OBJECTIVE Spiritual beliefs can help people find meaning of life, and can also influence their feelings, behaviors and mental health. The present research studied the relationship between basic religious beliefs (Human, Existence and God) and five personality factors: neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness. METHOD One hundred seventy eight students of Islamic Az...

In adults, relationships between religiosity and positive health behaviors have been established; however, similar studies among emerging adults has not been explored. This study examined the relationship between multiple dimensions of religiosity, physical activity, fast food intake, and obesity among emerging adults. Data are from 1,319 emerging adults participating in the National Longitudin...

The present research proposes that individuals who are socially excluded can turn to religion to cope with the experience. Empirical studies conducted to test this hypothesis consistently found that socially excluded persons reported (a) significantly higher levels of religious affiliation (Studies 1, 2, and 4) and (b) stronger intentions to engage in religious behaviors (Study 2) than comparab...

Using nationally representative data the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten Class (ECLS-K), I seek to investigate the effect of parental warmth and family religious environment and the interaction of the two factors on the development of social competence in early childhood. This particular study uses the 1998 2000 year wave with the sample size of approximately 17,500 children. ...

Both grieving the loss of a loved one and using spirituality or religion as an aid in doing so are common behaviors in the wake of death. This longitudinal examination of 46 African American homicide survivors follows up on our earlier study that established the relation between positive and negative religious coping on the one hand and complicated grief (CG) on the other. In the current report...

Adaptations, modifications, and realignments of religious doctrine and practice can be found in any period of social history. It can be official and highly orchestrated (as in Vatican II) but more often it takes a subjective and reactionary form (as in the Hindutva movement). This paper promotes the idea of “experimental religion” as both an analytical concept and an observable set of behaviors...

Using data from approximately 13,000 individuals in 14 different OECD regions, we find that culture, as expressed by religious beliefs, generates public goods contributions. We characterize individuals into systems of religious beliefs using latent class analysis and find that some types of beliefs influence pro-environment behaviors and attitudes, even after controlling for religious affiliati...

The mission of schools has broadened beyond academics to address risk behaviors such as substance use, delinquency, and socialization problems. With an estimated 3.4% of all U.S. youth being homeschooled, this study examines how U.S. homeschoolers fare on these outcomes given their lack of access to these school services. Adolescents (ages 12-17) from the 2002 through 2011 National Surveys of D...

Research has shown that religion is associated with a wide range of health behaviors among adults of all ages. Although there is strong support for religion's influence on behaviors such as drinking and smoking, less is known about the possible relationship between religion and the use of preventive health services. This relationship may be particularly important in Mexico, a country with high ...