Heritage Foundation Leadership for America

2008 Archive — Religious Practice and Health: What the Research Says

2007 Archive — Religious Practice and Civic Life: What the Research Says

Religiosity and Behavioral Outcomes: Preventing the Negative

Papers:

"Religion, Prosocial Learning, Self-Control, and Delinquency," Scott A. Desmond, Ph.D. and Jeffery T. Ulmer, Ph.D.

Adolescents who report higher levels of religiosity also report higher levels of self control, both characteristics that are negatively linked to delinquency and substance use. However, while teens’ own religiosity is positively linked with self control, higher parental religiosity appears to decreases self control among adolescents.

"Religiosity and Adolescent Substance Use: The Role of Individual and Contextual Influences," John M. Wallace, Jr., Ph.D., et al.

Adolescents who report higher levels of religiosity, as well as those who attend schools with a more highly religious student body are less likely to smoke, binge drink, or use marijuana. Furthermore, living in a highly religious community is more important than personal religiosity for predicting marijuana use. Finally, adolescents who are religious and live in a strong religious community are less likely to use marijuana or binge drink than their counterparts who live in a less religious context.

Videos:

Part 1 | Part 2

Transcript:

Session Transcript

Speakers:

John M. Wallace, Jr. Ph.D., Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh John M. Wallace, Jr. (Ph.D., University of Michigan) is Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh. He is the principal investigator on a Louisville Institute-funded project on the impact of crime on clergy and congregations and is a co-investigator on the University of Michigan s ongoing national study of drug use among American young people, Monitoring the Future. His recent research examines the impact of religion as a protective factor against adolescent problem behavior; racial and ethnic disparities in substance abuse; and the role of faith-based organizations in the revitalization of urban communities. Dr. Wallace s work has appeared in numerous professional journals, books, and monographs.
Jeffery T. Ulmer Ph.D.,Associate Professor of Sociology and Crime, Law, and Justice at the Pennsylvania State University Jeffery T. Ulmer (Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University) is Associate Professor of Sociology and Crime, Law, and Justice at the Pennsylvania State University. He has a longstanding interest in the sociology of religion and has recently begun conducting empirical research in the area. He has a forthcoming article in The Sociological Quarterly (with Christopher Bader and Martha Gault) on criminal sentencing and local religious contexts and plans to continue to explore the relationships between religion, social learning, and self and social control. His previous work focused on criminal courts and sentencing, criminological theory, recidivism, criminal enterprise, and the integration of ethnographic and quantitative methods. He is the author of Social Worlds of Sentencing: Court Communities Under Sentencing Guidelines (State University of New York Press, 1997) and coauthor (with Darrell Steffensmeier) of Confessions of a Dying Thief: Understanding Criminal Careers and Illegal Enterprise (Aldine-Transaction, 2005) which won the 2006 Hindelang Award from the American Society of Criminology.
Scott A. Desmond Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Purdue University Scott A. Desmond (Ph.D., University of Washington) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Purdue University. He has published several articles that have appeared in Sociology of Religion, Teaching Sociology, and the Journal of Criminal Justice Education. He co-edited Teaching and Learning in Large Classes. He has given many presentations at regional and national conferences, including the annual meetings of the American Society of Criminology, the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, and the Association for the Sociology of Religion. His research focuses primarily on how adolescent religiosity inhibits juvenile delinquency, and he is also interested in how neighborhood characteristics contribute to juvenile delinquency and adolescent religious development.
W. Bradford Wilcox Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia and a member of the James Madison Society at Princeton UniversityW. Bradford Wilcox (Ph.D., Princeton University) is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia and a member of the James Madison Society at Princeton University. Dr. Wilcox is currently writing a book tentatively titled Soulmates: Religion, Sex, and Marriage in Urban America. He is the author of Soft Patriarchs, New Men: How Christianity Shapes Fathers and Husbands (University of Chicago Press, 2004). Wilcox has also published in the American Sociological Review, First Things, the Public Interest, and The Responsive Community. He has previously held research fellowships at the Brookings Institution, Princeton University, Yale University, and the University of Pennsylvania. Professor Wilcox s research on religion and the family has been featured in The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, USA Today, and numerous NPR stations.

Keynote Address: Myths about American Religion

Papers:

"Myths about American Religion," Robert Wuthnow, Ph.D.

Dr. Wuthnow’s paper elaborates on five myths of religion in America, namely: 1. America is in the midst of a religious and spiritual awakening, 2. There is no secularization, 3. Politics is driving people from the church, 4. Membership in evangelical denominations is growing, and 5. The culture war is over–or never happened. The author suggests that while religious vitality may be declining in America, people are not necessarily abandoning faith. Instead, changing demographics–specifically an increase in single, childless adults–reduces the number of adults who are settled in a faith community at any particular time.

 Full Paper

Videos:

Full Keynote Address

Transcript:

Keynote Transcript

Speakers:

Robert Wuthnow Ph.D., Andlinger Professor of Social Sciences, Chair of the Sociology Department...Robert Wuthnow (Ph.D., University of California Berkeley) is the Andlinger Professor of Social Sciences, Chair of the Sociology Department, and Director of the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton University. He is the author of numerous publications on American religion and culture, including The Restructuring of American Religion (1988) and After Heaven: Spirituality in America since the 1950s (1998). His recent books include America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity (2005), American Mythos: Why Our Best Efforts to Be a Better Nation Fall Short (2006), and After the Baby Boomers: How Twenty- and Thirty-Somethings Are Shaping the Future of American Religion (2007).

Religiosity and Behavioral Outcomes: Promoting the Positive

Papers:

"The Benefits of Values and Opportunities for Volunteering," Marc A. Musick, Ph.D.

Attendance at religious services is related to religious volunteering but also encourages such participation in secular groups. Overall, receiving the opportunity to volunteer–which often occurs within the religious setting–is one of the strongest predictors of volunteering.

 Abstract

"The Cumulative Advantage of Religiosity: A Longitudinal Study of Drug Use," Sung Joon Jang, Ph.D. and Byron Johnson, Ph.D.

Higher religiosity in the pre-teen years sets the stage for religious commitment in the teen years, which is subsequently linked with factors that protect adolescents from drug use. Furthermore, while more highly religious teens are less likely to use drugs, abstinence from drugs is in turn linked with increased levels of religiosity. On the other hand, teens who get involved with drugs tend to decrease their level of religious commitment over time.

 Abstract
 Full Paper

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Speakers:

Marc A. Musick Ph.D., Associate Professor of Sociology and Associate Dean for Student Affairs in the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas at AustinMarc A. Musick (Ph.D., Duke University) is Associate Professor of Sociology and Associate Dean for Student Affairs in the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas at Austin and Adjunct Associate Research Professor at the Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, at the University of Michigan. His research examines the effects of social factors, including prosocial activities such as volunteering and religious service attendance, on mental and physical health. A portion of his research focuses on the impact of these activities among older adults and African-Americans. His forthcoming book, Volunteers: A Social Profile, examines volunteering patterns and outcomes among adults in America and around the world. His other research has appeared in publications such as American Sociological Review, the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Social Science and Medicine, the Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, the Journal for the Scientific Study of Research, and Social Forces.
Byron Johnson Ph.D., Professor of Sociology and Co-Director of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor UniversityByron Johnson (Ph.D., Florida State University) is Professor of Sociology and Co-Director of the Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR), as well as Director of the Program on Prosocial Behavior, both at Baylor University. He is a Senior Fellow at the Witherspoon Institute at Princeton and Senior Research Scholar at the Institute for Jewish and Community Research in San Francisco. Johnson has directed research centers at Vanderbilt University and the University of Pennsylvania and is currently conducting a series of studies for the Department of Justice on the role of religion in prosocial youth behavior. His recent publications examine the impact of faith-based programs on recidivism reduction and prisoner reentry. Along with other ISR colleagues he is completing a series of empirical studies on religion in China and is collaborating with other scholars on studies of religious interolerance in America. His research has been used in consultation with the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, the Department of Labor, and the National Institutes of Health.
Sung Joon Jang Ph.D., Associate Professor of Sociology at Baylor UniversitySung Joon Jang (Ph.D., University at Albany, State University of New York) is Associate Professor of Sociology at Baylor University. His publications focus on the effects of family, school, peers, religiosity, and community on adolescent delinquency and drug use. His latest research examines how religiosity protects African-American adults from the effects of strain and emotional distress on coping behavior. His current study, based on three-wave data collected from a national sample of college students, is intended to examine the effects of spirituality and religiosity on mental health and deviant behaviors among college students.
Patrick F. Fagan Ph.D., William H. G. Fitzgerald Senior Research Fellow in Family and Cultural Issues at The Heritage FoundationPatrick F. Fagan (Ph.D., University College Dublin) is the William H. G. Fitzgerald Senior Research Fellow in Family and Cultural Issues at The Heritage Foundation. A former Deputy Assistant Health and Human Services Secretary, Dr. Fagan examines the impact of family life and religious practice on the key areas of social policy: health, mental health, education, crime, and income. Fagan has served as a legislative analyst for Sen. Dan Coats (R IN). Before becoming involved in public policy, he was a child, family, and marital therapist. A current book project examines the dynamics of belonging and rejection in family functioning and the impact of these dynamics on the rest of society: church, school, government, and marketplace.

Research on Religiosity: A Discussion of Methodology

Speakers

Moderator: Kristin Anderson Moore Ph.D., Child Trends, Research to ResultsKristin Anderson Moore (Ph.D., University of Michigan) is a social psychologist who studies trends in child and family well-being, positive development, the determinants and consequences of early sexual activity and parenthood, fatherhood, the effects of family structure and social change on children, and the effects of public policies and poverty on children. She was a founding member of the Task Force on Effective Programs and Research at the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and a member of the NICHD Advisory Council, and she served as a member of the bipartisan federal Advisory on Welfare Indicators. In 1999, she was awarded the Foundation for Child Development s Centennial Award for her achievements on behalf of children. She also was designated the 2002 Society for Adolescent Medicine Visiting Scholar and received the 2005 American Sociological Association s Distinguished Contribution Award from the Section on Children and Youth. Moore was head of Child Trends from 1992 through 2006, when she chose to return to full-time research. She heads a new area at Child Trends, Research to Results, which aims at bringing rigorous research and evaluation to out-of-school-time programs.
David C. Dollahite Ph.D., Professor of Family Life at Brigham Young UniversityDavid C. Dollahite (Ph.D., University of Minnesota) is Professor of Family Life at Brigham Young University. His scholarship focuses on religion and family life in the Abrahamic faiths, Latter-day Saint family life, and faith and fathering. He has been a visiting scholar at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, the Dominican University of California, and the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in India. He is a Scientific Advisor for the Center for Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence funded by the John Templeton Foundation. He has served on the Utah Commission on Marriage, the Board of Scholars of the Sutherland Institute, and as president of the Utah Council on Family Relations. He has published nearly 50 scholarly articles and chapters and is co-editor of Helping and Healing Our Families (Deseret Book, 2005), editor of Strengthening Our Families (Bookcraft, 2000), co-editor of Generative Fathering (Sage, 1997), and co-editor of Turning Hearts: Short Stories on Family Life (Bookcraft, 1994).
Roger Finke Ph.D., Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies at the Pennsylvania State UniversityRoger Finke (Ph.D., University of Washington Seattle) is Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies at the Pennsylvania State University. He has published in numerous social science journals and has co-authored two award-winning books with Rodney Stark: Acts of Faith: Explaining the Human Side of Religion (University of California Press, 2000) and The Churching of America, 1776 1990 (Rutgers University Press, 1992; 2005). Finke is now completing cross-national research with Brian Grim and has a forthcoming article in the American Sociological Review on religious regulation and persecution. A book manuscript on the same topic is in progress. Finke is also the founder and director of the Internet-based Association of Religion Data Archives.
Annette Mahoney Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Bowling Green State UniversityAnnette Mahoney (Ph.D., University of Houston) is Professor of Psychology at Bowling Green State University. She has published observational and survey-based research on links between marriage, parenting, and child adjustment. Since 1995, she has co-directed the Spirituality and Psychology Research Team (S.P.i.R.i.T.) and her research focuses on the positive and negative roles that religion and spirituality play for individuals and families. In collaboration with Dr. Kenneth I. Pargament and Dr. Al DeMaris, she is the principal investigator on a longitudinal study on the spiritual/religious aspects of marriage, pregnancy, and the transition to parenthood (i.e., New Arrivals: Passage to Parenthood Study or NAPPS), a project funded by the Templeton Foundation.
Mark Regnerus Ph.D., Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Texas at AustinMark Regnerus (Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hil) is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin and a faculty associate at the university s Population Research Center. His work emphasizes the mixed outcomes related to religious practice and the multiple contexts in which people experience religion. His book Forbidden Fruit: Sex and Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers tells the definitive story of the sexual values and practices of American teenagers, paying particular attention to how participating in organized religion shapes sexual decision-making. He is currently working on a pair of book manuscripts, the first on sex in emerging adulthood and the second on how religion shapes the experience of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa (Oxford, 2009). Winner of the Best Article Award twice from the American Sociological Association s section on the Sociology of Religion, Regnerus is also a collaborator on the National Study of Youth and Religion and on the editorial board of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.