Individuals’ Experiences with Religious Hostility, Discrimination, and Violence: Findings from a New National Survey

While concerns about the consequences of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of religious bias have grown in the past several years, the data available to examine these issues have been limited. This study utilizes new data from a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults featuring oversamples of key religious minority groups and an instrument dedicated to measuring the extent to which individuals experience hostility, discrimination, and violence due to their religion. Findings show that, while a sizable minority of Christian adults report such experiences, a much greater share of Muslim and Jewish adults report experiences with interpersonal hostility, organizational discrimination, and violent victimization due to their religion. Analyses show that these patterns are largely unchanged after accounting for individuals’ race and ethnicity, national origin, and other characteristics, suggesting that experiences with religious hostility are not epiphenomenal to other social locations

Can Religiosity Be Explained by ‘Brain Wiring’? An Analysis of US Adults’ Opinions

Studies examining how religion shapes individuals’ attitudes about science have focused heavily on a narrow range of topics, such as evolution. This study expands this literature by looking at how religion influences individuals’ attitudes towards the claim that neuroscience, or “brain wiring,” can explain differences in religiosity. Our analysis of nationally representative survey data shows, perhaps unsurprisingly, that religiosity is negatively associated with thinking that brain wiring can explain religion. Net of religiosity, though, individuals reporting religious experiences are actually more likely to agree that brain wiring can explain religiosity, as are individuals belonging to diverse religious traditions when compared to the unaffiliated. We also find that belief in the general explanatory power of science is a significant predictor of thinking that religiosity can be explained by brain wiring, while women and the more highly educated are less likely to think this is true. Taken together, these findings have implications for our understanding of the relationship between religion and science, and the extent to which neuroscientific explanations of religiosity are embraced by the general US public

Bridging Alone: Religious Conservatism, Marital Homogamy, and Voluntary Association Membership

This study characterizes social insularity of religiously conservative American married couples by examining patterns of voluntary associationmembership. Constructing a dataset of 3938 marital dyads from the second wave of the National Survey of Families and Households, the author investigates whether conservative religious homogamy encourages membership in religious voluntary groups and discourages membership in secular voluntary groups. Results indicate that couples’ shared affiliation with conservative denominations, paired with beliefs in biblical authority and inerrancy, increases the likelihood of religious group membership for husbands and wives and reduces the likelihood of secular group membership for wives, but not for husbands. The social insularity of conservative religious groups appears to be reinforced by homogamy—particularly by wives who share faith with husbands

Web-based data analysis: Creating a sociological laboratory

Instructors of sociology courses strive to teach their students how to “think sociologically” or how to apply a “sociological perspective” to the world. In other words, besides the substantive content of the course, the highest pedagogical goal of an undergraduate sociology course is to show students how they can explore their own world and ideas in sociological ways, even if they do not end up being professional sociologists. Many creative methods, often framed as “applied” or “active learning,” have been created to pursue this goal, but these active learning projects are not perfect solutions. The natural sciences have an advantage over their social sciences counterparts because their courses are often accompanied by a laboratory course that gives students “hands-on” experience in the subject’s research methods

Identity and Government Funding in Christian Nonprofits

This article aims to understand if and how the expressed religious identity of Christian nonprofit organizations varies between those receiving and not receiving government funding and whether there is evidence that government funding produces such differences. Copyright (c) 2009 by the Southwestern Social Science Association.

Perceptions of Religious Discrimination Among U.S. Scientists

Academic scientists in the United States are relatively nonreligious, at least compared to the general population, and some evidence suggests that the professional culture of academic science may foster perceptions of discrimination among scientists who are religious. We examine perceptions of religious discrimination among biologists and physicists in the United States. The analysis shows that Protestant, Muslim, and adherents of “other” traditions report higher rates of religious discrimination in both biology and physics relative to those who do not identify with a religion. Jewish and Catholic adherents report higher rates of discrimination in biology but not in physics. Most of the religious identity effects among biologists are not explained away by measures of beliefs, practices, or professional and demographic characteristics. On the other hand, religious identity differences in perceptions of religious discrimination among physicists are mediated by measures of religious practice. On the whole, these findings suggest that religious identity itself is more stigmatized in biology than in physics. Results have implications for how university professors—and academic scientists in particular—relate to the broader public

Patterns of Perceived Hostility and Identity Concealment among Self-Identified Atheists

Researchers have produced important findings regarding the types of stigma associated with nonreligion, particularly atheism. However, while numerous studies analyze who is more or less likely to identify as an atheist given that stigma, less is known about how self-identified atheists manage the stigma associated with their identity. This study uses new survey data from a nationally representative sample of US adults, with an oversample of individuals identifying as atheists, to examine the predictors of and connections between atheists’ perceptions of hostility toward their identities and whether they conceal those identities. Contrary to our expectations, we find no association between atheists’ perceived hostility toward their identity and concealment of that identity. We do find, however, that atheists in some social locations report higher levels of identity concealment, particularly those who identify as women, those who identify as Republican, those who live in the South, and those who were raised in a religion or still attend religious services. Our findings suggest that atheists who feel like social or institutional outsiders are more likely to conceal their identity. Our findings also suggest that affirming an atheist identity may buffer some of the negative effects of atheist stigma. These findings have implications for how researchers understand the context-specific nature of religious discrimination, as well as implications for research on stigma management and the ways that the shifting religious and political landscape in the United States shapes the expression of atheist identities

Can Religiosity Be Explained by ‘Brain Wiring’? An Analysis of US Adults’ Opinions

Studies examining how religion shapes individuals’ attitudes about science have focused heavily on a narrow range of topics, such as evolution. This study expands this literature by looking at how religion influences individuals’ attitudes towards the claim that neuroscience, or “brain wiring,” can explain differences in religiosity. Our analysis of nationally representative survey data shows, perhaps unsurprisingly, that religiosity is negatively associated with thinking that brain wiring can explain religion. Net of religiosity, though, individuals reporting religious experiences are actually more likely to agree that brain wiring can explain religiosity, as are individuals belonging to diverse religious traditions when compared to the unaffiliated. We also find that belief in the general explanatory power of science is a significant predictor of thinking that religiosity can be explained by brain wiring, while women and the more highly educated are less likely to think this is true. Taken together, these findings have implications for our understanding of the relationship between religion and science, and the extent to which neuroscientific explanations of religiosity are embraced by the general US public