From Religion to Spirituality—Megatrend in Contemporary Society or Methodological Artefact? A Contribution to the Secularization Debate from Psychology of Religion

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrike Popp-Baier
Keyword(s):  
Mass Media ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Contemporary Society ◽  
Short Discussion ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Religious Orientations ◽  
European Values ◽  
European Values Study ◽  
The Individual

AbstractAfter a short discussion of important issues concerning the secularization debate and the three meta-narratives involved in this debate (decline, transformation, rise), the following question is addressed: in modern societies, has 'religion' given way to 'spirituality' on the individual level? After a critique of different conceptualizations of spirituality for empirical research and a sample discussion of survey data (results of the European Values Study for the Netherlands between 1980 and 2000), the answer is negative. The suggestion is that spirituality appears as a megatrend in the mass media marketing commodities and in the publications of social scientists trying to attract a broader audience. But the so-called spiritual trend at the level of individual 'religious' orientations is the result of a questionable terminological construction or a questionable interpretation of survey data or arises from a combination of the two.

A New Approach to Secularisation on the Individual Level

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Lüchau
Keyword(s):  
Significant Decline ◽  
Test Case ◽  
Social Significance ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
The Social ◽  
European Values ◽  
European Values Study ◽  
The Individual

The article tests a novel approach to secularisation, using Denmark as a test case. Secularisation is defined as the declining social significance of religion. Data from all four waves of the European Values Study is used. The analysis shows that there was a significant decline in the social significance of religion in Denmark from 1981 to 2008, even though there was no overall decline in religiosity. This suggests that the analysis of secularisation is improved by using a more precise operationalisation of the concept. It also suggests that secularisation is not necessarily related to declining religiosity.

Political Agenda Setting and the Mass Media

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefaan Walgrave ◽  
Peter Van Aelst
Keyword(s):  
Mass Media ◽  
Agenda Setting ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Mass Media ◽  
The Individual

Recently, the number of studies examining whether media coverage has an effect on the political agenda has been growing strongly. Most studies found that preceding media coverage does exert an effect on the subsequent attention for issues by political actors. These effects are contingent, though, they depend on the type of issue and the type of political actor one is dealing with. Most extant work has drawn on aggregate time-series designs, and the field is as good as fully non-comparative. To further develop our knowledge about how and why the mass media exert influence on the political agenda, three ways forward are suggested. First, we need better theory about why political actors would adopt media issues and start devoting attention to them. The core of such a theory should be the notion of the applicability of information encapsulated in the media coverage to the goals and the task at hand of the political actors. Media information has a number of features that make it very attractive for political actors to use—it is often negative, for instance. Second, we plead for a disaggregation of the level of analysis from the institutional level (e.g., parliament) or the collective actor level (e.g., party) to the individual level (e.g., members of parliament). Since individuals process media information, and since the goals and tasks of individuals that trigger the applicability mechanism are diverse, the best way to move forward is to tackle the agenda setting puzzle at the individual level. This implies surveying individual elites or, even better, implementing experimental designs to individual elite actors. Third, the field is in dire need of comparative work comparing how political actors respond to media coverage across countries or political systems.

The Religious Landscape in Post-communist Slovakia

2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Podolinská
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
International Social Survey Programme ◽  
European Values ◽  
European Values Study ◽  
Main Representative ◽  
Religious Landscape ◽  
International Social

This contribution analyses the results of international sociological surveys that collected data in Slovakia, namely three waves of the European Values Study (EVS 1991, 1999, 2008) and two waves of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP 1999 and ISSP 2006-2008). Focusing on the survey data the essay elucidates the concrete process of religious dynamics in post-communist Slovakia. Attention is paid to the so-called 'core of believers' as the main representative of 'traditional' religiosity, using this unique opportunity to explore the dynamics of this group within the last two decades. The author concludes that even if institutional religiosity is still far more dominant in the Slovak religious scene, the prevailing form of religiosity is of a post-traditional character.

scholarly journals Do shared values promote social cohesion? If so, which? Evidence from Denmark

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen N. Breidahl ◽  
Nils Holtug ◽  
Kristian Kongshøj
Keyword(s):  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Shared Values ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Community Values ◽  
Liberal Nationalism ◽  
National Values ◽  
Liberal Citizenship ◽  
The One ◽  
The Individual

Social scientists and political theorists often claim that shared values are conducive to social cohesion, and trust and solidarity in particular. Furthermore, this idea is at the heart of what has been labeled the ‘national identity argument’, according to which religious and/or cultural diversity is a threat to the shared (national) values underpinning social cohesion and redistributive justice. However, there is no consensus among political theorists about what values we need to share to foster social cohesion and indeed, for example, nationalists, liberals, and multiculturalists provide different answers to this question. On the basis of a survey conducted in Denmark in 2014, this study empirically investigates the relation between, on the one hand, commitments to the community values of respectively conservative nationalism, liberal nationalism, liberal citizenship, and multiculturalism, and on the other, trust and solidarity. First, we investigate in what ways commitments to these four sets of values are correlated to trust and solidarity at the individual level and, then, whether the belief that others share one’s values is correlated to these aspects of social cohesion for individuals committed to these four sets of values. We find that conservative and liberal nationalism are negatively correlated to our different measures of trust and solidarity, whereas liberal citizenship and (in particular) multiculturalism are positively correlated. In broad terms, this picture remains when we control for a number of socio-economic factors and ideology (on a left-right scale). Finally, individuals who believe that others share their values do not, in general, have higher levels of trust and solidarity. Rather, this belief works in different ways when associated with different sets of community values.

scholarly journals INFLUENCE OF INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNITY-LEVEL ASSOCIATES OF CONTRACEPTIVE USE IN PAKISTAN: A MULTI-LEVEL MIXED EFFECT ANALYSIS (PDHS 2017-18)

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 764-775
Author(s):  
Asifa Kamal ◽  
Sadaf Malik ◽  
Hafsa Batool ◽  
Afza Rasul
Keyword(s):  
Mass Media ◽  
Women's Education ◽  
Contraceptive Use ◽  
Media Exposure ◽  
Married Women ◽  
Community Level ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Mass Media Exposure

Purpose of the study: This research aims to investigate the impact of mass media exposure and women's autonomy on the use of contraceptives, along with other potential determinants at the individual level and community level among women in Pakistan. Methodology: Data was extracted from Pakistan Demographic & Health Surveys 2017-18. The sample size included 10,461 non-pregnant and married women from a total of 15,068 ever-married women. The analysis was done using two-level mixed-effects logistic regression for the binary outcome variable, i.e., current contraceptive use (yes/no). Main Findings: Significant factors positively associated with contraceptive use at the individual level were women's education, wealth index, parity, age at first cohabitation, child mortality experience, and mass media exposure. Community attributes like region (Sindh, KPK, Balochistan as compared to Punjab), residence (rural as compared to urban) had an inverse relationship with contraceptive use. At the same time, women's education and an ideal number of children were the significant positive associates. Women's empowerment has though insignificant, but it has a positive impact on the use of contraceptives at both individual and community levels. Applications of this study: Family planning programs can be extended by focusing on women residing in rural settings or in high fertility intentions communities, less educated and unprivileged younger women who had reduced the uptake of contraceptives. An increase in women's access to education, media exposure, employment, and women's empowerment can help attain Pakistan's contraceptive prevalence targets. Novelty/Originality of this study: The current study's effect of individual and community-level factors was investigated using National-level data, mainly focusing on the role of mass media and women's autonomy.

scholarly journals Methodological Issues in Studies of Cultural Legacies in Post-Socialist Russia’s Civil Society

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-165
Author(s):  
Anna Leskinen
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
The State ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Theoretical Assumptions ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Cultural Legacies ◽  
The Individual

AbstractThe state of civil society in post-socialist Russia and other former socialist countries is of great interest to social scientists, policy makers, and development-oriented practitioners. Numerous theoretical assumptions and methodological approaches have been used by researchers to describe, analyze, and assess the state of civil society in Russia, for example. One of the key issues addressed has been the influences on citizens’ civic and social activities and the historical conditions and cultural environments that have generated – and continue to generate – these activities. This critique focuses on the concept of “communist legacies” which has been applied at the individual level to explain people’s preferences, attitudes, and forms of behavior in Russia and other post-socialist countries. The concept is influential, in large part, because it has been supported by empirical research, especially the highly influential empirical research of Marc Howard. This paper takes a critical look at this research, including its theoretical frame and the methodology associated with the frame.

scholarly journals Money for the marginalized: Promoting access to income benefits in Manitoba

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Schachter
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Realist Evaluation ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Evaluation Methodology ◽  
Structural Level ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Dual Objectives

Low-income Manitobans are eligible for a variety of federal and provincial income support benefits that may help them meet their basic needs. However, many face barriers to completing the bureaucratic processes required to access these benefits. In response, nonprofit and public sector agencies have developed free benefit intermediary programs that support low-income community members to claim their benefits. Despite the growth of this field, there is a dearth of scholarly literature on programs that promote access to income benefits. This thesis contributes to filling this gap through a mixed-methods study of benefit intermediary programs operating in Winnipeg, MB. Using a realist evaluation methodology, this study examines contextual conditions that inhibit benefit take-up and the field of social programs that promote access to benefits. The evaluation considers the social-structural context, program goals and activities, and key program mechanisms that may account for the outcomes that ensue. Findings from semi-structured key informant interviews and a literature review demonstrate that benefit intermediary programs have dual objectives that correspond to two of Nancy Fraser’s strategies for achieving social justice. At the individual level, they employ a strategy of affirmative redistribution to assist low-income community members to claim benefits that increase their quality of life. At a structural level, they pursue nonreformist reforms to reduce systemic barriers that inhibit benefit take-up and build cross-sectoral capacity to promote access. However, these programs face constraints that limit the scope of their direct service delivery and the extent to which they can effect structural change. Nevertheless, benefit intermediaries play a vital role in promoting access to income benefits in Manitoba. This research may be useful for practitioners, policymakers, and social scientists who are interested in the problem of benefit non-take-up, or who are engaged in efforts to increase the take-up of money for the marginalized.

scholarly journals Civic Culture in Western and Eastern Europe

2006 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 363-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Germen Janmaat
Keyword(s):  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Civic Culture ◽  
World Values Survey ◽  
Civic Attitudes ◽  
European Values ◽  
Societal Level ◽  
European Values Study ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Strength And Durability

This paper examines the nature of civic culture and the strength of civic attitudes in postcommunist and western countries. In particular, it seeks to explore the internal consistency and durability of civic culture using World Values Survey and European Values Study data. It discusses three perspectives on the strength and durability of civic attitudes in East and West, (the historical roots, the legacy of communism, and the postcommunist transition perspectives) and explores to what extent the pattern of civic attitudes in the two regions matches the predicted outcomes of these perspectives. The paper finds that the attitudes associated with civic culture do not form a coherent syndrome, neither at the individual nor at the societal level. It further finds only marginal support for the historical perspective, which accords a great degree of persistence to civic culture. It therefore concludes that civic culture is not the monolithic and durable phenomenon that some cultural theorists claim it is.

Coleman’s Boat Revisited: Causal Sequences and the Micro-macro Link

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 368-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustav Ramström
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Macro Model ◽  
Empirical Social Science ◽  
The Individual

This article argues that empirical social scientists can be freed from having to account for “micro-to-macro transitions.” The article shows, in opposition to the (still) dominant perspective based on Coleman’s macro-micro-macro model, that no micro-macro transitions or mechanisms connect the individual level to the macro level in empirical social science. Rather, when considering that social macro entities and properties are micro manifest rather than macro manifest, it becomes clear that the micro-macro move in empirical social science is purely conceptual or analytical.

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