Over the last several decades, school choice – in the context of educational systems that are available to choose from as well as the reasons why parents choose what they do for their child – has become a topic of interest to both educational researchers and the public at large. The Seventh-day Adventist school system, like other faith-based institutions, is uniquely positioned in this subject, as it is an educational organization framed by a religious denomination. In addition to the typical factors such as academic standards, curricular offerings and peer influence, the issue of school choice within this context also involves complex layers of culture and religiosity and spirituality. Are parents able to disengage themselves from the trappings of those expectations and beliefs and objectively choose a school system for their child? Or are religious background and experience simply too embedded into one’s psyche – and, as an extension – one’s choices to ever fully disentangle that subtext from the decision-making process? This mixed-methods study sought to better understand the relationship between parental religiosity and school choice, specifically within the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. In order to assess the influence of Adventist culture, doctrinal commitment and general religiosity, a cultural domain had to first be established. Following the methodology as laid out in cultural consensus theory, free-listing and rank-ordering tasks were given to two separate, geographically representative samples from across the continental United States. Derived from those conversations, statements were then developed that captured characteristics and behavior of a member who adhered to traditional Seventh-day Adventist culture. Those statements were written into the survey instrument, alongside validated scales for general religiosity and Adventist doctrinal commitment. The population for this study targeted any Seventh-day Adventist member in America who had K-12 school-aged children. The survey was developed in SurveyMonkey and distributed through church communiqué (websites, bulletins, announcements, etc.), official administrative channels such as ministerial department newsletters and video announcements, and social media. Over 1,000 responses came in and the data was analyzed through SPSS, specifically examining patterns of school choice among those with high or low general religiosity, doctrinal commitment and Adventist culture. The results of the data analysis demonstrated clear and significant associations between several key variables and the dependent variable of school choice. Several variables, such as Adventist culture, doctrinal commitment and a parent’s own educational background, emerged as predictors for school choice when binary logistic regressions were conducted. Adventist culture proved to be a multi-factorial construct, interacting with other variables in different ways. The conclusions from this study point to several implications for K-12 Adventist education, particularly in the area of marketing to Adventist families and further research could certainly explore that more fully.

Researchers have demonstrated that college students with strong religious beliefs unsupported by religious behaviors report greater involvement in underage drinking, drug use, and risky sex than students with concordant high or concordant low religious beliefs and behaviors. Recent research also suggests personality traits, belief systems, and environments may be influencing this group’s risky behaviors; however, further research is needed to identify factors contributing to these students’ life choices (including the decision to not support their religious beliefs with specific religious behaviors). This study reports on tests of a psychosocial mediational model, connecting personality traits, religious beliefs, religious behaviors, and underage drinking. Using Structural Equation Modeling and a sample of 411 underage college students, we tested whether the association between five impulsive personality traits and underage drinking was mediated by the discordance of religious beliefs and behaviors. We also tested whether the same predictive effects could be observed using three broader personality trait domains. Although students with discordant religious beliefs and behaviors drank more than their concordant religious peers, we did not find support for the proposed mediational models. Exploratory follow-up analyses offered support for an alternative direction; underage drinking mediated the relationship between eight out of nine personality variables and the discordance of religious beliefs and behaviors. Findings indicated students with strong religious beliefs unsupported by religious behaviors reported higher levels of impulsive traits and perceived invincibility and lower levels of Conscientiousness and Agreeableness than their peers high in both religious beliefs and behaviors; this effect operated indirectly through underage drinking. Implications for directional risk models and points of intervention are discussed.

Gay males have higher than average rates of suicidal ideation, which has been attributed in part to the pressure to conform to societal religious norms. Using the theoretical frameworks of Durkheim and of Pescosolido and Georgianna, the purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the role of religiosity as a factor of suicidal ideation in gay males. In this study, 113 gay males completed an online survey regarding their level of religiosity as measured by the Religious Background and Behaviors Questionnaire, past suicidal ideation as measured by the Suicidal Ideation Measure, and certain predictor variables, including being "out" to family members, family being supportive, age, religious affiliation (current and during childhood), ethnicity, and population of town during childhood. Regression analyses found no direct statistical significance between level of religiosity and suicidal ideation. There was a predictive relationship, however, between level of family support, level of religiosity, and suicidal ideation. These findings support the Pescosolido and Georgianna theory that belongingness reduces suicidal ideation. The implications for positive social change include the need for mental health professionals to highlight the importance of positive support for gay males as a potential buffer to suicidal ideation.

Personal characteristics of mental health professionals can impact their attitudes toward juvenile sex offenders (JSOs) and affect treatment. The correlation between mental health professionals' religiosity and their attitudes has not been examined, and there is limited research about the correlation between professionals' gender and attitudes. The purpose of this study was to examine how mental health professionals' religiosity and gender related to their attitudes toward JSO treatment. Labeling theory provided the theoretical foundation for this study. This theory posits that individuals label certain populations, such as sex offenders, as deviant and this labeling perpetuates a cycle of criminal behavior. Using a quantitative approach, 123 mental health professionals completed an Internet survey that included demographic information, the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire, and the Attitudes Toward Treatment of Sex Offenders survey. These served to identify gender and measure religiosity and attitudes toward JSO treatment. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was then used to examine the research questions and hypotheses. There were no statistically significant findings about how participants' religiosity and gender relate to their attitudes toward JSO treatment. However, further analyses revealed that type of profession and race of the participants affected their attitudes toward treatment. The findings can guide training programs to educate professionals that personal characteristics may affect their attitudes toward treatment. The potential for social change is that professionals' increased awareness may improve treatment effectiveness, which might ultimately lower offenders' recidivism and increase protection for the public.

Thesis ( M.A. (Research psychology)) --University of Limpopo, 2012 / This study sought to investigate the relationship of death anxiety to age, gender and religiosity among Africans in a rural South African context. Two hundred participants completed a questionnaire based on demographic variables, death anxiety scales, and a measure of religiosity Results revealed that intrinsic religious motivation was inversely related to all types of death anxiety measured. Furthermore, age was correlated with death anxiety, such that the experience of death anxiety tended to decrease among older subjects. However, there were no gender effects on the experience of death anxiety.

This study was designed to test the clinical effectiveness of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) group intervention for individuals reporting distress related to conflict between sexual and religious identity. There were 24 participants in the study, 12 of whom took part in the therapy group, 12 of whom were in a comparison group and did not participate in the intervention. Outcome measures included the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-2 (AAQ-2), Components of Attitudes Towards Homosexuality (CAH), Outcome Questionnaire-45 (OQ-45), the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHO-QOL), Dimensions of Latter-Day Saint Religiosity (DLDSR), and the Three-Factor Scale of Authoritarianism (3-FSA). Participants from both the intervention and the comparison groups completed an initial battery of these self-report measures and an additional follow-up battery, given after the intervention group had completed the six-session intervention and after a similar 6-week period had passed for the comparison group. Repeated-measure ANOVA of the collected data indicates that, relative to the comparison group, the intervention group showed statistically significant (p < .05) changes in symptom distress (partial &brkbar;Ç2 = .36), attitudes towards homosexuality (partial &brkbar;Ç2 = .461), and quality of life (partial &brkbar;Ç2 = .85). While preliminary, results of this study indicate that an ACT therapy group is an effective clinical intervention for individuals experiencing distress as a result of conflict between sexual and religious identity.

The influence of religiosity in adolescence on several variables that have been shown to be predictors of marital quality and stability was examined using a nationally representative sample of 3,151 youth, aged 13 to 17 years, from the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR). Religiosity was defined to incorporate multiple characteristics including religious beliefs, attitudes, participation, experiences, and identities. The effect of religious affiliation and religiosity was also examined for seven premarital predictors, which included relationship with parents, ideal age for marriage, right and wrong, academic achievement, sexual behavior, attitude toward cohabitation, and attitude toward divorce. Data were collected through telephone interviews using a random-digit-dial method between 2002 and 2003. Youth were categorized into eight religious groups: Conservative Protestant, Mainline Protestant, Black Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Other Christian, and Not Religious. Research questions were analyzed using ANCOVA, OLS regression, and logistic regression. Results indicated that all three research hypotheses were supported by the data. Specifically, religious affiliation significantly predicted level of religiosity, religiosity was related to each of the seven premarital predictors of marital quality and stability, and religious affiliation acted as a moderator in the relationships between religiosity and the seven premarital predictors. Comparison of the eight religious groups revealed that religiosity has a unique influence on youth in the different groups in relation to these outcome variables. In light of these findings, implications, limitations, and future directions for research are discussed.

The current study examined religious identity in a Filipinx Christian immigrant adolescent and emerging adult sample (N = 197) in Canada. Religious identity was defined as the extent to which an individual has engaged in each of five processes of religious identity formation. A hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted to identify subgroups of participants based on their religious identity. Five subgroups were identified that represented different combinations of religious identity exploration and commitment, named Internalized, Ruminative Seeking, Indifferent, Externalized, and Undifferentiated. The study also examined whether participants in different religious identity clusters expressed their religiosity differently. It was found that participants with different religious identities differed in the level of religiosity expressed (i.e., some religious identity groups were more religious than others), but groups did not differ in the distinct ways religiosity could be expressed (i.e., all groups engaged in all dimensions of religiosity). There was also no evidence that religious identity differed based on participant age, contradicting expectations that religious identity would follow a developmental trajectory similar to other aspects of identity. Finally, the relations between religious identity clusters and enculturation and acculturation were examined to see if cultural change following immigration was related to the formation of religious identity. The findings suggested that Filipinx immigrants who were more oriented towards Filipinx culture were also more likely to be committed to their religious identity, and members of religious identities that were highly oriented towards Filipinx culture also expressed moderate to high levels of religiosity, suggesting that Filipinx culture emphasizes the importance of religious commitment and expressions of religiosity. The importance of immigration becomes more nuanced in participants who engaged in similar levels of enculturation and acculturation. Filipinx immigrants who were highly oriented to both Filipinx and Canadian cultures equally tended to be members of religious identities that experienced distressful exploration of religion. Filipinx immigrants with different levels of enculturation and acculturation may have used differences in their orientation towards Filipinx and Canadian cultures to help navigate their religious identity. The current study highlights variations in how different Filipinx Christian immigrants view their religious identity, and the importance of considering how immigration may influence religious identity formation. / Graduate

This paper examines how second-generation Muslim immigrants feel that it is to live as a Muslim today in Sweden. The survey is based on six qualitative interviews in which young adults describe how they relate to their religion, religiosity and to their Muslim identity. The result showed that the interviewers felt that Muslims are often generalised as a homogeneous group in the society where their ethnicity, culture and religiosity are often mixedup with other nationalities and cultures. The young adult Muslims believe that they usually end up in a dilemma when discussion about religious affiliation emerges and that they tend to adapt their identity to the environment and to the people they are surrounded by. The study also showed that young adults seemed to consider that the Muslim traditions were more important during the early years of their childhood and that they functioned as a band between them and their parents during their upbringing. Over the years their religiosity seemed to decrease gradually and the young adults think that different factors have had an impact on the change. The interviewers believe that they, together with their parents, have had to adapt Muslim values to the society. They considered that other traditions, in particular Christian traditions, have become more important in their lives.

This study investigates the development of, and relationships between, religiosity, spirituality, moral thinking and social attitudes among religious adolescents participating in an early morning weekday religious education program in Australia. Students participating in the Early Morning Seminary program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints form the population of interest for this study. These students demonstrate high levels of religious practice, making them an important group to research when seeking greater understanding of the outcomes of religious and spiritual developmental arising from such programs and when investigating how religiosity relates to moral and attitudinal aspects in the lives of religious youth. The research is survey based and entails the administering of four waves over a two-year period, enabling longitudinal observations to be examined. A sample of convenience is used consisting of Seminary students from South Australia and Victoria. Various survey instruments are used to measure characteristics such as family background, educational background, student religious activity, Seminary program involvement, relationships with God, moral decision making and social attitudes. Data analysis includes the use of Rasch scaling procedures, path analysis and Hierarchical Linear Modelling software in order to investigate multilevel effects on change in key dimensions over time. The fact that specific research regarding highly religious youth in Australia is not common and that research regarding Latter-day Saint youth in Australia is almost non-existent makes this study an important and seminal contribution in the Australian religious research field. This study provides several other important contributions to the field as it explores developmental outcomes of a specific religious education program across a range of religious and psychosocial dimensions. The oft-reported strong influence of the family on the religiosity of teenagers is reflected in the findings of this study. There is also evidence to indicate that private religious activity is especially important for the level of spirituality among students. The findings indicate that spirituality, rather than public or private religious practice, influences moral reasoning. Furthermore, private religious practice tends to have more positive influence than spirituality on social attitudes. Participation in the Seminary program appears to influence religiosity and spirituality significantly and independently of other variables included in the study, although the influence of participation is mediated by the feelings of students concerning the program. Generally, students show a decline in both participation levels and feelings towards the Seminary program over time. However, there is evidence of increased positive attitude toward a religious lifestyle, religious belief and awareness of God’s influence in life. Religious practice appears to influence change in several practical, attitudinal and spiritual dimensions positively. The findings indicate that the developmental role of Seminary participation is largely through the influence of the class environment. From this study it appears that religious participation in both public and private forms can have a major influence on key dimensions of spirituality and that religious and spiritual characteristics can have some influence on moral decision making and the forming of social attitudes. Participation in a religious education program, such as the Latter-day Saint Seminary program, can influence these dimensions especially if there is a positive attitude towards the program on the part of students and the class the environment is appropriate. In recent decades, the role of religion in psychological and social reality has seen greater attention and acceptance in academic circles. Accordingly, the body of academic research regarding religion and associated fields has increased and diversified opening the way for further exploration of the role of religion in the broader context of human life as is found in this study.