Judgmental God image, social embeddedness, and social trust among the highly religious in the United States

Henderson, W. Matthew; Fitz, Brittany; Mencken, F. Carson

doi:10.1080/13537903.2017.1256639

Cited by 3 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…First, the results are consistent with previous findings that dispositions toward the divine largely correspond with dispositions toward others (Froese and Bader 2007, 2010; Greeley 1995; Henderson et al 2017). Furthermore, the findings are generally consistent with Durkheim’s prediction that perceptions of the divine represent a symbolic expression of sociality, which influences how we perceive and respond to society.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Furthermore, these findings highlight the distinction between two particular aspects of the human-divine relationship: “styles” of attachment (i.e., avoidant, anxious) and the “object” of attachment (i.e., images of God). Previous research in this area has linked God imagery with social trust (Henderson et al 2017; Mencken et al 2009), but the current results reveal that attachment styles are consequential even when images of God are held constant.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 75%

“…On one hand, a strong focus on human sin and a wrathful God—characteristics of many conservative Protestant congregations—may predispose members toward lower levels of social trust compared with mainline Protestants and Catholics, as the latter groups tend to maintain weaker symbolic boundaries between themselves and society at large (Alwin 1986; D’Antonio et al 2001; Diamond 1995; Keister 2007; Pearce and Thornton 2007; Putnam 1993; Smith 1998). On the other hand, most religious subcultures place considerable emphasis on human decency and dignity, and although separate studies have linked theological conservatism with decreased generalized trust and greater antipathy toward political out-group members (Hempel, Matthews, and Bartkowski 2012; Rhodes 2012), increased religious attendance among these groups is typically associated with greater trust (Henderson, Fitz, and Mencken 2017; Welch et al 2004). Hence, even when subcultural norms are more amenable to particularized trust, findings suggest that increased embeddedness in religious communities may contribute to general trust extended to both in-group and out-group members, irrespective of religious affiliation.…”

Section: Theoretical and Empirical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More recent research has focused on the relationship between trust and beliefs about the nature, or “image,” of God (Henderson et al 2017; Mencken, Bader, and Embry 2009). This work argues that God represents the central religious symbol in monotheistic traditions, and that perceptions of God (e.g., as loving, angry, or judgmental) correspond with beliefs about human beings (Froese and Bader 2007, 2010; Greeley 1995).…”

Section: Theoretical and Empirical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Attachment to God and Social Trust

Bradshaw

Kent

Henderson

et al. 2019

Sociological Perspectives

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Research suggests that religious participation is associated with feelings of social trust. A separate line of work shows that individuals who develop secure, intimate relationships with parents, caregivers, and others have higher levels of trust than those who do not. The current study integrates these two strands of theory and research by examining (1) whether attachment to God has a unique association with social trust, (2) whether different attachment “styles” (i.e., avoidant, anxious) produce variations in trust outcomes, and (3) whether the findings are significant net of controls for sociodemographic characteristics, religious service attendance, prayer, denominational affiliation, and images of God. Analyses are conducted using data from the 2010 Baylor Religion Survey (BRS), a nationwide sample of U.S. adults. Findings suggest that both avoidant and anxious attachment to God are inversely related to overall trust, generalized trust (unknown people and strangers), and particularized trust (neighbors and coworkers). These two measures also interact with education (but not marital status, race, or income) to predict trust in the following way: Both avoidant and anxious attachment to God have stronger inverse associations with trust among individuals with lower levels of education compared with their more highly educated counterparts. Overall, attachment to God may offer an explanation for trust not captured by more widely used indicators of religious life.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 75%

Section: Theoretical and Empirical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Theoretical and Empirical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Attachment to God and Social Trust

Bradshaw

Kent

Henderson

et al. 2019

Sociological Perspectives

Self Cite

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show abstract

“…Research echoes these arguments by showing that beliefs in a benevolent God are associated with higher rates of volunteerism (Johnson et al. ; Johnson, Okun, and Cohen ), and positive images of God influence the extent to which individuals trust other people (Henderson, Fitz, and Mencken ; Hinze, Mencken, and Tolbert ; Mencken, Bader, and Embry ). Generalized trust is particularly important in light of evidence that religious adherents with higher levels of trust are more likely to feel morally compelled to help strangers (Uslaner ), while adherents with lower levels of trust are less likely to help religious outsiders and more likely to view strangers with suspicion ( Schwadel ; Wuthnow ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Beyond “Heartless Conservative” and “Bleeding Heart Liberal” Caricatures: How Religiosity Shapes the Relationship Between Political Orientation and Empathy

Schieman

Bierman

Upenieks

2019

Scientific Study of Religion

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Is political orientation associated with self-reported empathy? Popular caricatures frame political orientation in terms of the "heartless conservative" and the "bleeding heart liberal." Yet, previous research has produced findings that present mixed evidence to support these caricatures. Using data from the 2004 General Social Survey, analyses show that the caricatures of the caring liberal and the cold-hearted conservative are supported by results for empathy-in which conservatives have lower levels of empathy than liberals-but this pattern holds only when individuals also have low levels of religiosity. In the context of high religiosity, self-identified conservatives do not have lower empathy than self-identified liberals, net of a host of sociodemographic characteristics. Our observations demonstrate that patterns in empathy across political orientation are evident only when levels of different forms of religiosity are considered.

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‘God will protect us’: Belief in God/Higher Power's ability to intervene and COVID-19 vaccine uptake

DiGregorio

Corcoran

Scheitle

2022

Review of Religious Research

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Background Vaccines represent one of the best ways to counter the COVID-19 pandemic. However, vaccine hesitancy among the population limits the effectiveness of vaccines. Recent research has explored the role of religion in vaccine hesitancy, but in doing so has encountered a "black box" problem. There is a relationship between religion and vaccine hesitancy, but the explanation for why remains unclear. Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between religion and vaccine hesitancy. We propose that how an individual conceptualizes God/a higher power is associated with getting vaccinated for COVID-19. Methods We use data from a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults, collected using the Amerispeak® probability-based panel via the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago. We examine the association between individuals' views of God/a higher power as both a supervisory and an intervening figure on vaccine uptake and likelihood of getting vaccinated through logistic regressions.Results We find that belief in God's/a higher power's supervision is not significantly associated with the odds of COVID-19 vaccine uptake or vaccination intent. However, belief in God's/a higher power's ability to intervene in the world is significantly and negatively associated with the odds of COVID-19 vaccine uptake and the odds of having received or planning to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, in models where belief in the ability of God/a higher power to intervene are included, Christian nationalism ceases to have a statistically significant association with intent to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Conclusions and implications: These findings suggest that how individuals conceptualize God/a higher power is associated with their willingness to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Given this, those who see God/a higher power as more involved in the world may contribute to delays in achieving herd immunity. This information benefits those working on vaccination campaigns in understanding the beliefs of some of those who are most hesitant to get vaccinated. In addition, this intervention mechanism

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Judgmental God image, social embeddedness, and social trust among the highly religious in the United States

Cited by 3 publications

References 51 publications

Attachment to God and Social Trust

Attachment to God and Social Trust

Beyond “Heartless Conservative” and “Bleeding Heart Liberal” Caricatures: How Religiosity Shapes the Relationship Between Political Orientation and Empathy

‘God will protect us’: Belief in God/Higher Power's ability to intervene and COVID-19 vaccine uptake

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