Religion incongruence as the norm

Mark Chaves, of Duke sociology, has written this very interesting paper about what he calls religious congruence (or, more appropriately, religious incongruence).


He uses "'religious congruence' in three related senses: (1) individuals' religious ideas constitute a tight, logically connected, integrated network of internally consistent beliefs and values; (2) religious and other practices and actions follow directly from those beliefs and values; and (3) the religious beliefs and values that individuals express in certain, mainly religious, contexts are consistently held and chronically accessible across contexts, situations, and life domains. In short, it can mean that religious ideas hang together, that religious beliefs and actions hang together, or that religious beliefs and values indicate stable and chronically accessible dispositions in people."


He then makes the case that "people's religious ideas and practices generally are fragmented, compartmentalized, loosely connected, unexamined, and context dependent. This is not a controversial claim; it's established knowledge. But this established knowledge does not inform our research and thinking as centrally and deeply as it should."


I like this article because it moves us away from holding up an ideal of religion as some tight, consistent scientific proposition, and it allows for a messier, richer understanding of it. In that sense, religion is much more like everything else in life than it is a scientific equation.


Thanks Jay!

Becoming a diva

It's a well-known unvalidated assumption that best-selling authors are also high-maintenance people to work with; in short, they are divas. Because I've never seen any studies that establish the causality direction of this relationship, I'm not taking any chances. As such, I am trying to become (even) more difficult to work with, just in case it helps with sales.


My first effort: The publicist at Bethany House asked me to get a cellphone so that he could get a hold of me more easily for last minute interviews regarding my new book.


Well, the old me would have happily agreed, but I put some thought into it, and I replied that I would, as long as I got the request as a Haiku.


I received the following Haiku, which I enjoyed quite a bit, and off I went to get a cell phone.

Hungry media

monster never satisfied;

cell phone appeases

I think I like this high-maintenance thing!

Judgment day billboard...

Source

An article on deconversion from Christianity

I've just published an article on deconversion from Christianity, i.e., why some Christians leave the faith. In it, three coauthors and I examined 50 on-line accounts in which people who have left Christianity explain why they did so. Their accounts coalesce into several themes, including:
* Theological concerns
* God failing them
* Interactions with Christians
* and interactions with non-Christians.


It's in the Journal of Religion & Society, an interesting on-line journal.

Here's the abstract: 

"This article examines the written narratives from fifty former Christians. In these narratives, drawn from an online community of deconverts, the writers described their experiences with and explanations for leaving the Christian faith. Several themes emerged as to why they left, including: intellectual and theological concerns, a feeling that God had failed them, and various frustrations with Christians. The writers gave little mention to non-Christians as pulling them out of the faith. These narratives emphasized external, rather than internal, attributions for the deconversion. They also identified primarily “push” rather than “pull” factors as the cause of deconversion. While some narratives outlined the costs and benefits of deconversion, others told of seeking moral rightness regardless of the cost."



Let me know what you think...

On the receiving end of the Flynn Effect

The Flynn Effect is the observation that IQ scores have steadily risen across the world for decades now. While this social fact is open to multiple interpretations, I have certainly witnessed in my own life. That is, my kids are definitely smarter and better educated than I was at their age.


Case in point: 10-year-old Gus and I last night went to the local middle school orientation for next year, and he came home talking about whether he wanted to learn Latin or German (French, Spanish, and Chinese being the other options). When I was entering fifth grade, I think the only new words that I was learning were vulgarities.


This morning, when I was making him breakfast, I listened to him humming a classical tune that he's learning in his piano lessons. At that point, I realized that I too had been humming--the theme from the Flintstones.


I'm all for my kids doing better in life than I have, but they are taking it too far!

Thanks that I'm thankful for today

I had a nice conversation yesterday with my friend Mark, and he talked about how our perception of what we need in life varies substantially by where we live in the world--distinguishing "first-world" vs. "third-world" needs.


So, today I have been thankful for many of the things that I normally don't take time to be thankful for, including:
* fresh, safe food to eat
* clean water to drink
* a sewer system to remove waste
* a sturdy house to keep the elements out
* the prospect of decades more life to enjoy.


What are you thankful for today?

Why denominations grow internationally?

Here's an abstract from a paper "Exporting Christianity: Governance and Doctrine in the Globalization of US Denominations" by Gordon H. Hanson and Chong Xiang


"In this paper we build a model of market competition among religious denominations, using a framework that involves incomplete contracts and the production of club goods. We treat denominations akin to multinational enterprises, which decide which countries to enter based on local market conditions and their own “productivity.” The model yields predictions for how a denomination’s religious doctrine and governance structure affect its ability to attract adherents. We test these predictions using data on the foreign operations of US Protestant denominations in 2005 from the World Christian Database. Consistent with the model, we find that (1) denominations with stricter religious doctrine attract more adherents in countries in which the risk of natural disaster or disease outbreak is greater and in which government provision of health services is weaker, and (2) denominations with a decentralized governance structure attract more adherents in countries in which the productivity of pastor effort is higher. These findings shed light on factors determining the composition of religion within countries, helping account for the rise of new Protestant denominations in recent decades."

It's interesting to read scholars in other disciplines take such different approaches than sociologists.


Link


Thanks David!

Easter one-up manship

Over the weekend, we attended a wonderful Easter service at our church, complete with very well-done drama. (Our church benefits from have several writers and drama-types in it). I was going to brag about this to my sister, but when we got home from church, there was an e-mail from her saying how beautiful were the Easter services at St. Peters in Rome (and they were just a couple of rows back). Wow, that's even more impressive than what we do here in Storrs, CT!

Going to college

My 17-year-old son, Gus, was accepted to a Christian college (hint: It's in a suburb west of Chicago named Wheaton), and today he sent back the acceptance form. One of the questions asked if he had any special dietary needs. Me being me, I suggested that you put that he can only eat steak and lobster. This time, however, Cathy seriously one-upped me... she suggested that he write "kosher". It's probably best that he's filling out the forms himself.

An olympic sport for the rest of us...

Rabbit jumping Everyone's doing it now!


(Though it's just a matter of time before they need to start testing for BPEDs--Bunny Performance Enhancing Drugs).


Thanks KT Cat.

Love and poison ivy

We live near the local high school, and there's a nice stonewall at the end of our streets. Periodically I see teenage couples sitting on the wall while canoodling. It's not indecent, though it usually looks a bit awkward for them; however, the entire wall is covered with poison ivy. Sometimes when I'm passing by, I'll point this out to them, but other times I just think it's a useful metaphor for teenage love--not without its unexpected costs.

Pass the gripes forward

I had an interesting experience with the concept of "passing it forward", but instead of charity, it was griping.


At the gym, I was getting dressed after going for a swim, and Person A walked in and launched into a several minute diatribe about some injustice that he perceived during his workout. Apparently he was walking around the track, and another walker, Person B, asked him to walk in slower lane. He felt that he was going fast enough to merit being on the faster lane. It didn't sound like that big of a deal, but by the time he got to the locker room he was spewing.


He left the locker room, and Persons C and D, who listened to the rant, started griping about how much he was griping. They complained about several minutes about it.


That left me, Person E, thinking about the whole interaction and just shaking my head about it.


So, there you have it... a simple unpleasant interaction rippled through various interactions. There is something to everyday love and courtesy in even the smallest of interactions.

Go Huskies! I mean, autism research.

Last night, while driving home from an errand, I noticed that the main building on campus was lighted in blue light. (Usually just a regular white light). It's final four, UConn is in it, and UConn's colors are blue and white. I thought that was a fun idea and hoped it would become a tradition for when UConn teams do well.


While... I spoke with a neighbor today, one who is in the University administration, and he explained that the blue light is to support autism.  Apparently an autism advocacy group has asked universities to shine a blue light on this weekend, and it just happens to be the final four.


Oops.

Whatever happened to cogitation?

Periodically I'm blindsided by a cultural reference or a piece of information that I think is common knowledge but it turns out to be a generational thing. A recent example:


Last week I was in a meeting with a fellow faculty member and several graduate students. At one point, the other faculty member said that he wanted to "cogitate" on something. The graduate students (who are bright people) looked puzzled, and one of them asked what that word meant. I was really surprised because I thought that was one of those everyone-knows kind of words.


So, later that afternoon I asked my Sociological Methods class if they knew what it meant, and not one of the 40 kids did. I asked several other people who were over 40, and they all did.


So, here's my question: What happened to cogitation? (The word, not the action). Is it the case that most young people don't know it and most old do? If so, why? I don't think that it's just that young people know far fewer words; in fact, they probably know more than past generations. Also, I haven't found this big a generational difference with other words, so... what happened?


Something to cogitate on....

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Interview with me in USA Today on divorce rates

Here is an article that came out in USA Today earlier this week about divorce rates. I enjoyed the interview, and the information comes from my book.


Still, I was surprised by the comments on it. It seems like many articles on Christianity devolve into the same type of discussion regardless of their content. Troll-magnets.

Taking a stand against standardized testing

This last week my fourth-grade son, Floyd, brought home a request from his school. They asked us parents to make an extra effort in encouraging our children that week. To facilitate our encouragement, they gave us 6 stickers, and we were to put some sort of praising statement calling for our children to perform as well as they could.


What was the special occasion for which we were to encourage our children?


Was it learning more material? No...


Was it doing something that would benefit themselves? No...


It was Connecticut Mastery Test week. This means that all the kids in town take a standardized test, and if they do well the district looks good.


I wasn't too thrilled about the school emphasizing this in a way they hadn't anything else, including things perhaps more important, such as learning.


So, I was asked to provide slogans, but I wasn't explicitly told what I could and couldn't use. So, I thought that as long as we were focused on the collective good, why not go to the professionals, and I modified revolutionary slogans developed in the Soviet Union back in the day.

So, Monday morning all the other kids had notes on their lockers telling them that their parents were proud of them, and calling on them to do their best. In contrast, here's a picture of Floyd's locker.

Enough with the upselling

Last week I took a several day trip to the Midwest, and it felt like I spent most of my travel time listening to people "upselling" me. You know, when you buy one thing, the person selling it to you starts asking if there are other things that you want as well.


* I checked in at United Airlines, and the check-in kiosk asked if I wanted to purchase seats with extra legroom or an earlier place in line.
* I bought a bottle of water at the newsstand as was asked if I would like to buy some tea (in bags, not even a bottle!) for my trip. Now, why would I want a tea bag for my trip?
* At Kohl's, after I arrived, I spend most the transaction explaining to the cashier that I really did not want a Kohl's charge card--even with the extra 10% off.
* At a supermarket, they have the "item of the week" at the checkout stand, and they ask if you want it.


I recently went to a hospital to visit a sick relative, and at least I didn't get any upselling there. For an extra $200, we will make sure that he doesn't get an infection." "Would you like to upgrade the quality of the food we serve?"


I'm probably just being cranky about it because I'm getting old (why, back in the good old days....).  Also, I realize that they're just doing what they are told to do.  Still, I wonder, though, if I should start practicing "downselling." Maybe each time I'm asked if I want something more with my purchase, I'll ask if I can have the item for less money. Or maybe reduce what I'm purchasing. "You know, I think I would like just half of a hamburger. Could you take 50% off?"

Or maybe I could start selling them something that I own.  "We've got an old television set at home, just sitting in the garage.  Would you like to buy it for 20% off today?"


Hey, if we're going to negotiate, why not?

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Regulating my intake of information

This last week I was in the Midwest attending to my ailing father, and among other things during the trip, I changed my consumption of information. I carried a cellphone with me, so that I could be available to family and friends. I read the newspaper at the hotel (hey, it was free).  I even watched some television--mostly CNN in my father's hospital room. Normally I don't carry a cellphone, read the newspaper, or watch tv, and this last week reminded me of why I don't.


I strongly prefer exerting control over what I think about and react to and when I do it. Now, if I'm in a burning building--I want to know about it, even if I'm thinking about something else. But, most things in the paper and on TV are not things I really care about, and yet just being exposed to them takes up time and energy on my part that would be better spent elsewhere. Even after I turn off the television or fold the newspaper, I still think about about what I saw and read. With phone calls, while I appreciate talking with people, but the calls often interrupt other activities.  (Thank goodness for e-mail).


So, day-to-day, I carefully regulate incoming information as part of prioritizing what I think about. I read the Economist each week, for I tend to value what it covers and how it does so. Other than that... my ignorance of what the media says is is bliss, and, if something is really important, someone will tell me about it. Other than that, I want to be thinking about my research, my family, my faith, UConn basketball, etc... stuff that I see as even more important that the latest political scandal or what celebrities are saying.

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Footprints in the sand...

Thanks

Thanks Jeff.

Chesterton on committees

"I've searched all the parks in all the cities and found no statues of committees."
- G.K. Chesterton

Need I say more?