Browsing by Subject "Religion and sociology."
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Item The importance of economic surroundings on religious adherence.(2006-07-30T13:18:07Z) Smith, Buster G.; Bader, Christopher David.; Tolbert, Charles M.; North, Charles Mark, 1964-; Sociology.; Baylor University. Dept. of Sociology.Sociological explanations of religious adherence tend to focus on characteristics of the individual. One exception is the largely discarded concept of relative deprivation. By its nature, relative deprivation is dependent upon the comparative nature of one's relationship with fellow members of a community. This study expands upon the premise of relative deprivation by exploring the role that the ecological economic characteristics of a community play in determining religious adherence. Independent analyses are performed at the county-level, with Evangelical and Mainline Protestant adherence rates as the dependent variable to test several associated hypotheses. A combination of U.S. census and RCMS data from 2000 suggest that economic surroundings are important determinants of religious selection. In particular, income inequality has diametrically opposed effects on the adherence rates of Protestant denominations, with Evangelicals benefiting and Mainline groups suffering. Explanations include the need for boundaries and doctrinal claims of the how the world functions.Item A quantitative investigation of normative and deviant religious experiences.(2007-08-21T16:15:52Z) Baker, Joseph O.; Bader, Christopher David.; Sociology.; Baylor University. Dept. of Sociology.Previous quantitative investigations of religious experiences in the social sciences have primarily focused on broad questions. Data from the Baylor Religion Survey provide information on specific types of religious experiences rather than asking a general, all-encompassing question on the topic. These specific questions allow for separate analyses of experiences to determine if different sociological factors are influential. While income level does not effect claiming more normative religious experiences, it is an important predictor of deviant religious experiences. It was expected that individuals with a social network centered a round a religious organization would be more likely to claim experiences, but results failed to support this hypothesis. While there are some definitive patterns found among the various experiences, there are also many differences depending on the experience in question. This suggests that a single survey question addressing the topic is inadequate.