{"title":"Economy of Shadows: The Effects of Restrictive Regulation on Religiosity in China","authors":"Andrew Francis-Tan","doi":"10.1111/jssr.12864","DOIUrl":"10.1111/jssr.12864","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Religion is permitted in China, but its practice is tightly regulated by the state. This paper uses individual-level longitudinal data to investigate the association between religious regulation and religious outcomes in China. Measures of regulation are constructed from instances of state action against Christians as well as Christian perceptions of unfair treatment by the government. In summary, as regulation increases, an individual is less likely to identify with a religion and less likely to say that religion is important. For those individuals without religious identification in either wave, regulation is negatively associated with religious importance. Yet, for those individuals with identification in one or two waves, regulation is either unassociated or even positively associated with importance. These findings contribute to research on regulation of religion and religion in China. More broadly, they demonstrate the state can wield considerable power over people's private lives but also that this power has limits.</p>","PeriodicalId":51390,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion","volume":"62 3","pages":"624-647"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jssr.12864","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41540593","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Racism in the Hands of an Angry God: How Image of God Impacts Cultural Racism in Relation to Police Treatment of African Americans","authors":"Tim A. Lauve-Moon, Jerry Z. Park","doi":"10.1111/jssr.12863","DOIUrl":"10.1111/jssr.12863","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Previous research suggests an angry God image is a narrative schema predicting support for more punitive forms of criminal justice. However, this research has not explored the possibility that racialization may impact one's God image. We perform logistic regression on Wave V of the Baylor Religion Survey to examine the correlation between an angry God image and the belief that police shoot Blacks more often because Blacks are more violent than Whites (a context-specific form of cultural racism). Engaging critical insights from intersectionality theory, we also interact angry God image with both racialized identity and racialized religious tradition. Results suggest that the angry God schema is associated with this form of cultural racism for White people generally as well as White Evangelicals, yet for Black Protestants, belief in an angry God is associated with resistance against this type of cultural racism.</p>","PeriodicalId":51390,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion","volume":"62 3","pages":"605-623"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jssr.12863","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42639317","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Making Space Behind the Veil: Black Agency within a Predominantly White Religion","authors":"Michael Lee Wood, Grace Soelberg, Jacob S. Rugh","doi":"10.1111/jssr.12854","DOIUrl":"10.1111/jssr.12854","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The work of W.E.B. Du Bois highlights the significance of Christian religion in Black American life. According to Du Bois, the Black Church serves as a site of self-formation and affirmation, and the White Church as a source of racist beliefs and justifications for inequality. In this paper, we expand Du Bois’ inquiry about the influence of religion with a study of Black Americans who belong to a predominantly White religion. For those whose religious experience is almost wholly within the “white world,” what role does religion play in their lives? We analyze a set of 52 public accounts by Black Americans discussing their experiences as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). We find that for many Black LDS, membership in the LDS Church is characterized by contrast and contradiction, yielding spiritual conviction, joy, and meaningful communion on one hand, and racism and isolation on the other. We also find that Black LDS respond to these contradictions in a variety of ways. We classify these agentic responses into five types and examine the sociological significance of the observed variation. We conclude with a discussion of implications for scholarship on race and religion.</p>","PeriodicalId":51390,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion","volume":"62 S1","pages":"105-123"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45324377","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Masculinity, Femininity, and Reported Paranormal Beliefs","authors":"TONY SILVA","doi":"10.1111/jssr.12862","DOIUrl":"10.1111/jssr.12862","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Previous research has found that women are more likely than men to report belief in nonmaterial paranormal phenomena (e.g., psychics). There are inconsistent findings about whether men are more likely than women to report belief in material paranormal phenomena (e.g., bigfoot/sasquatch), and no prior survey research has examined gender expression (as masculine or feminine) as it relates to paranormal beliefs. This paper asks: How do gender identity and gender expression relate to reported paranormal beliefs? It answers this question using a large sample (<i>n</i> = 2504) of Canadians. Femininity helps explain differences between cisgender women and men on reported beliefs about foreseeing the future and telekinesis, but less so about reported belief in ghosts. Intriguingly, reported gender atypicality is associated with reported belief in all paranormal phenomena among cisgender women and among cisgender men. The results highlight the importance of measuring gender expression for beliefs that science cannot verify.</p>","PeriodicalId":51390,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion","volume":"62 3","pages":"709-722"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jssr.12862","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49607749","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Sociological Spirituality of W. E. B. Du Bois's Prayers for Dark People","authors":"Matthew Hughey","doi":"10.1111/jssr.12849","DOIUrl":"10.1111/jssr.12849","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Scholarship on W. E. B. Du Bois's understanding of religion is in the midst of a renaissance. Yet, few engage Du Bois's <i>Prayers for Dark People</i>, written over 1909–10 at Atlanta University. As a remedy, I first provide historical context on the production and reception of <i>Prayers</i>. I then delve into the content of <i>Prayers</i>, identifying the tenets of a Du Boisian “sociological spirituality” brought to bear on the study and navigation of “race” and the “color-line.” Through four strategies, Du Bois blended sociological empiricism and theorization with appeals to spirituality in the form of moral realism, stoicism, hypostasis, and metaphysics: (1) a critical deism that conserves belief in sacred divinity; (2) pedagogical racial uplift strategies that help resolve theodicies; (3) symbolic interactionism that sanctifies the Black self, and; (4) a sociology of knowledge based on otherworldly dimensions. I conclude that Du Bois's <i>Prayers</i> serves as a liturgy for Black liberation. <i>Prayers</i> emphasizes a transgressive rhetoric that exceeds the confines of social theory through a sacralization of sociological knowledge as a prophetic anticipation of moral Black lifeworlds.</p>","PeriodicalId":51390,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion","volume":"62 S1","pages":"7-26"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42169748","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Samuel L. Perry, Joshua T. Davis, Joshua B. Grubbs
{"title":"Controlling the Past to Control the Future: Christian Nationalism and Mandatory Patriotic Education in Public Schools","authors":"Samuel L. Perry, Joshua T. Davis, Joshua B. Grubbs","doi":"10.1111/jssr.12858","DOIUrl":"10.1111/jssr.12858","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Recent debates about whether educators should teach America's racist history have sparked activism and legislation to ensure students are taught American history in such a way that promotes “patriotism,” amplifying cherished national myths, emphasizing American exceptionalism, and erasing negative historical facts. Building on insights from both social dominance theory and Christian nationalism research, we propose Christian nationalism combines legitimizing myths that whitewash America's past with authoritarian impulses and thus seeks to enforce “patriotic” content in public school classrooms. We also theorize this connection varies across racial, partisan, and ideological identities. Data from a nationally-representative survey of Americans affirm Christian nationalism is by far the leading predictor Americans believe “We should require public school teachers to teach history in a way that promotes patriotism.” This association is consistent across race (possibly due to divergent meanings of both “Christian nationalism” and “patriotism” across groups), but varies by partisanship and ideological identity for whites. Specifically, Christian nationalism brings whites who identify with the ideological and political left into complete alignment with their conservative counterparts who are already more likely to support mandatory patriotic education. Our findings provide critical context for ongoing battles over public-school curricula and education's role in perpetuating social privilege.</p>","PeriodicalId":51390,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion","volume":"62 3","pages":"694-708"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42686913","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Is There a Crisis in Clergy Health?: Reorienting Research Using a National Sample","authors":"Anna Holleman, David Eagle","doi":"10.1111/jssr.12859","DOIUrl":"10.1111/jssr.12859","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Are religious leaders unusually unhealthy? This question has long occupied scholars interested in the study of religious institutions, and a significant body of research has examined the causes, correlates, and effects of poor health among clergy. In this study, we aimed to: (1) outline the development of, and bias inherent to, the scholarly understanding of clergy health over the past 50 years; (2) test, using a recently collected nationally representative sample of clergy, the standing assumption that clergy are an especially unhealthy vocational group, specifically in terms of depression, obesity, and self-rated health; and (3) identify the major correlates of health among clergy using these data. Contrary to the recent tenor of scholarly research on this subject, our research revealed that clergy are not a particularly unhealthy group. We suggest potential pathways forward to ameliorate the bias inherent in the research into clergy well-being.</p>","PeriodicalId":51390,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion","volume":"62 3","pages":"580-604"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jssr.12859","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45585648","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Beliefs About Poverty and Inequality: Du Bois and Ethnic Differences Among Catholics","authors":"Lisa A. Keister","doi":"10.1111/jssr.12853","DOIUrl":"10.1111/jssr.12853","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Poverty is among the most challenging social problems in the United States today, and beliefs about the government's role in reducing inequality and raising living standards for the poor are critical to alleviating poverty and its consequences. Du Bois recognized the complex challenges associated with poverty and was ahead of his time in pointing to ethnicity and religion as fundamental to creating change and alleviating poverty. Du Bois’ ideas continue to be relevant today, including for understanding ethnic differences among Catholics in attitudes toward poverty, which are likely changing given the growth of the Latino population. In the spirit of Du Bois’ seminal research, I compare Latino and non-Latino Catholic attitudes toward poverty and inequality using the 2021 General Social Survey. Findings document critical differences among Catholics in beliefs about poverty and inequality and highlight the interdependent role of religion, ethnicity, and demographics (e.g., age, gender, socioeconomic status [SES]) in shaping attitudes.</p>","PeriodicalId":51390,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion","volume":"62 S1","pages":"163-182"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44171101","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Evangelical Civil War on the College Campus, White Evangelical Right Framing Resistance to Racial Justice in 2020s America","authors":"Rebecca Y. Kim","doi":"10.1111/jssr.12852","DOIUrl":"10.1111/jssr.12852","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This paper examines a civil war brewing among evangelicals on the college campus over racial justice—calls for greater racial equality, equity, and inclusion—in the era of Black Lives Matter (BLM). It examines how the white evangelical right are framing their resistance to racial justice and redrawing the color line in the contemporary college evangelical landscape not with distant “social justice warriors” in broader secular society, but with those right inside their evangelical community who, at varying levels, are coming out in support for racial justice in 2020s America. To do this, I first examine the varied campus evangelicals that support racial justice and how they express and frame their support as proper religious practice. I then explicate how the white evangelical right utilize a strategy of <i>colorblind-othering</i> to fight against these co-evangelicals that support racial justice. Data for the study come from the Landscape Study of Chaplaincy and Campus Ministry (2019–22).</p>","PeriodicalId":51390,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion","volume":"62 S1","pages":"88-104"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42239507","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Divine Relations as a Basis of Subjective Social Status During Later-Life: Direct and Moderating Effects","authors":"Laura Upenieks, Alex Bierman, Yeonjung Lee","doi":"10.1111/jssr.12851","DOIUrl":"10.1111/jssr.12851","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Early social theorists, including W.E.B Du Bois, recognized the importance of religion and its links to inequality, particularly in how religious vocabularies are attuned to frictions with inimical concrete social and political realities. We apply these ideas to research on the intersection of religious beliefs and economic deprivation, examining how beliefs in divine relations not only structure subjective social status (SSS), but also the association between financial stress and SSS. Analyses of data from the Caregiving, Aging, and Financial Experiences Study—a national study of Canadian older adults (<i>N</i> = 4010)—show that financial strain is associated with lower SSS, but better divine relations (higher support from a divine power and lower troubled relationships with a higher power) benefit SSS. Divine support also attenuates the association between financial strain and SSS. This research suggests a Du Bosian “double consciousness,” in which relations with a divine power serve as a basis for individual conceptualizations of social status that run counter to predominant narratives based on economic standing. We suggest directions for future research to explore the nuances of SSS within the religious context informed by a Du Boisian mode of inquiry.</p>","PeriodicalId":51390,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion","volume":"62 S1","pages":"141-162"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44476238","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}