Top Research Papers on Religion

Abstract The 2001 (first) edition of this Handbook was a comprehensive review of history, research, and discussions on religion and health through the year 2000. The Appendix listed 1,200 separate quantitative studies on religion and health each rated in quality on 0–10 scale, followed by about 2,000 references and an extensive index for rapid topic identification. The 2012 (second) edition of the Handbook systematically updated the research from 2000 to 2010, with the number of quantitative studies then reaching the thousands. This 2023 (third) edition is the most scientifically rigorous edit...

Abstract Secularization has accelerated. From 1981 to 2007, most countries became more religious, but from 2007 to 2020, the overwhelming majority became less religious. For centuries, all major religions encouraged norms that limit women to producing as many children as possible and discourage any sexual behavior not linked with reproduction. These norms were needed when facing high infant mortality and low life expectancy but require suppressing strong drives and are rapidly eroding. These norms are so strongly linked with religion that abandoning them undermines religiosity. Religion became...

What does a virus have to do with religion? Well, more than you might think, and we are not referring to the transmission of religious ideas, which some have described using epidemiological models....

Henri Bergson inquires into the nature of moral obligation, into the place of religion and the purpose it has served since primitive times, into static religion and its value in preserving man from the dangers of his own intelligence; into dynamic religion or mysticism as a means of producing man's forward leap beyond the limits of the closed society for which nature intended him and into the open society which is the brotherhood of man.

Jane Harrison examines the festivals of ancient Greek religion to identify the primitive substratum of ritual and its persistence in the realm of classical religious observance and literature. In Harrison's preface to this remarkable book, she writes that J. G. Frazer's work had become part and parcel of her mental furniture and that of others studying primitive religion. Today, those who write on ancient myth or ritual are bound to say the same about Harrison. Her essential ideas, best developed and most clearly put in the Prolegomena, have never been eclipsed.

Americans are increasingly polarized by a variety of metrics. The dimensions, extent, causes, and consequences of that polarization have been the subject of much debate. Yet despite the centrality of religion to early discussions, the analytical focus on America's divides has largely shifted toward partisan identity, political ideology, race, and class interests. I show that religion remains powerfully implicated in all dimensions of American polarization, and sociologists must once again make religion more central to their analyses. After outlining research on American polarization, focusing ...

Over the last three decades, fruitful new lines of research and theorizing have revealed the inadequacy of secularization and rational choice explanations of religion. This article argues that sociological understandings of religion can best advance now by building on the empirical findings that have emerged under the banner of "lived religion," but grounding that work in theories of social practice. Going beyond the Western, individualist focus of recent research, the approach explicated in this article details a multidimensional lens for the study of the practices themselves and an outline o...

Abstract Scholars have taken a growing interest in what we call “culturalized religion”—that is, forms of religious identification, discourse, and expression that are primarily cultural in character, insofar as they are divorced from belief in religious dogma or participation in religious ritual. This article aims to clarify our current thinking about these phenomena so as to facilitate future theoretical and empirical work. Drawing on recent work in the sociology of culture, we distinguish between culturalized religion as a form of constituted culture, a form of pragmatic culture, and a form ...

During the current COVID-19 pandemic, religious gatherings have become intense hot spots for the spread of the virus. In this research, we focus on the religiosity of communities to examine whether religiosity helps or hinders adherence to mitigation policies such as shelter-in-place directives. Prior research has made opposing predictions as to the influence of religiosity. One stream predicts greater adherence because of rule-abiding norms and altruistic tendencies, whereas another has predicted lower adherence as a reaction against the restriction of personal and religious freedom. We used ...

This viewpoint identifies pitfalls in the study of psychedelic compounds, including those that pose challenges for the potential use of psychedelics as medicines. They are as follows: (1) Sloppiness regarding use of the term "consciousness". (2) Inappropriate introduction of religious/spiritual beliefs of investigators or clinicians. (3) Clinical boundaries and other ethical challenges associated with psychedelic treatments.

This study examined whether the exposure to COVID-19 enhances the faith and the instrument used was a survey verifying the power of spirituality in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

This paper examines the existing literature on the relationship between religion and populism, and is intended as a starting point for further examination of the relationships between populism, religion, and emotions. This paper systematically reviews the various aspects of the populist phenomenon. After a discussion on different definitions of populism, this paper looks at how the literature discusses the causes of populism, mainly socio-economic factors and emotive factors. Then it discusses how religion and populism interact and can be divided in two broad categories of religious populism a...

Ouvrage regroupant 3 articles parus dans la revue Imago, les deux premiers en 1937 (vol. 23), le 3e en 1939 (vol. 24)

The relationship between religiosity, spirituality and health has received increasing attention in the academic literature. Studies involving quantitative measurement of religiosity and/or spirituality (R/S) and health have reported many positive associations between these constructs. The quality of various measures, however, is very important in this field, given concerns that some measures of R/S have been contaminated with indicators of mental health. When this occurs, that is when R/S is defined and measured a priori, this subsequently guarantees a positive association between R/S and heal...

Abstract We study the causal impact of religiosity through a randomized evaluation of an evangelical Protestant Christian values and theology education program delivered to thousands of ultrapoor Filipino households. Six months after the program ended, treated households have higher religiosity and income; no statistically significant differences in total labor supply, consumption, food security, or life satisfaction; and lower perceived relative economic status. Exploratory analysis suggests that the income treatment effect may operate through increasing grit. Thirty months after the program ...

An overview of religious participation and religiosity levels and an in-depth discussion of extant research on the relationship between the multiple dimensions of religiosity and mental health in these 2 populations are provided.

The inclusion of morally binding values such as religious—or in a broader sense, spiritual—values fundamentally alter organizational decision-making and ethical behavior. Family firms, being a particularly value-driven type of organization, provide ample room for religious beliefs to affect family, business, and individual decisions. The influence that the owning family is able to exert on value formation and preservation in the family business makes religious family firms an incubator for value-driven and faith-led decision-making and behavior. They represent a particularly rich and relevant ...

Religion and culture play a central role in building harmonious relations between followers of different religions, both within the nuclear family and in the extended family. This study examines the revitalisation of religious moderation with a cultural approach in strengthening tolerance. Data was obtained qualitatively from in-depth interviews and observations of families of different religions, religious leaders, traditional leaders, and other relevant informants. The research findings show that the family institution is the most crucial place in carrying out moderate religious culturalisat...

A novel quantitative analysis of total fertility rate (TFR) suggests that religiosity may counteract the ongoing decline of fertility in some regions and countries.

Abstract Folklore has a critical role as a cultural transmitter, all the while being a socially accepted medium for the expressions of culturally contradicting wishes and conducts. In this study of Vietnamese folktales, through the use of Bayesian multilevel modeling and the Markov chain Monte Carlo technique, we offer empirical evidence for how the interplay between religious teachings (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism) and deviant behaviors (lying and violence) could affect a folktale’s outcome. The findings indicate that characters who lie and/or commit violent acts tend to have bad endin...

Abstract In this brief note written during a global pandemic, we consider some of the important ways this historical moment is altering the religious landscape, aiming our investigative lens at how religious institutions, congregations, and individuals are affected by the social changes produced by COVID-19. This unprecedented time prompts scholars of religion to reflect on how to strategically approach the study of religion in the time of “social distancing,” as well as moving forward. Particularly important considerations include developing heuristic, innovative approaches for revealing ongo...

The objective of this meta-analysis was to determine the longitudinal positive effect of religion or spirituality (R/S) on mental health. We summarized 48 longitudinal studies (59 independent samples) using a random effects model. Mental health was operationalized as a continuous and a dichotomous distress measure, life satisfaction, well-being, and quality of life. R/S included participation in public and private religious activities, support from church members, importance of religion, intrinsic religiousness, positive religious coping, meaningfulness, and composite measures. The meta-analys...

The impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on the lives of many is indisputable. Among the possible strategies to cope with the feeling of insecurity that comes with this, religion can play a significant role. Using first-hand data from the ResPOnsE COVID-19 rolling cross-section survey, this article shows that Italian people who reported a COVID-19 contagion in their family reported also higher religiosity both in terms of attendance at religious services (via web, radio and tv) and prayer during the pandemic. The result holds primarily for those who received religious socialization during the...

Despite its overwhelming importance to millions of people across the planet both currently and throughout history, religion has been largely neglected by entrepreneurship research. Yet, because of its prevalence, centrality, established base of scientific inquiry, and ability to offer novel insight into emerging phenomena, religion offers numerous opportunities for transformative research. In this editorial, we offer a glimpse of what a "theological turn" in entrepreneurship research might look like: first, by identifying obstacles to religion's inclusion and how these barriers may be overcome...

Religion is widely regarded as a social force that shapes entrepreneurship and business (EB) activity, behavior, and practice. However, a holistic review of religion and EB literature remains elusive, which could impede the field's advancement when competing arguments are introduced and pure replications are pursued. Therefore, this study conducts a technology-empowered systematic literature review using a combination of fit-for-purpose bibliometric software to examine the state of the literature on religion and EB research. The review reveals that existing research in the field have mainly fo...