No abstract

Using data from the first wave of the Portraits of American Life Study (PALS), we consider the extent to which people report that religious factors influence their decisions about career choice, marriage, residency, and number of children. We find significant positive relationships between the importance of religion or religious faith and the perceived influence of religious factors on one's choice of occupation, decision about whether or whom to marry, decision about where to live, and decision about how many children to have. We also observe significant interactions between the importance of religion or religious faith and religious tradition, but we find no consistent patterns across our decision-making outcomes. Our preliminary conclusions raise significant questions about the broader relationship between religion, perception, and decision making.

Taglit-Birthright Israel has brought hundreds of thousands of diaspora

No abstract

In this article, we examine how COVID‐19 has affected the mental health of Orthodox Jews and how religious resources cushion the effects of isolation and deprivation of religious gatherings over time. Using longitudinal data from the COVID‐19 Community Portrait Study, fixed‐effects regression models are employed to predict how religious resources are affected by COVID‐19 and how mental health is affected by both COVID‐19 and religious resources. We find two competing effects upon participants’ religious resources. While group resources decreased as a result of the pandemic, psychosocial resources were strengthened. A Closeness‐to‐God Index predicted lower levels of depression and anxiety, less perceived stress, and less loneliness. Congregational prayer also predicted lower stress and less loneliness, but the magnitude of the effect was smaller. The findings provide empirical support for theoretical frameworks emphasizing the positive effects of religion on mental health and suggest psychosocial resources enable religious coping during particularly challenging times.