{"title":"The Relational Dimension of Disaffiliation: Thematic Analysis on the Relevance of Relationship in the Process of Leaving the Roman-Catholic Church","authors":"R. Ulrich, F. Tobias, Kröck Thomas","doi":"10.1163/15709256-12341375","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15709256-12341375","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Empirical Theology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2018-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/15709256-12341375","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42531060","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"What Does the Liberal-Conservative Scale Measure? A Study among Clergy and Laity in the Church of England","authors":"A. Village","doi":"10.1163/15709256-12341371","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15709256-12341371","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The Liberal-Conservative (LIBCON) scale is a seven-point semantic differential scale that has been widely used to measure identity within the Church of England. The history of the development of liberalism in the Church of England suggests that this scale should be associated with specific beliefs and attitudes related to doctrine, moral issues and church practices. This study tests this idea among a sample of 9339 lay and ordained readers of the Church Times (the main newspaper of the Church of England) using twelve summated rating scales measuring a range of beliefs and attitudes. Of these twelve variables, eleven were correlated with the LIBCON scale. Discriminant function analysis produced a linear function of these variables that correctly identified 35% of respondents on the scale, and 69% to within one scale score. The best predictors were scales related to either doctrine or moral issues, and these performed consistently across traditions (Anglo-catholic, Broad church or Evangelical) and between clergy and laity. Scales related to church practices suggested ‘conserving tradition’ was also involved in the liberal-conservative dimension, but this was less so for clergy and for Evangelicals. The scale is commended as an empirical measure of one dimension of Church of England identities, especially if used alongside a parallel scale measuring church tradition.","PeriodicalId":42786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Empirical Theology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2018-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/15709256-12341371","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41582669","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Stress Levels among Anglican Clergy: The Beneficial Effects of Feeling Supported","authors":"L. Francis, A. Village, David Voas","doi":"10.1163/15709256-12341374","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15709256-12341374","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The present study draws on data generated by the Church Growth Research Programme among 1,268 full-time stipendiary Church of England clergy aged 68 or under to test the extent to which the sense of feeling supported by professional advisers (positive affect) may offset the sense of feeling stressed (negative affect), after taking into account a range of personal, psychological, environmental and theological or ecclesial factors. The data found that the sense of feeling supported by professional advisers reduced the levels of self-reported stress after controlling for personal, psychological, environmental, and theological or ecclesial factors. The implications of these findings for the provision of formal support mechanisms within dioceses is discussed.","PeriodicalId":42786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Empirical Theology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2018-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/15709256-12341374","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47812315","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Personal Rituals in Adolescence: Their Role in Emotion Regulation and Identity Formation","authors":"Sarah Demmrich, U. Wolfradt","doi":"10.1163/15709256-12341373","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15709256-12341373","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This study examines the meaning of personal rituals for the adolescent identity development and emotion regulation. Both are ritual functions and can be characterized as adolescent developmental tasks. However, there is no consistent pattern in previous research to explain the processes for how identity is formed and emotions are regulated during the performance of personal rituals. Therefore, a questionnaire study among 410 (182 male) adolescents (age: M = 15.06, SD = .61) was carried out. The questionnaire used the Berzonsky Identity Style Inventory and various measures to assess different experiences during the ritual (i.e. mood, emotion regulation, reality-transforming experiences). After separating spiritual from non-spiritual rituals, the results showed that spiritual rituals were used as a means for emotion regulation. Furthermore, self-reflection was closely related to the information-oriented identity style. The findings are discussed against the background of the impact of spiritual practices for emotional and identity development in adolescence.","PeriodicalId":42786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Empirical Theology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2018-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/15709256-12341373","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47937192","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Personality Traits of Church Planters and Other Church Leaders in Europe (II)","authors":"Annemarie Foppen, S. Paas, J. V. Saane","doi":"10.1163/15709256-12341377","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15709256-12341377","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000In search of a renewal of their mission in the secularized West, an increasing number of (Protestant) churches have embarked on the creation of new faith communities with a strong missionary purpose. This entrepreneurial approach of mission raises a number of questions, among which the issue of leadership is paramount. Currently, however, very little reliable empirical research has been done among faith entrepreneurs, or ‘church planters’, in Europe. In this article the personality dimensions of 215 church planters are compared with 307 ‘regular’ church leaders (pastors), based on the so-called ‘Big Five’ personality test. Independent samples t-tests showed that church planters are significantly more extravert, open to new experiences, and conscientious than ‘regular’ pastors, and significantly less neurotic, while scores on agreeableness are more or less similar. These results are discussed with a view to existing literature on church planting and entrepreneurship in the West.","PeriodicalId":42786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Empirical Theology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2018-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/15709256-12341377","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46607067","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Joantine Berghuijs, H. Schilderman, A. V. D. Braak, M. Kalsky
{"title":"Exploring Single and Multiple Religious Belonging","authors":"Joantine Berghuijs, H. Schilderman, A. V. D. Braak, M. Kalsky","doi":"10.1163/15709256-12341365","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15709256-12341365","url":null,"abstract":"This contribution studies the notion of single and multiple religious belonging in a sample of 265 Dutch respondents. We will first focus on modalities of religious belonging and subsequently compare those who claim to draw from just one religion (the monoreligious) with those who indicate that they combine elements from different religious traditions (the multireligious) in terms of their intensities and styles of belonging, loyalty and mobility, and motivations for belonging. In general, multireligious respondents are characterized by their larger flexibility in religious matters as they tend to focus on similarities and common elements in different religions, and less on boundaries between them. By being loyal to themselves in the first place, they feel free to adopt and to leave behind religious beliefs and communities. Emotional and institutional bonds for each religion appear to be less strong than for monoreligious individuals in relation to their single religion.","PeriodicalId":42786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Empirical Theology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2018-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/15709256-12341365","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48817847","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Theological Frames for Social Research","authors":"Michael Smith","doi":"10.1163/15709256-12341368","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15709256-12341368","url":null,"abstract":"In this article, theological frames are introduced as a qualitative tool for empirical theological research on Christian organisations. Theological frames are defined as frameworks for the theological interpretation of social life and are offered to further comparative and explanatory research on lived religion. Theological frames are developed by integrating frame theory (Bateson 1972; Goffman 2974; Snow et al. 1986) with the four voices of theology Bhatti et al. (2010) to understand the effects of nuanced theological expressions on social life. A methodology for constructing theological frames in social research is given, then applied to a socially engaged Australian Christian advocacy organisation.","PeriodicalId":42786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Empirical Theology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2018-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/15709256-12341368","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46542661","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Relationship of Personality and Spirituality to Empathy","authors":"C. Stewart, Shawn A. Lawrence, M. Burg","doi":"10.1163/15709256-12341366","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15709256-12341366","url":null,"abstract":"This empirical study sought to explore the relationship of personality, spirituality and empathy. Specifically, the possible additional predictive ability of spirituality for empathy when also including personality was examined. Multidimensional measures of spirituality (Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale) and personality (Big Five Inventory) were utilized with a sample of both undergraduate, graduate students and practitioners from two disciplines. Data was collected from several sites, including three universities. Results demonstrated that most spiritual dimensions were not significantly correlated with empathy. One spirituality dimension (Spiritual Perspective) however added significantly to a regression model that also included personality dimensions.","PeriodicalId":42786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Empirical Theology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2018-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/15709256-12341366","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49348708","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Trauma, Substance Dependence and Religious Coping: A Narrative Spiritual Appraisal in Faith-Based Recovery Programs","authors":"S. Sremac","doi":"10.1163/15709256-12341369","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15709256-12341369","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of this article is to understand how people with substance dependence problems employ testimonies of spiritual transformation to develop, cope and sustain a sense of personal identity and create meaning from conflicting (traumatic) life experiences. The quest to undo the struggling with substance dependence is seen as a spiritual attempt to reconfigure the person’s ‘spoiled identity’. Drawing on 31 autobiographies of people who recovered from substance dependence problems I analyzed their conversion testimonies in two European contexts (Serbia and the Netherlands, including a sample of immigrants). It draws on the observation that substance dependence often (though certainly not always) develops in response to life crises or trauma and identity confusion, while spiritual transformation, including religious conversion, can foster recovery. The study focuses specifically of the role of testimony in reconstructing a viable narrative of the self, accounting for trauma, substance dependence experience, and conversion and embedding in different social, cultural, and spiritual contexts. Finally, suggestions for the helping professions and care providers of substance dependence service will be offered.","PeriodicalId":42786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Empirical Theology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2018-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/15709256-12341369","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42784688","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Differences Between Religious and Secular Women Students in Judging Processes","authors":"Nirit Rauchberger, Shlomo Kaniel, Z. Gross","doi":"10.1163/15709256-12341370","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15709256-12341370","url":null,"abstract":"This study examined the differences between religious and secular women in the process of judging a dramatic, complex event from a structural viewpoint, both multidimensional (large number of causes and effects, causes in different categories, large number of actors) and one-dimensional. The event was the evacuation of the Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip, which took place in Israel in 2005. The participants were 244 Jewish women students, self-defined as religious or secular, who reported negative emotions in relation to the evacuation. Despite differences between the religious and secular women in the content and intensity of the emotions aroused, differences were not found in the pattern of connections (i.e. the structure) between the variables in the model. That is to say, the difference in the respondents’ political or religious tendencies did not affect their judgment structures. We also found that a multidimensional perception of the event will tone down the severity of the judgment, regardless of the judge’s views regarding the content of the event.","PeriodicalId":42786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Empirical Theology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2018-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/15709256-12341370","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41265370","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}