Differential effects from aspects of religion on female genital mutilation/cutting.

Abstract

Religion has been seen as one of the most important predictors of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), yet there are almost no studies that empirically examine how religion affects the parents’ decision to subject their daughters to FGM/C. Thus, the authors investigated how several aspects of religiosity—religious affiliation, prayer frequency, religious service attendance, religious fundamentalism, perceived governmental unfairness toward one’s own religious group, and perceived religious suppression—contribute to the parents’ decision for FGM/C. They analyzed randomly sampled cross-sectional data of African parents from 19 Sub-Saharan countries with a sample size of N = 13,077. The overall prevalence rate of parents having any of their daughters circumcised was 20%, varying per country from 1% (Cameroon) to 88% (Mali). Participants belonging to a traditional African religion reported the highest prevalence of FGM/C with 62%, followed by Muslim parents with 34%, unaffiliated parents with 14%, and Christian parents with an FGM/C rate of 10%. Using multilevel logistic regression, we found that parents’ decision for FGM/C was predicted by religious affiliation, lower prayer frequency, higher religious service attendance, higher perceived governmental unfairness, being older, and a lower level of education, but not by religious fundamentalism, perceived religious suppression, and gender. Thus, religiosity has differential effects on the parents’ decision for FGM/C: Although on its own, praying decreases the likelihood that parents will subject their daughters to FGM/C, the social aspects of religiosity increase this likelihood.

Disentangling Honor-Based Violence and Religion: The Differential Influence of Individual and Social Religious Practices and Fundamentalism on Support for Honor Killings in a Cross-National Sample of Muslims

“…In accordance with terror management theory (Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1986), religious fundamentalist beliefs might protect people from uncertainty and existential fear; however, when the fundamentalist worldview is challenged, people, who would not normally condone violence, might be prone to support honor violence to mitigate these threats to their worldview. Empirically, several studies suggested that religious fundamentalism might indeed be associated with increased violent attitudes (e.g., Beller, 2017; Beller & Kröger, 2018a; Beller, Kröger, & Kliem, 2021; McCleary, Quillivan, Foster, & Williams, 2011). For example, Williamson and Hood (2014) confronted participants with three scenarios that presented varied threats to the participants’ worldviews.…”

Religiosity and perceived religious discrimination as predictors of support for suicide attacks among Muslim Americans.

“…On the other hand, the current investigation is one of the few studies that have adequately operationalized religiosity as a multidimensional phenomenon (Glock, 1962). Evidence is mounting that religiosity is a complex multidimensional construct with differential associations to violence (e.g., Beller & Kröger, 2018; Beller, Kröger, & Kliem, 2019), supporting the choice of operationalization used in this study.…”

Psychische Belastung durch weibliche Genitalverstümmelung: Eine explorative Untersuchung im Rahmen einer medizinischen Sprechstunde

“…Wenn auch die Religionen keine Beschneidung fordern und kulturelle Bedingungen der Herkunftsländer großen Einfluss besitzen [24], haben doch 21,6 % der Befragten angegeben, dass die Beschneidung durch ihre Religion gefordert würde. Trotz langjähriger Bemühung der WHO, des Kinderhilfswerk der Vereinten Nationen (UNICEF), Terre de Femme (TdF) und anderer internationalen Institutionen hat die Aufklärung über die gesundheitlichen Folgen, noch immer nicht zu einem ausreichenden Umdenken geführt.…”

“…Die Hoffnung ist dennoch, dass Aufklärung bei afrikanischen Eltern dazu führt, dass es sozial akzeptierter wird, ihre Töchter nicht beschneiden zu lassen. Somit könnte das Auftreten in der nächsten Generation vermindert werden [24]. Dieses Dokument wurde zum persönlichen Gebrauch heruntergeladen.…”