Paul Froese - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Paul Froese
Social Sciences
The sociology of prayer has a long history and routinely stresses the centrality of prayer to rel... more The sociology of prayer has a long history and routinely stresses the centrality of prayer to religious belief and ritual solidarity. Still, we have struggled to clearly define the parameters of prayer and the various components of this ubiquitous practice. Drawing from a comprehensive literature review of prayer research, we propose that there are four conceptually distinct dimensions of the private prayer experience which vary across religious cultures and traditions; they are (1) the quantity of prayer, (2) the style of prayer, (3) the purpose of prayer, and (4) prayer targets. Our proposed measures of these dimensions offer researchers a framework to better theorize and investigate the social mechanisms which produce variation in prayer as well as the individual and social outcomes of prayer. In particular, we discuss how each prayer dimension fits within specific theoretical framings to better test the extent to which the emotional, rational, and behavioral elements matter to p...
Previous research finds that Christian nationalism is linked to nativism and immigrant animus whi... more Previous research finds that Christian nationalism is linked to nativism and immigrant animus while religious service attendance is associated with pro-immigrant views. This finding highlights the importance of distinguishing between religious ideologies and practices when considering how religion affects politics. Using a national sample of US adults, we analyze immigrant views by measuring levels of agreement or disagreement that undocumented immigrants from Mexico are “mostly dangerous criminals.” We find that Christian nationalism is inversely related to pro-immigrant views for both the religiously active and inactive. However, strongly pro-immigrant views are less likely and anti-immigrant views are more likely among strong Christian nationalists who are religiously inactive compared to strong Christian nationalists who are religiously active. These results reveal how religious nationalism can weaken tolerance and heighten intolerance most noticeably when untethered from religi...
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
Politics and Religion
Many hypothesize that religious individualism is associated with progressive moral attitudes. Our... more Many hypothesize that religious individualism is associated with progressive moral attitudes. Our analysis of data from US adults from the fourth wave of the Baylor Religion Survey finds that those who navigate moral conjunctures as religious individualists, knowing what God wants them to do “in their hearts” or through “human reason,” are more likely than those who draw on institutional religious sources of authority, like the Bible or religious teachings, to express progressive attitudes on issues of same-sex marriage, divorce, and premarital sex, but not abortion. Our findings indicate that perceived sources of moral authority further explain differences in moral attitudes within the population of religious decision-makers, specifically with regard to issues that are culturally in flux. This supports the idea that religious individualism, even among religious individuals and within religiously conservative traditions, makes people more accepting of contemporary cultural trends in...
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
Although several studies have documented an inverse association between stressful events and slee... more Although several studies have documented an inverse association between stressful events and sleep quality, much less is known about the factors that might moderate or buffer against the adverse effects of psychosocial stress on sleep. Building on previous research, we employ national cross-sectional survey data from the 2017 Baylor Religion Survey (n = 1,410) to test whether the association between recent stressful events and sleep quality varies according to several dimensions of religious involvement. We also formally assess whether any attenuation of the association between stressful events and sleep quality is at least partially mediated or explained by lower levels of depressive symptoms (i.e., mediated moderation). Our moderation analyses indicate that the inverse association between stressful events and sleep quality is in fact attenuated by religious cognitions (secure attachment to God and assurance of salvation), but not religious attendance or private religiousness. We also observe direct evidence of mediated moderation through depressive symptoms for both religious cognitions. Taken together, our results demonstrate that religious cognitions may buffer against stress-related sleep disturbance by helping people avoid symptoms of depression.
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
Disability Society, Jul 1, 2010
... LYLE T. ROMER 2 , MATTHEW SWANK 1 ... centred and periodic assessment processes have been des... more ... LYLE T. ROMER 2 , MATTHEW SWANK 1 ... centred and periodic assessment processes have been designed to target speciŪc populations (Brown et al., 1986) to assess family needs (Bailey & Simeonsson, 1988; Bailey et al., 1992) and family resources (McCubbin & Comeau ...
ABSTRACT Social scientists often explain religious effects in terms of religious group affiliatio... more ABSTRACT Social scientists often explain religious effects in terms of religious group affiliations. Typically, researchers identify religious groups by denomination or some broader popular categorization, such as fundamentalist or evangelical. To capture religious ...
Review of Religious Research, 2005
... the entire Catholic Church, on the side of the people" (Halik 1995: 3). The Pope visited... more ... the entire Catholic Church, on the side of the people" (Halik 1995: 3). The Pope visited Czecho-slovakia in 1990 and nearly 70 percent of ... Vladimir Meciar won his political battle for Slovak self-rule in 1992 and became the first premier of Slovakia, wooing the Roman Catholic ...
The Plot to Kill GodFindings from the Soviet Experiment in Secularization, 2008
Church and Religion in Contemporary Europe, 2009
Over the past two decades a new paradigm within the sociology of religion has been amassing empir... more Over the past two decades a new paradigm within the sociology of religion has been amassing empirical support and theoretical refinement (Finke/Stark 1992; Iannaccone 1991; Jelen/Wilcox 1998; Gill 1998; Stark/Bainbridge 1987; Stark/Iannaccone 1994) while also garnering its share of criticism (Bruce 1999; Chaves/Gorski 2001; Lechner 1989; Olsen 1999). This attempt at a general theory has been described as offering “supply-side”
How We Create the Meaning of Life, 2016
How We Create the Meaning of Life, 2016
How We Create the Meaning of Life, 2016
How We Create the Meaning of Life, 2016
How We Create the Meaning of Life, 2016
Social Sciences
The sociology of prayer has a long history and routinely stresses the centrality of prayer to rel... more The sociology of prayer has a long history and routinely stresses the centrality of prayer to religious belief and ritual solidarity. Still, we have struggled to clearly define the parameters of prayer and the various components of this ubiquitous practice. Drawing from a comprehensive literature review of prayer research, we propose that there are four conceptually distinct dimensions of the private prayer experience which vary across religious cultures and traditions; they are (1) the quantity of prayer, (2) the style of prayer, (3) the purpose of prayer, and (4) prayer targets. Our proposed measures of these dimensions offer researchers a framework to better theorize and investigate the social mechanisms which produce variation in prayer as well as the individual and social outcomes of prayer. In particular, we discuss how each prayer dimension fits within specific theoretical framings to better test the extent to which the emotional, rational, and behavioral elements matter to p...
Previous research finds that Christian nationalism is linked to nativism and immigrant animus whi... more Previous research finds that Christian nationalism is linked to nativism and immigrant animus while religious service attendance is associated with pro-immigrant views. This finding highlights the importance of distinguishing between religious ideologies and practices when considering how religion affects politics. Using a national sample of US adults, we analyze immigrant views by measuring levels of agreement or disagreement that undocumented immigrants from Mexico are “mostly dangerous criminals.” We find that Christian nationalism is inversely related to pro-immigrant views for both the religiously active and inactive. However, strongly pro-immigrant views are less likely and anti-immigrant views are more likely among strong Christian nationalists who are religiously inactive compared to strong Christian nationalists who are religiously active. These results reveal how religious nationalism can weaken tolerance and heighten intolerance most noticeably when untethered from religi...
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
Politics and Religion
Many hypothesize that religious individualism is associated with progressive moral attitudes. Our... more Many hypothesize that religious individualism is associated with progressive moral attitudes. Our analysis of data from US adults from the fourth wave of the Baylor Religion Survey finds that those who navigate moral conjunctures as religious individualists, knowing what God wants them to do “in their hearts” or through “human reason,” are more likely than those who draw on institutional religious sources of authority, like the Bible or religious teachings, to express progressive attitudes on issues of same-sex marriage, divorce, and premarital sex, but not abortion. Our findings indicate that perceived sources of moral authority further explain differences in moral attitudes within the population of religious decision-makers, specifically with regard to issues that are culturally in flux. This supports the idea that religious individualism, even among religious individuals and within religiously conservative traditions, makes people more accepting of contemporary cultural trends in...
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
Although several studies have documented an inverse association between stressful events and slee... more Although several studies have documented an inverse association between stressful events and sleep quality, much less is known about the factors that might moderate or buffer against the adverse effects of psychosocial stress on sleep. Building on previous research, we employ national cross-sectional survey data from the 2017 Baylor Religion Survey (n = 1,410) to test whether the association between recent stressful events and sleep quality varies according to several dimensions of religious involvement. We also formally assess whether any attenuation of the association between stressful events and sleep quality is at least partially mediated or explained by lower levels of depressive symptoms (i.e., mediated moderation). Our moderation analyses indicate that the inverse association between stressful events and sleep quality is in fact attenuated by religious cognitions (secure attachment to God and assurance of salvation), but not religious attendance or private religiousness. We also observe direct evidence of mediated moderation through depressive symptoms for both religious cognitions. Taken together, our results demonstrate that religious cognitions may buffer against stress-related sleep disturbance by helping people avoid symptoms of depression.
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
Disability Society, Jul 1, 2010
... LYLE T. ROMER 2 , MATTHEW SWANK 1 ... centred and periodic assessment processes have been des... more ... LYLE T. ROMER 2 , MATTHEW SWANK 1 ... centred and periodic assessment processes have been designed to target speciŪc populations (Brown et al., 1986) to assess family needs (Bailey & Simeonsson, 1988; Bailey et al., 1992) and family resources (McCubbin & Comeau ...
ABSTRACT Social scientists often explain religious effects in terms of religious group affiliatio... more ABSTRACT Social scientists often explain religious effects in terms of religious group affiliations. Typically, researchers identify religious groups by denomination or some broader popular categorization, such as fundamentalist or evangelical. To capture religious ...
Review of Religious Research, 2005
... the entire Catholic Church, on the side of the people" (Halik 1995: 3). The Pope visited... more ... the entire Catholic Church, on the side of the people" (Halik 1995: 3). The Pope visited Czecho-slovakia in 1990 and nearly 70 percent of ... Vladimir Meciar won his political battle for Slovak self-rule in 1992 and became the first premier of Slovakia, wooing the Roman Catholic ...
The Plot to Kill GodFindings from the Soviet Experiment in Secularization, 2008
Church and Religion in Contemporary Europe, 2009
Over the past two decades a new paradigm within the sociology of religion has been amassing empir... more Over the past two decades a new paradigm within the sociology of religion has been amassing empirical support and theoretical refinement (Finke/Stark 1992; Iannaccone 1991; Jelen/Wilcox 1998; Gill 1998; Stark/Bainbridge 1987; Stark/Iannaccone 1994) while also garnering its share of criticism (Bruce 1999; Chaves/Gorski 2001; Lechner 1989; Olsen 1999). This attempt at a general theory has been described as offering “supply-side”
How We Create the Meaning of Life, 2016
How We Create the Meaning of Life, 2016
How We Create the Meaning of Life, 2016
How We Create the Meaning of Life, 2016
How We Create the Meaning of Life, 2016