Faithful
Has Immigration Slowed Down Secularization in Germany? Empirical Evidence From 2014 to 2021
Jan-Philip Steinmann
Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World, August 2024
Abstract:
The aim of this data visualization is to answer the question of whether immigration has acted as a counter-secularization force in Germany in recent years. The hypothesis is based on the tendency of first- and second-generation immigrants to exhibit higher levels of religiosity compared with the host populations. Simulation analysis involving more than 15,000 respondents of data from the 2014 to 2021 German General Social Survey indicates that the increase in the immigrant population during this period does not emerge as a substantial counterforce to religious decline in both eastern and western Germany. An effective slowdown of secularization in Germany would have required a more substantial increase in immigration, a notably higher level of religious engagement among new arrivals and their descendants than was observed, and a reduced pace of secularization among them.
Frequency of Private Prayer Predicts Survival Over 6 Years in a Nationwide U.S. Sample of Individuals with a Chronic Illness
Gail Ironson & Salman Shaheen Ahmad
Journal of Religion and Health, August 2024, Pages 2910–2923
Abstract:
Prayer is central to religious/spiritual life, and there are many claims for its effectiveness. However, few studies have examined whether frequency of prayer predicts survival in people with a chronic illness. This study follows a nationwide United States sample of people with a chronic illness (N = 1931) from 2014 to 2020. Those who prayed on a daily basis or more were significantly more likely to survive over 6 years (Hazard Ratio = 1.48; 95% Confidence Intervals: 1.08–2.03) compared with those who prayed less often, after controlling for biomedical variables (age, medical symptoms), sociodemographics (sex, race, and education), psychosocial variables (depression, social support), and health behaviors (alcohol use, smoking, exercise, and body mass index/weight).
The Diffusion of Exclusion: Medieval Expulsions of Jews
Kerice Doten-Snitker
Comparative Political Studies, forthcoming
Abstract:
What social processes guide the spread of ethnic or racial exclusion? I investigate the diffusion of medieval expulsions of Jews among over 500 polities in the western Holy Roman Empire, 1385–1520 CE. For medieval governors, religious and material concerns were strong rationales against expulsion. Yet expulsions increase markedly in the 15th century. Did an expulsion by one government affect another government’s choices about expulsion? I appraise three common theories of policy diffusion: learning, social reinterpretation, and social structural and resource constraints. Statistical models provide evidence only for the latter two. While theological changes gave expulsion fresh political value, the adoption of expulsion followed political and economic incentives that were embedded in inter-city relationships of power and dependency. The results indicate that social influence, especially spatial proximity, cannot be assumed to accelerate ethnoracial extremism.
Religious Differences in Physical and Mental Health among Israeli Jews: Findings from the Global Flourishing Study
Jeff Levin, Matt Bradshaw & Byron Johnson
Journal of Religion and Health, August 2024, Pages 2544–2558
Abstract:
Numerous studies have identified religious correlates of health indicators, but relatively few have been conducted among Jewish populations in Israel or the diaspora. This study investigates the possibility of a religious gradient in physical and mental health and well-being across the familiar categories of Jewish religious identity and observance in Israel: hiloni (secular), masorti lo dati (traditional, non-religious), masorti (traditional), dati (religious or Orthodox), and charedi (ultra-Orthodox). Data are from Jewish respondents aged 18 and over (N = 2916) from the Israeli sample of the new, 22-nation Global Flourishing Study, which used stratified, probability-based sampling and assessed demographic, socioeconomic, political, religious, health-related, and other variables. This analysis investigated religious differences in nine indicators of physical and mental health and well-being among Israeli Jews. Using a strategy of one-way ANOVA and ANCOVA, adjusting for complex sampling design components, a statistically significant “dose-response”-like gradient was found for eight of the outcome measures, validated by additional multiple comparison tests. For four “positively” worded indicators (physical and mental health, happiness, and life satisfaction), scores increased consistently from the hiloni to the charedi categories. For four of five “negatively” worded indicators (bodily pain, depression, anxiety, and suffering), scores decreased across the same categories. Results withstood adjusting for effects of age, sex, education, marital status, urbanicity, income, and nativity (whether born in Israel). Among Israeli Jews, greater religiousness was associated with higher levels of health and well-being and lower levels of somatic and psychological distress.
The Qualitative Differences Between Self-Identification as a Born-Again and/or Evangelical Christian
Levi Allen
American Politics Research, September 2024, Pages 484–497
Abstract:
How do members of the evangelical religious tradition choose to identify themselves, and how do they define terms such as “evangelical” or “born-again?” Extant scholarship traditionally utilizes quantitative data in order to isolate the pitfalls associated with this conflation. In order to validate these quantitative measures and to better understand how adherents of the evangelical religious tradition conceptualize these identities, I leverage 63 face-to-face interviews conducted with white evangelicals. I find that “evangelical” is not commonly used among adherents, who view the term as esoteric and ill-defined. Democrats specifically recoil against the term due to its perceived conservative nature; however, some Republicans also eschew identifying as such, viewing it in some cases as too liberal or contaminated by the media. I also find that the term “born-again” is much more commonly used, regardless of the respondent’s partisanship. This work reveals the continuing politicization of “evangelical” and the endogeneity of religious orientations to politics.
Holy Nations: How White Racism Boosts Black Support for Christian Nationalism
Brooklyn Walker
Political Behavior, forthcoming
Abstract:
Current work on Christian nationalism emphasizes its strong correlation with exclusion of racial minorities and support for racialized policy, but Christian nationalism support is highest among Black Americans. If Christian nationalism is tightly bound to racism, why do Black Americans express such high levels of support for it? I argue that Black support for Christian nationalism is a response to White ethnonationalism. As Black Americans are denied their equal status as Americans, they increasingly assert their prototypicality as Americans by emphasizing their Christian identity. I employ an original survey experiment, finding that exposure to nationalist messaging in both its civic and ethnonationalist forms is related to higher levels of support for Christian nationalism among Black Christians, suggesting that the sense of national exclusion evokes Black Christians to emphasize their prototypicality as Americans. Moreover, by comparing the role of values underlying Christian nationalism support, I demonstrate that these results are not due to alternative understandings of the meaning of Christian nationalism for Black respondents. These findings shed light on Christian nationalism support as a racialized process.
Cesarean Sections and Family Planning Among Ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews
Yuval Arbel & Ronen Bar-El
Journal of Religion and Health, August 2024, Pages 2599–2632
Abstract:
The elevated frequency of Cesarean sections (C-sections) in OECD countries not only burdens health systems financially but also heightens the risks for mothers and infants. This study explores the feasibility of reducing C-section rates by examining the Israeli ultra-Orthodox population, noted for its large families and low C-section rates. We analyze birth data from an Israeli hospital, focusing on ultra-Orthodox mothers with husbands who are yeshiva students compared to other mothers. Our findings reveal that all else being equal, mothers married to yeshiva students exhibit a lower likelihood of undergoing a C-section and a higher propensity to seek private medical services to avoid this procedure. This behavior is attributed to their preference for large families and the desire to minimize C-sections, which may restrict the number of possible future pregnancies. These insights underscore the potential effectiveness of initiatives encouraging mothers to opt for vaginal deliveries, thereby reducing healthcare costs and maternal-infant risks.