The period between 1966 and 1996 was a period of great change for society in Australia. Two particular aspects of that change have been highlighted in this study. It will examine the changing patterns of attendance at religious services and religious affiliation over this time period. In particular it examines the connection of attendance and belief patterns, which have changed during this period, with particular reference to Christian religious groups. ¶ By examining data from each of the Censuses in the period between 1966 and 1996 it was possible to note three fundamental changes in the patterns of religious affiliation. The first was the movement away from patterns of Christian affiliation to no religious affiliation. The second was the shift of migration patterns which drew substantially from Europe in the period prior to 1971 to a pattern with higher levels of migration from Asia and Oceania. The third saw a decline in Christian affiliation among the 15-24 age group. ¶ After analysing this affiliation data a weekly average religious attendance measure was composed to compare data from each of the social science surveys. This made it possible to examine generational trends by age and sex which resulted from changing patterns of affiliation, immigration, stability of residence and marital status Also a case study of the Canberra parishes in the Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn was undertaken to examine the particular impact that these changes had on a particular religious grouping. ¶ In studying these indicators it is believed that the change in patterns of Australian religious attendance and affiliation while influenced by life course events has also been substantially affected by issues of generational change. These changes not only produce lower levels of religious attendance but also have significant impact on aspects of society which have sustained communal life.

Suicide is a significant public health concern and the second leading cause of death for college-age students in the United States. Although psychopathology (e.g., stress, anxiety, and depression) contributes to suicide risk, individual-level protective characteristics may be preventative. For instance, involvement in religious communities is inversely associated with suicide risk. Other factors, like surrendering to God or a deity (i.e., relinquishing control to God, entrusting one’s life to God’s purposes), are not well understood, but may also be beneficial. Further, psycho-spiritual processes, such as forgiveness, may help to explain the linkage between religious attendance/surrender and suicide. At the bivariate level, we hypothesized that religious attendance (RA), surrender to God (STG), and feeling forgiven by God (FFG) would be positively related; that depression, anxiety, stress, and suicide risk (SR) would be positively related; and that religious and psychopathological variables would be inversely related. In multivariate analyses, we hypothesized RA and STG would be negatively associated with suicide risk, and that FFG (1storder mediator) and psychopathology (i.e., stress, depression, and anxiety; 2ndorder mediators) would mediate this linkage, such that greater religious attendance/surrender would be related to increased FFG and, in turn, to less psychopathology and suicidality. Students from a rural southeastern university (N=249) completed self-report measures, including: a single-item measure of RA; the Surrender to God Scale; Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality – forgiveness items; Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales; and, Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire – Revised. Pearson-product moment bivariate correlations were utilized to assess for associations between, and independence of, study variables. Multivariate mediation analyses were conducted using Hayes’ PROCESS macro in SPSS, utilizing a 10,000 bootstrapping sample and covarying age, race, and sex. All bivariate hypotheses were supported, in expected directions (p<.001). All multivariate hypotheses in the RA models were supported, such that a total effect, but not an indirect effect was observed for depression (β=-.036, SE=.009,t=-4.104, p<.001), anxiety (β=-.036, SE=.009,t=-4.104, p<.001), and stress (β=-.036, SE=.009,t=-4.104, p<.001), indicating mediation. All hypotheses in STG models were supported, such that a total effect, but not an indirect effect was observed for depression (β=-.092, SE=.016,t=-5.700, p<.001), anxiety (β=-.092, SE=.016,t=-5.700, p<.001), and stress (β=-.092, SE=.016,t=-5.700, p<.001), indicating mediation. In all models, specific indirect effects occurred through the FFG pathway, suggesting the importance of intrinsic, relational aspects of religiosity for the reduction of suicide risk. A specific indirect effect between STG and SR through stress was observed, suggesting that relinquishing control to a “higher power” may be beneficial for stress reduction. Our novel findings highlight several potential mechanisms of action linking religious factors and SR, and may have clinical implications. Therapeutic promotion of religious involvement, when appropriate, and fostering a sense of forgiveness (e.g., via cognitive behavioral therapy, REACH model of forgiveness) may aid in the reduction of psychopathology and suicide risk in the collegiate population.

The two main theories of religious change are the secularization paradigm and the economic model of religion. The secularization paradigm’s main premise is that modernization weakens the power and authority of the church as an institution and reduces the importance of religion in the daily lives of the population. This paradigm applies well to Europe, but the United States acts as a powerful counter-example. Since the 1940s, religious attendance in the United States has remained generally stable, with approximately 40% of the population claiming to attend religious services, mostly in Christian churches, at least once a week. American sociologists explain this relative vitality with reference to an open and competitive religious marketplace, claiming that the innate desire for spirituality is met by the sheer diversity of religious groups in the United States. This economic model of religion applies poorly to the European situation. This thesis examines these apparent contradictions by considering the similarities and differences between the dynamics of religious change in five western countries since the 1970s or 1980s; the countries are Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. The key question is which combination of dynamics is responsible for religious change in western countries. The effects of migration and fertility aside, all population change must be related to some combination of age, period or cohort effects; age effects are those that occur as people age, period effects are those that affect the whole population regardless of age, and cohort effects are often attributed to circumstances or events during youth. These different dynamics of religious change would each indicate different sources of religious change at the individual level, which may lend support to one theory of religious change over another. I show that there is overwhelming evidence that most religious change in Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada is due to differences between generations in the time periods observed with some slight downward period effects. The main drivers of change in the United States are either downward cohort with upward period effects, upward age effects, or a combination of these three effects. I conclude that the changing conditions of socialization in youth, both formal and informal, related to modernization and cultural shifts can explain the dynamics in Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Similar effects in the United States may be counteracted by the high social desirability of religion in that country by contrast with the other countries and the ability of particularly conservative Protestants in the United States to isolate themselves from views that conflict with their own; these groups are aided in this by numerical strength and by the ability to socialize, work and view media all of which enhance their religious worldview.

<p>In three distinct but related chapters, this dissertation explores the causes and consequences of an important trend in American religion -- the concentration of people into very large churches. I undertake a systematic examination of historical materials to excavate the origins of the modern Protestant megachurch and find its genesis lies in the beginnings of the Reformation, not in the late twentieth century as commonly argued. I then turn to study the consequences of this shift, using data from the combined National Congregations Study and U.S. General Social Survey. I uncover a significant negative relationship between congregation size and the probability of attendance. These results provide convincing evidence in support of the theory that social interaction and group cohesion lies at the heart of the size-participation relationship. Finally, I use zero-inflated regression models to examine the relationship between size and the socio-economic status composition of the church. My analyses reveal a negative relationship between size and low household income. Larger congregations contain a larger proportion of regular adult participants living in high income households and possessing college degrees, and a smaller proportion of people living in low income households. In congregations located in relatively poor census tracts, the relationship between high socio-economic status (SES) and congregation size remains significant. This research offers important correctives that help situate megachurches in the United States in their proper context. It provides important insights into how the shift of churchgoers into large congregations may concentrate power in these organizations and reduce overall rates of attendance.</p> / Dissertation