Cohort, Spirituality, and Religiosity A Cross-sectional Comparison

Abstract The social scientific conversation on the relationship between birth cohort, spirituality, and religiosity has been going on for some time. The Millennial cohort has now "come of age" and cross-sectional comparisons of the Millennial cohort, Generation X, and the Baby Boomers are possible. The 2010 and 2012 General Social Surveys are used to analyze the relationship between cohort, subjective religiosity, subjective spirituality, and various sociodemographic variables. Results indicate that members of Generation X are the most likely to be "spiritual but not religious" (SBNR) with the Silent Generation the least likely. Millennials are consistently less religious than Baby Boomers but are similar to Generation X in prayer and attendance at religious services. Future research is needed as the Millennials age to examine life course spirituality and religiosity

The Impact Of Religiosity On Race Variations In Abortion Attitudes

Early studies of race and abortion attitudes revealed significant variations; however, recent research has indicated this pattern has diminished. We examine abortion attitudes by race and religiosity. General Social Survey data are analyzed through logistic regression to compare race differences in abortion attitudes along three measures: affiliation, church attendance, and Biblical literalism. Contrary to previous research, African Americans are significantly more pro-choice than White Americans when measures of church attendance and Biblical literalism are included. © 1999 Taylor & Francis

Moral Boundaries And Deviant Music: Public Attitudes Toward Heavy Metal And Rap

Since the mid-1980s, collective efforts to define deviant music have focused increasingly on two genres-heavy metal and rap music. Most of these claims assert that heavy metal and rap music represent a type of audio pornography that endorses sexist, violent, and anti-religious behaviors. While scholarly research has addressed a number of issues related to this controversy, few, if any, have examined negative attitudes toward heavy metal and rap music within the general public. Our research uses data from the 1993 General Social Survey to examine the determinants of public attitudes against heavy metal and rap music. Along with selected control variables, we include a number of measures that reflect the claims-making rhetoric of social movement organizations and other moral entrepreneurs. Our analysis focuses on evaluating the degree to which these claims are related to shared attitudes within the general population. © 2000 Taylor & Francis

A Case Study of Race Differences Among Late Abortion Patients

The majority of women who terminate an unwanted pregnancy do so in the first trimester of their pregnancy. A much smaller population postpones their decision into the second trimester. Abortion delays greatly increase the: Health risks and mental stress experienced by women. We examine 240 women who underwent abortions in the second trimester of their pregnancy. The analysis focuses on characteristics that distinguish between black and white women. A discriminant analysis of the data identifies a number of variables that differentiate blacks from whites. Variables that are associated with black and white women who delay their abortion decision include attitudes toward legal abortion, religiosity,: Household income, the presence of other children, residence patterns, an unwillingness to disclose the pregnancy, and social support for their decision. Discussion of the findings focuses on the role played by cultural experiences. © 1994 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

The Organization and Impact of Inspector Discretion in a Regulatory Bureaucracy

Recent trends in regulatory bureaucracies in the United States indicate a shift toward detailed, rigid mandates. In part, this movement represents an attempt to weave an increasingly seamless web of non-discretionary policies for field-level inspectorates. This paper examines the organization of inspection and enforcement practices in such an agency--the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. The creators of the enabling legislation and the agency top executives went to great lengths to circumvent inspector discretion. Questionnaire and interview data on the agency\u27s inspector corps suggest that such efforts were only partially successful. Not only do field-level personnel employ discretionary practices, but the nature of the regulated industry structures the context of inspector discretion. We show a relationship between corporate size and the exercise of inspector discretion. We also show that patterns of inspector discretion affect the size of civil fines imposed for regulatory violations

The Impact Of Race On Denominational Variations In Social Attitudes: The Issue And Its Dimensions

Although the impact of religious affiliation on social attitudes is a popular research topic in the sociology of religion, few scholars have examined the role that race plays in this relationship. Moreover, studies that do explore the interplay of race and religious affiliation seldom move beyond the general categories of conservative, moderate, and liberal denominational families. Our research uses recent data from the General Social Surveys to compare the social attitudes of African Americans and their white counterparts within established designations of religious affiliation. Along with control variables, we include attitude measures for political tolerance, legalized abortion, gender equality, premarital sex, homosexual lifestyles, and extramarital sexual relations. Our analysis isolates levels of support for these attitudes within categories of race and religious affiliation to determine whether variations emerge and whether they are nested within specific issues, religious denominations, or reflect more general patterns of race differences. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC