College Students’ Appreciative Attitudes Toward Atheists

Bowman, Nicholas A.; Rockenbach, Alyssa N.; Mayhew, Matthew J.; Riggers-Piehl, Tiffani; Hudson, Tara D.

doi:10.1007/s11162-016-9417-z

Cited by 12 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Therefore, the current study aimed to examine the links between belief in God and three distinct domains of psychological distressdepression, anxiety, and stress-and to identify the mediating variables underlying those relationships. Furthermore, the current study also addressed the limitations in the literature in the following ways: (1) rather than relying on a forced-identity choice to indirectly measure belief in God, we directly asked participants about the extent to which they believed in God; (2) given the potential effects of belief in God on distinct aspects of mental health, we measured three different aspects separately; (3) we used a model comparison approach to evaluate both the linear and curvilinear relationships between belief in God and each of the aspects of mental health to examine the issue of certainty versus the content of belief; (4) our college student sample represents a population that generally holds a less stigmatized view of atheists (Bowman et al 2017), meaning we can more confidently attribute any differences in mental health to belief in God, rather than the impact of the stigma associated with non-belief and atheism.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Belief in God and Psychological Distress: Is It the Belief or Certainty of the Belief?

et al. 2021

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Research on the relationship between belief in God and mental health is scarce and often limited to comparing group differences in mental health across various self-reported religious identities (e.g., atheists, agnostics, believers). To advance this work, we focused on how the extent of belief in God related to three indices of psychological distress (depression, anxiety, and stress) in a sample of undergraduate students (N = 632) with a variety of religious identities. We used a model comparison approach to evaluate both linear and curvilinear relationships between belief in God and psychological distress and tested potential mediating pathways for linear relationships. The findings revealed that belief in God was negatively linearly related to depression; this relationship was fully mediated by meaning in life, feeling comforted by God, positive religious coping, positive reappraisal, and substance use coping. In contrast, belief in God was curvilinearly related to anxiety but unrelated to stress. These results suggest that both strength and certainty of the belief in God may be important in understanding religion’s relationship with psychological distress.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Belief in God and Psychological Distress: Is It the Belief or Certainty of the Belief?

et al. 2021

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“…Atheism is particularly overrepresented among academics and scientists, as most of them demand logic and rational reasoning (Caldwell-Harris, 2012 ). Atheistic belief may fall along a spectrum of weak belief in the existence of God(s) to a firm conviction that God(s) does not exist, instead of being a binary “yes” or “no” response to the question of belief in God(s) (Bowman et al, 2017 ). Therefore, individuals who do not believe in God(s) may identify themselves as members of religious faith and coexist among the population of all religious groups (van Esch et al, 2013 ).…”

Section: Theoretical Framework and Hypothesis Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who Cares More About the Environment, Those with an Intrinsic, an Extrinsic, a Quest, or an Atheistic Religious Orientation?: Investigating the Effect of Religious Ad Appeals on Attitudes Toward the Environment

2022

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There is a consensus among scientists that climate change is an existing, growing, and human-made threat to our planet. The topic is a divisive issue worldwide, including among people of faith. Little research has focused on the relationship between (non)religious belief and climate change. Hence, in Studies 1 and 2, the authors explore the impact of religious/non-religious orientations: intrinsic (religion as an end in itself), extrinsic (religion as a means to an end), quest (a journey toward religious understanding), and non-religious orientation (i.e., atheistic) on consumer attitudes toward the environment, focusing on recycling advertisements with (non)religious cues. Further, in Study 3, we examine the underlying causal mechanism of environmental identity and the moderating effect of political views on consumers’ lack of belief in climate change. The results show that religious people are less committed to the environment and climate change and that atheism positively affects recycling and climate change identity. The findings offer practical implications in that advertising campaigns need to be endorsed by religious leaders and channeled within the confines of the religious institutions they represent.

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“…Of course, appreciation in the context of attitudes adopts a theoretical posture similar to its use in the context of knowledge. As Bowman et al (2017) noted: "Rather than simply increasing tolerance on campus, appreciative attitudes serve as bridges, helping individuals to respectfully engage across difference and work together in serving their communities (p. 102). Put simply, our framework queries an individual's proclivities for productive relationships across difference by way of their degree of positive regard for people who do not share their worldview.…”

Section: Domain 2: Appreciative Attitudesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interfaith Learning and Development

Mayhew

Rockenbach

2021

Journal of College and Character

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The purpose of this article is to introduce the theory of interfaith learning and development to the scholarly community. Building on the work of others, the authors adopted an interdisciplinary, equity-oriented approach to developing the theory, which also serves as the basis for a framework intended to guide and inform interfaith practice. Development occurs through exposure to and participation in college experiences that help students achieve outcomes related to religious, spiritual, and worldview development. Outcomes specific to interfaith learning and development include pluralism, self-authored worldview commitment, appreciative knowledge of religious and non-religious traditions, and appreciative attitudes toward religious and non-religious narratives.As the public continues to scrutinize higher education for its societal value, student development theorists-and by extension their theories-must sustain their distinctive relevance, not only as both academic and pragmatic, but as responsible and timely. Indeed, "bridging theory and practice" continues as the mantra of the student development field, with foundational texts, curricula, and practices pivoting on the fundamental notion that knowledge of student and context loses meaning without pragmatic application to-if not deference toward-deeper understandings of students-in-context. Theory with practice genuflects to theory in practice.What does it mean for theory in practice to be responsible and timely? Responsible student development theory-building must account for the experiences of students with different identities and narratives and the practices that help them make developmental gains. Critical questions must continue to disrupt exclusive, hegemonic, and irresponsible theory building: Who benefits from this practice? How have institutions succeeded or failed to design inclusive practices that invite, welcome, and appropriately challenge and support all students? aMatthew J. Mayhew

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College Students’ Appreciative Attitudes Toward Atheists

Cited by 12 publications

References 30 publications

Belief in God and Psychological Distress: Is It the Belief or Certainty of the Belief?

Belief in God and Psychological Distress: Is It the Belief or Certainty of the Belief?

Who Cares More About the Environment, Those with an Intrinsic, an Extrinsic, a Quest, or an Atheistic Religious Orientation?: Investigating the Effect of Religious Ad Appeals on Attitudes Toward the Environment

Interfaith Learning and Development

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