A Tale of Two Religious Effects: Evidence for the Protective and Prosocial Impact of Organic Religion

Abstract

(from the chapter) Surveys continue to reveal that a majority of Americans are highly religious. Therefore, it is not surprising that many with an interest in civil society have been particularly intrigued by the questions of what role religion and religious practices and beliefs, or what has been termed organic religion (Johnson, 2004; Johnson, Thompkins, & Webb, 2002), may play in contributing to wide-ranging outcomes relevant in contemporary society. As a social scientist, I am intrigued not only with these questions but also with empirical answers as to how religion affects the way people actually live. Over the past two decades, scientists have carried out a good deal of such empirical work, and we are now able to objectively discuss, if not answer, many of these questions. In fields ranging from medicine and public health to the social and behavioral sciences, scholars have studied the general influence of religion and religious practices on a wide range of health and social outcomes for adults. In an effort to organize this research systematically and bring clarity to this area, I reviewed and assessed, in summary fashion, more than 600 studies of organic religion and a wide array of health-related outcomes for children, youth, and families. What do we know about the influence of religious practices on health and various social outcomes for youth and adolescents? The short answer is that we know much less about religious influences on youth, as research on adolescent samples remains a grossly understudied area. Having acknowledged this considerable gap in knowledge, a key question to answer is whether the influence of religion or religious practices on adolescents and youth is markedly different or similar to the influence on adults. Are findings from studies examining the linkages between youth and adolescent religiosity and health outcomes relevant for adults, and vice versa? Many empirical studies from diverse fields of scientific inquiry document that behavior patterns initiated during adolescence are directly related to future adult behavior and outcomes; for example, there is compelling empirical evidence that many causes of adult illness and even death are linked to adolescent behavior patterns (see McGinnis & Foege, 1993). Conversely, both common sense and volumes of research show that families and parenting are directly related to diverse adolescent and youth outcomes. Survey data suggest that both youth and adult samples reveal similar response patterns when religion and religious practices are examined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (chapter)