is found to have a significant positive impact on desire for democracy in both types of society. Our findings further indicate that at the societal level, overt support for democracy is consistently positively correlated to the attachment of a set of more implicit tolerant civil values in Catholic-majority countries, while exactly the opposite is observed in Muslim-majority countries.
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Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Self-Esteem: The Impact of Religiosity
Maxine Seaborn Thompson, Melvin Thomas & Rachel Head
Sociological Spectrum, September/October 2012, Pages 385-405
Abstract:
This research examines two factors that have an impact on the self-esteem of African Americans and whites: religion and socioeconomic status (SES). Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households, we find that for whites, belief in the Bible (i.e., that it is the literal word of God) and self-identifying as fundamentalist were significant predictors of self-esteem. For African Americans, belief in the Bible and being Catholic were significant predictors of self-esteem. However, the association between belief in the Bible and self-esteem was stronger for African Americans than whites. SES was positively associated with self-esteem for both groups. The interactions between SES and the measures of religiosity reveal a greater impact on self-esteem for lower SES respondents. This was especially true for African Americans. These findings are discussed in light of the resource compensation hypothesis.
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Kristin Kenneavy
Social Forces, June 2012, Pages 1347-1375
Abstract:
Religious denominations vary in both their approach to the roles that men and women play in familial contexts, as well as their approach to homosexuality. This research investigates whether gender attitudes, informed by religious tradition, predict a person's support for civil liberties extended to gays and lesbians. Using data from the 1996 and 2006 waves of the General Social Survey, structural equation models are employed to relate the concepts. Traditional gender role attitudes and support for homosexuals' civil liberties are found to negatively co-vary over time. Denominational differences in attitudes toward gender and support for homosexuals' civil liberties are evident in 1996 and generally conform to an exclusivist-inclusivist continuum, but in 2006, differences are noticeably absent, suggesting that there has been a decline in the explanatory power of denominational affiliation during this decade.
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Priming virtue: Forgiveness and justice elicit divergent moral judgments among religious individuals
Daryl Van Tongeren et al.
Journal of Positive Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Forgiveness and justice are related virtues but they may exert divergent effects on moral judgments. Participants were primed with either forgiveness or retributive justice and made moral judgments of individuals. Experiment 1 demonstrated that religious participants recalling an experience of forgiveness reported more favorable attitudes toward moral transgressors than did those recalling an experience of retributive justice. Experiment 2 replicated the priming effect on moral judgments using a subtle prime of either forgiveness or justice (word search) and a different dependent measure. Experiment 3 employed a more religiously diverse sample and revealed the moderating role of religious commitment. These results suggest that salience of forgiveness leads to more favorable evaluations of moral transgressors compared to retributive justice for religious individuals.
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Elizabeth Ellen Gordon & William Gillespie
Politics and Religion, August 2012, Pages 343-366
Abstract:
Political mobilization by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints against ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was more widespread and important than most studies of the episode have acknowledged. Several decades later, the Church is again organized and active in opposing legal recognition of same-sex marriage. In this article, we explore why and how the Latter-Day Saints mobilized on these two issues. We argue that their mobilization can be understood through classic social movement theory, even though the Church is not an economic-based interest group. Furthermore, the Mormons' approach in fighting the ERA - drawing on centralized authority, tapping into established volunteer and communications networks, effectively channeling money and personnel to where they are most needed, and engaging in stealth politics (obscuring the centralized nature of apparently spontaneous action) - is echoed in the fight against same-sex marriage, even though the times and technology have somewhat changed the mobilization dynamic.
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Islamists, democracy and Turkey: A test of the inclusion-moderation hypothesis
Mehmet Gurses
Party Politics, forthcoming
Abstract:
The rise of Islamist movements in the Muslim world has been the subject of heated debate among scholars and policymakers. One group of scholars argues that Islamists use elections as a façade and warn against their political ascendency via electoral democracy. Another group of scholars, however, points to the moderating effects democracy has on views held by Islamists. This article does not present a novel theory but rather attempts to improve on existing studies by providing a test for the inclusion-moderation hypothesis using the data on Turkey collected by the World Values Survey. The findings from the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analysis, as well as in-depth face-to-face interviews with ranking members of the Islamist parties and communities in Turkey, show that Islamists develop positive attitudes toward electoral democracy to the extent that they are allowed to share power. Islamists' support for democracy, however, seems to be fragmented, provisional and driven by pragmatism more than a principled commitment to democratic norms and values.