Religion plays a very important role in the lives of many Americans. Over two-thirds of Americans belong to a church or other religious organization, and this trend has risen substantially over time. Two-fifths of Americans attend church in a typical week, and 95% profess belief in “the existence of God or a universal spirit” (Iannaccone, 1998). In addition, charity giving to religious causes a...

We examined the possible role of religious upbringing as a mediator of the shared environmental influences and as a moderator of the genetic influences on the risk of alcohol use initiation in a large population-based sample of Dutch adolescent and young adult twins (1967 twin pairs). There was not a significant association between religious participation and alcohol use initiation among Dutch ...

In four large, nationally representative surveys (N = 11.2 million), American adolescents and emerging adults in the 2010s (Millennials) were significantly less religious than previous generations (Boomers, Generation X) at the same age. The data are from the Monitoring the Future studies of 12th graders (1976-2013), 8th and 10th graders (1991-2013), and the American Freshman survey of entering...

We examine whether the genetic basis for religious involvement is common to the genetic basis for drug use/abuse, helping to explain the inverse relationship between religiosity and drug use. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed data on 2,537 young adult siblings participating in Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health on whom both genetic characteristics and religious ...

OBJECTIVES The objectives of this paper are to examine the effects of religion and obesity on health and determine how the relationship varies by racial/ethnic groups with data from the Panel Study of American Race and Ethnicity (PS-ARE). METHODS Using ordinal logistic regression, the effects of religion and obesity on self-rated health and how the relationship varies by racial/ethnic groups ...

Does Secular Education Impact Religiosity, Electoral Participation and the Propensity to Vote for Islamic Parties? Evidence from an Education Reform in a Muslim Country Using a unique survey of adults in Turkey, we find that an increase in educational attainment, due to an exogenous secular education reform, decreases women’s propensity to identify themselves as religious, lowers their tendency...

BACKGROUND Compared to Whites, Blacks are exposed to higher levels of chronic stress in the United States. As a result, major Black-White differences exist in the baseline and response of cortisol. Yet, the potential association between baseline religiosity and subsequent cortisol levels of Blacks are not known. OBJECTIVES In the current study we aimed to determine the association between bas...

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Research has linked several aspects of religion--including service attendance, prayer, meditation, religious coping strategies, congregational support systems, and relations with God, among others--with positive mental health outcomes among older U.S. adults. This study examines a neglected dimension of religious life: listening to religious music. DESIGN AND METHODS Two ...