عنوان

Personality and Social Integration Factors Distinguishing Nonreligious from Religious Groups:

LA108966

انگلیسی

Personality and Social Integration Factors Distinguishing Nonreligious from Religious Groups:

[Article]

The Importance of Controlling for Attendance and Demographics

Jim Kloet, Luke W. Galen, Jim Kloet, et al.

Leiden

Brill

Previous studies linking personality and social integration with religiosity conflate the weakly religious with the completely nonreligious, and religious belief with group membership, leading to spurious associations. The present study characterizes the growing nonreligious population by comparing church and secular group members on personality characteristics and social integration. Although church members were higher in Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and perceived social support, these differences were largely eliminated when controlling for demographics and group attendance. Secular group members were higher on Intellect/Openness. Many previously reported characteristics associated with religiosity are a function not of belief itself, but of strong convictions and group identification. Previous studies linking personality and social integration with religiosity conflate the weakly religious with the completely nonreligious, and religious belief with group membership, leading to spurious associations. The present study characterizes the growing nonreligious population by comparing church and secular group members on personality characteristics and social integration. Although church members were higher in Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and perceived social support, these differences were largely eliminated when controlling for demographics and group attendance. Secular group members were higher on Intellect/Openness. Many previously reported characteristics associated with religiosity are a function not of belief itself, but of strong convictions and group identification.

2011

205-228

Archive for the Psychology of Religion

33/2

1573-6121

atheist

life satisfaction

personality

religion

secularism

social support

Jim Kloet

Luke W. Galen

10.1163/157361211X570047

p

[Article]

275578

a

Y