Article Abstracts
December 2007, Vol. 49 Issue 1

Parental Religious Socialization Practices
and Self-Esteem in Late Life

Neal Krause
The University of Michigan
Christopher G. Ellison
University of Texas, Austin

The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between parental religious socialization practices and self-esteem in late life. The core theoretical thrust that was developed for this study is captured in the following linkages: (1) older African Americans will be more likely than older Whites to report that their parents encouraged them to become involved in religion when they were growing up; (2) people whose parents encouraged them to become involved in religion will be more likely to attend church and pray privately in late life; (3) older adults who attend church often and pray frequently will be more committed to their faith; (4) older people who are more deeply committed to their faith will have a stronger sense of self-worth. Data from a nationwide survey of older adults provides support for all the relationships embedded in the study model.

Islamic Religiosity in Right-Wing Authoritarian Personality:
The Case of Indonesian Muslims

Chang-Ho Ji
Yodi Ibrahim
La Sierra University

This study investigates whether and how Islamic personal religiosity–defined as doctrinal orthodoxy, intrinsic religiosity, extrinsic religiosity, and quest religiosity–shapes pro-authority attitude and authoritarian social conservatism. Using self-professed Muslims in Indonesia, we find that Islamic religiosity plays a critical role in shaping authoritarian attitudes. Intrinsic religiosity is positively tied with a pro-authority attitude, which then leads to the development of social conservatism. Existential quest religiosity serves to turn Muslims away from reverence for authority figures, however. In addition, doctrinal belief in the ritualistic and judgmental aspects of Islam relates positively with social conservatism, whereas Muslim faith in God, the Koran, and the prophet reduces the likelihood of developing the same authoritarian trait. Our findings generally confirm previous findings from Christian populations; at the same time it offers many new insights on Islamic religiosity and right-wing authoritarian personality.

Adaptation of a Muslim Religiosity Scale for Use with Four Different Faith Communities in Malaysia

Steven Eric Krauss
Aximi Hamzah
Universiti Putra Malaysia

Fazila Idris
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Though many religiosity scales originally developed for use with Judeo-Christian populations have been adapted for use with Muslim populations (Spilka et al., 2003), no known scales developed for Muslims have been adapted for use by non-Muslim adherents. In an attempt to measure religiosity of Malaysian youth across four faith communities (Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians), researchers required the use of an instrument that would be universally applicable and accepted. The Religious Personality subscale of the Muslim Religiosity-Personality Inventory (MRPI) (Krauss et al., 2006) was selected. The current paper set out to report on the process and results of scale adaptation. Psychometric results indicate that the scale is reliable, valid and relevant for use with multiple faith groups. Concerns about social desirability in relation to the religiosity scale are also considered. The study also highlights the need for more formal research on religiosity among non-Muslim faith groups in Malaysia as most of the formal research to date has been conducted on Muslim Malays.

Cyber Wars: Catholics for a Free Choice and the Online Abortion Debate

Jon P. Bloch
Southern Connecticut State University

Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC) performs considerable advocacy online, through its website as well as through press releases and interviews that appear at other sites.  Opponents to CFFC also frequently post online.  This article analyzes this online debate to explore how it is conceptually framed.  CFFC presents a discourse that is promoted as finding ideological consistency between Catholic values and being pro-choice, and which addresses a greater social good beyond the Church per se.   In making these self-referential claims, CFFC could be viewed as a “community of discourse” (Wuthnow 1989) that reckons with “problems of articulation” by dealing with both specific and broader tensions.    Online opponents to CFFC likewise could be viewed as communities of discourse  that promote themselves as having the true Catholic values that serve the greater good.   On balance, CFFC online would seem to reflect the larger quandaries of abortion discourse, whereby the Internet can offer a representative depiction of democratic free speech articulated on this controversial issue.  Yet at the same time, there is little evidence to date that this online debate is changing anyone’s mind or building a new consensus, despite some efforts on the part of CFFC to do so.

Changing Sides:
9/11 and the American Muslim Voter

John W. Ayers
San Diego State University

Recent years have seen a resurgence of religion as a significant political variable.  While current research in this area is expansive, these investigations neglect the importance of minority religious groups, particularly American Muslims – the fastest growing religion in America today.  This study evaluates the efficacy of religious characteristics as motivators of respondents’ voting choices, using a nationwide survey of American Muslim adults.  Unlike dominant religious groups, measures of religiosity for American Muslim adults consistently had negative effects on support for the conservative candidate George W. Bush.  In addition, measures of religiosity also influenced American Muslim voters’ decision to move away from Bush between the 2000 and 2004 election cycles.  These changes may be a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and recent hostility towards American Muslims.  Further study with specific measures and evaluations of recent events may be necessary to address precise associations of religiosity with the voting preferences of American Muslims.

Changing Patterns of Denominational Political Activity in North America: The Case of Homosexuality

Fred Van Geest
Bethel University

The political involvement of Christian denominations in the last several decades has been shaped by a number of factors, such as the agendas particular denominations choose to pursue, whether issues are defined as moral or political ones, independent clergy activity, opinion gaps between elites and lay people, interaction with special interest groups, and the presence of inter-denominational coalitions.  Conversely, restructuring theory suggests that as denominational identities and loyalties decline and parishioners become more divided in their political views, their denominations are less likely to take political action because of the internal conflict that would result.  This paper examines denominational political activity on the subject of homosexuality to see if it conforms to restructuring theory, or if it could be better understood by historical factors.  The evidence from this study shows that, while restructuring theory may help explain contemporary denominational political action in some limited situations, the aforementioned historical factors continue to explain much of the existing patterns of activity on this specific issue.