Religious beliefs and domestic violence myths.

Abstract

Religiousness has a long-standing presence in the research literature on intolerance. However, religiousness is minimally represented in the interpersonal violence myth (IPVM) literature. IPVMs comprise an aspect of the broader construct of intolerance. We heeded the call to address research on tradition-specific religious beliefs and IPVMs. As such, we examined select Christian beliefs about Divine-human relating, hierarchical relational expectations, complementarian gender ideology, and existential defensiveness as predictors of Domestic violence myth acceptance (DVMA) using a sample of 238 students from a Protestant evangelical seminary (M age ϭ 34.06, SD ϭ 9.33; range 22 -62 years; 41.6% female; 80.7% White). We observed positive associations among Calvinist tradition-specific religious beliefs and the 3 indicators of the latent construct of hierarchical relationality (i.e., hierarchical relational expectations, gender complementarianism, and existential defensiveness). We also observed (a) a positive indirect association between Calvinist beliefs and DVMA through the latent construct of hierarchical relationality, and (b) a negative indirect association between Calvinist beliefs and social justice advocacy through hierarchical relationality. Last, we observed evidence of suppression as the significant positive bivariate association between Calvinist beliefs and DVMA became significant and negative. Findings supported the conceptualization of domestic violence myths as comprised by nonacceptance of out-group members, hierarchical relationships, and gender inequality, and that an aspect of Calvinist ideology is similarly defined. Implications included designing training programs for religious leaders and constructing prevention and intervention strategies that foster self-reflection on religious beliefs associated with DVMA.

Dating Victimization Among Chilean University Students: Gender Roles and Christian Spirituality

“…On the other hand, those who identify more with Christian spirituality do not perceive the violent behaviors they have experienced as abuse. This result is consistent with studies that attribute greater tolerance of violence to religion, although this tolerance is not unconditional, because the risky influence of religion disappears when victimization levels are elevated ( Berkel et al, 2004 ; Jankowski et al, 2018 ; King & Boyatzis, 2015 ; Nelson, 2009 ). Conversely, the weight of the variable sex for the group with HLV (31% of the variance) is very worrying: although men suffer the same levels of victimization, being a woman is determinant in self-defining as a victim of abuse.…”

“…The patterns of influence on victimization differ between sexes. This result is to be expected given that GR establish different rules of behavior for men and women, which is why they have a different meaning for each group ( Berkel et al, 2004 ; Betancourt & Cartes, 2019 ; Galtung, 2016 ; Jankowski et al, 2018 ; King & Boyatzis, 2015 ; Nelson, 2009 ).…”

“…In Chile, Christian spirituality is strong, because most of the population identifies with Catholic and evangelical groups. According to the traditional archetypes of femininity, these groups espouse values and moral rules on the family, impacting on the beliefs and expectations of gender and dating relationships, as well as promoting the tolerance of violence ( Alcaino, 2017 ; Berkel et al, 2004 ; Betancourt & Cartes, 2019 ; Jankowski et al, 2018 ; King & Boyatzis, 2015 ; Nelson, 2009 ).…”

Longitudinal associations for right-wing authoritarianism, social justice, and compassion among seminary students

“…“‘Concerns’ refer to everything that is important to people, to which they aspire, or that they defend or claim for themselves and for others” (Montada & Maes, 2016, p. 119). Studies have also found that seminary students’ social justice commitment was lower among those reporting higher levels of a (a) preference for interpersonal hierarchy (Jankowski et al, 2018; Sandage et al, 2017) and (b) defensive theology (Bell et al, 2017), the latter which emphasizes special protection by God “deployed to minimize existential predicaments” (Beck, 2006, p. 143). These findings suggest that individual differences among emerging R/S leaders in social justice can be embedded in other developmental processes, and this could hold important implications for theological education and training to address social justice.…”

Parenting in the Context of Intimate Partner Violence: Understanding Mothers’ Perceptions

“…Parenting in the context of IPV may lead to long-term adverse effects for both survivors and their children (Anyikwa, 2016). This can result in parental emotional and physical depletion, which can affect parenting practices (Jankowski et al, 2017), such as the emotional availability of mothers, attachment styles, or disciplinary tactics. Past work suggests that survivors need and deserve additional support with parenting (K. Anderson & van Ee, 2018;Gutowski & Goodman, 2020).…”