Religiousness and Rape Myth Acceptance: Risk and Protective Effects

Social Connections as a Protective Factor for Sexual Violence-Related Attitudes

Endorsing problematic sexual violence-related attitudes including rape myth acceptance (RMA), hostile sexism, and disapproval of sexual consent is associated with negative outcomes, including the perpetration of sexual violence. This study examined social connections as a protective factor for sexual violence-related attitudes among a sample of 770 participants. Results indicate that in the full sample, connections to a workplace were protective for RMA and hostile sexism while family connections were protective for disapproval of sexual consent, RMA, and hostile sexism. Patterns of other social connections differed in separate models for men and women. Unexpected findings indicating that connections to a religious social group are a risk, not a protective, factor are discussed.

Bible Overclaiming and Intimate Partner Violence

Religion has had a mixed impact on society, with some followers engaging in violent behavior. It remains unclear why some followers perpetrate violence and others are peaceful. We argue that religious overclaiming is one facet of religion to be considered when trying to understand the relationship between religion and violence. Across two studies (N = 551), we tested the hypothesis that a higher tendency to overclaim knowledge of the Christian Bible would be associated with higher perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV). We also tested the hypotheses that men who overclaim would be most likely to engage in the perpetration of IPV, and that higher religiosity would attenuate the effects of religious overclaiming. In both studies, participants completed a measure of religious overclaiming, reported on their perpetration of IPV, and reported their religiosity. Our findings across both studies indicated that Bible overclaiming was associated with greater perpetration of IPV. Further, Study 1 found that those high in Bible overclaiming (especially men) engaged in the most perpetration of IPV. However, this gender-based finding did not replicate in Study 2. Both studies found that religiosity was unassociated with the perpetration of IPV. Our results provide evidence that Bible overclaiming is related to the perpetration of IPV. Specifically, individuals who claim to know religious concepts that do not exist are associated with a higher risk for IPV.

#MeToo: Associations of educational institution religious affiliation with sexual health services and rates of sexual assault

Objective: To explore the association of educational institution religious affiliation with provision of sexual health services and rates of sexual violence. Participants: Analysis of 500 US college/university websites; secondary data obtained from National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Methods: Content analysis documented institutional religious affiliation and availability of sexual health services. Chi-square tests examined association of services with religious affiliation, while negative binomial models compared rape/fondling rates obtained from NCES between Christian/non-Christian schools. Results: Results demonstrated an overall deficit in services, with Christian campuses significantly less likely to offer 13 service. Christian schools had increased reports of rape (years 2015/2016) and fondling (year 2015). Conclusions: Results highlight insufficiency of sexual health services and the need for future research on specific forms of services available and other factors impacting sexual violence. Findings illuminate the importance of a campus' social environment on sexual assault occurrences/reporting and structuring services to meet student needs.

The Moderating Influence of Religiousness/Spirituality on COVID-19 Impact and Change in Psychotherapy

The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred a global surge in empirical research examining the influence of the pandemic on individuals’ mental health symptoms and well-being. Within this larger literature is a rapidly growing literature on the associations among religiousness/spirituality, COVID-19 impact, symptoms and well-being. Largely absent from this literature is a specific research focus on psychotherapy clients, and the influence of religiousness/spirituality and COVID-19 impact on change during treatment. One prominent theory in the existing literature centers on the notion that religiousness/spirituality is a coping resource for individuals during times of adversity. Yet, existing empirical findings present mixed evidence for the religious/spiritual coping hypothesis. We expanded upon these emerging research trends to examine the influence of religious/spiritual struggles, religious/spiritual commitment, religious/spiritual exploration, and COVID-19 impact ratings on psychotherapy change in a sample of adult clients (N = 185; Mage = 38.06; SD = 15.78; range = 19–81; 61.1% female; 69.7% White). The results of latent trajectory analysis identified three subgroups that differed on initial levels of symptoms and well-being and the nature of change over three time points. The COVID-19 impact ratings predicted change trajectories. As more positive ratings of COVID-19 impact increased, membership in the no change trajectory was more likely relative to the deterioration trajectory at high levels of both religious/spiritual commitment and exploration. The implications emphasize the need for judicious assessment of religiousness/spirituality and COVID-19 impact before integrating religiousness/spirituality into treatment.

Religious Fundamentalism Modulates Neural Responses to Error-Related Words: The Role of Motivation Toward Closure

Examining the relationship between brain activity and religious fundamentalism, this study explores whether fundamentalist religious beliefs increase responses to error-related words among participants intolerant to uncertainty (i.e., high in the need for closure) in comparison to those who have a high degree of toleration for uncertainty (i.e., those who are low in the need for closure). We examine a negative-going event-related brain potentials occurring 400 ms after stimulus onset (the N400) due to its well-understood association with the reactions to emotional conflict. Religious fundamentalism and tolerance of uncertainty were measured on self-report measures, and electroencephalographic neural reactivity was recorded as participants were performing an emotional Stroop task. In this task, participants read neutral words and words related to uncertainty, errors, and pondering, while being asked to name the color of the ink with which the word is written. The results confirm that among people who are intolerant of uncertainty (i.e., those high in the need for closure), religious fundamentalism is associated with an increased N400 on error-related words compared with people who tolerate uncertainty well (i.e., those low in the need for closure).

Openness to Changing Religious Views Is Related to Radial Diffusivity in the Genu of the Corpus Callosum in an Initial Study of Healthy Young Adults

A quest orientation to religion is characterized by a search for answers to complex existential questions, a perception of religious doubt as positive, and an openness to change one's religious views as one grows and changes. This orientation is inversely related to fundamentalism, authoritarianism, and prejudice and directly related to cognitive complexity, openness to experience, and prosociality. To date, the neural correlates of religious quest have not been investigated. This study assessed the relationships between measures linked to white-matter integrity and quest religious orientation among 24 healthy participants using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and the quest scale. A tract-based spatial statistical analysis whole-brain-corrected initially employing an accepted threshold (pTFCE < 0.05) and then applying a Bonferroni correction (pTFCE < 0.0042) identified a region of the genu of the corpus callosum as showing radial diffusivity measures being related to openness to change religious beliefs. When not employing a Bonferroni correction (pTFCE < 0.05), the openness-to-change subscale of the quest scale negatively correlated with radial diffusivity and mean diffusivity measures in extensive white-matter regions in both hemispheres that include the corpus callosum body, genu, and splenium, superior longitudinal fasciculus, forceps minor, external capsule, and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus. No relationships were found with the other subscales. These findings suggest that a greater openness to change one's religious views is associated with better white-matter integrity specifically in the genu of the corpus callosum and likely in a more extensive set of white-matter structures interconnecting widespread cortical and subcortical regions in the brain across hemispheres. They, furthermore, suggest structural similarities that may link this tendency to associated positive psychological traits, including creative cognition and post-traumatic growth.