Does Security Increase Secularity? Evidence from the British Household Panel Survey on the Relationship between Income and Religious Service Attendance
In: Journal of Religion in EuropeSearch for other papers by Ingrid Storm in
Current site
Google Scholar
Material security has been associated with lower religious attendance both between and within countries and has been proposed as one of the mechanisms causing long term religious decline in economically developed countries. Using a British panel study, this article examines (a) whether change to household incomes can incite individual religious change and (b) whether religion can buffer against the stress of economic loss.
The main trend in Britain is that of religious stability or decline, and income change does nothing to reverse this trend. Increases in household income are associated with religious disengagement, but income reduction has no effect on religious attendance. However, religious activity may still act as a ‘buffer’ by improving and maintaining life satisfaction in the face of economic loss.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
-
Atkinson Quentin D. , & Whitehouse Harvey , “The Cultural Morphospace of Ritual Form,” Evolution and Human Behavior 32/1 (2011), 50–62.
-
Azzi Corry , & Ehrenberg Ronald , “Household Allocation of Time and Church Attendance,” Journal of Political Economy 83/1 (1975), 27–56.
-
Bank of England, “Inflation Calculator” (2016). http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/education/Pages/resources/inflationtools/calculator/flash/default.aspx(accessed 6 June 2016).
-
Bradshaw Matt , & Ellison Christopher G. , “Financial Hardship and Psychological Distress: Exploring the Buffering Effects of Religion,” Social Science & Medicine 71/1 (2010), 196–204.
-
Bruce Steve , & Voas David , “Do Social Crises Cause Religious Revivals? What British Church Adherence Rates Show,” Journal of Religion in Europe 9/1 (2016), 26–43.
-
Chen Daniel L. , “Club Goods and Group Identity: Evidence from Islamic Resurgence During the Indonesian Financial Crisis,” Journal of Political Economy 118/2 (2010), 300–354.
-
Clark Andrew E. , & Lelkes Orsolya , “Deliver Us from Evil: Religion as Insurance,” pse Working Papers 2005/43 (2005). https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00590570(accessed 27 June 2016).
-
Cook Stephen W. , ., “Resource Loss, Religiousness, Health, and Posttraumatic Growth Following Hurricane Katrina,” Mental Health, Religion & Culture 16/4 (2013), 352–366.
-
Cribb Jonathan , ., Living Standards, Poverty and Inequality in the uk: 2013 (London: Institute for Fiscal Studies, 2013).
-
Damelang Andreas , & Kloß Georgi , “Poverty and the Social Participation of Young People—An Analysis of Poverty-related Withdrawal Mechanisms,” Journal for Labour Market Research 46/4 (2013), 321–333.
-
Dorling Danny , “Income Inequality in the uk: Comparisons with Five Large Western European Countries and the usa,” Applied Geography 61 (2015), 24–34.
-
Gill Anthony , & Lundsgaarde Erik , “State Welfare Spending and Religiosity: A Cross-national Analysis,” Rationality and Society 16/4 (2004), 399–436.
-
Gruber Jonathan , & Hungerman Daniel M. , “The Church Versus the Mall: What Happens When Religion Faces Increased Secular Competition?,” Quarterly Journal of Economics 123/2 (2008), 831–862.
-
Hirschle Jochen , “‘Secularization of Consciousness’ or Alternative Opportunities? The Impact of Economic Growth on Religious Belief and Practice in 13 European Countries,” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 52/2 (2013), 410–424.
-
Hogg Michael A. , “Subjective Uncertainty Reduction through Self-Categorization: A Motivational Theory of Social Identity Processes,” European Review of Social Psychology 11/1 (2000), 223–255.
-
Hogg Michael A. , ., “Uncertainty, Entitativity, and Group Identification,” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 43/1 (2007), 135–142.
-
Immerzeel Tim , & van Tubergen Frank , “Religion as Reassurance? Testing the Insecurity Theory in 26 European Countries,” European Sociological Review 29/2 (2011), 359–372.
-
Kay Aaron C. , ., “Religious Belief as Compensatory Control,” Personality and Social Psychology Review 14/1 (2010), 37–48.
-
Krause Neal , “Religious Involvement, Gratitude, and Change in Depressive Symptoms Over Time,” International Journal for the Psychology of Religion 19/3 (2009), 155–172.
-
Lechner Clemens M. , & Leopold Thomas , “Religious Attendance Buffers the Impact of Unemployment on Life Satisfaction: Longitudinal Evidence from Germany,” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 54/1 (2015), 166–174.
-
Lim Chaeyoon , & Putnam Robert D. , “Religion, Social Networks, and Life Satisfaction,” American Sociological Review 75/6 (2010), 914–933.
-
Lipford Jody W. , & Tollison Robert D. , “Religious Participation and Income,” Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 51/2 (2003), 249–260.
-
McGregor Ian , “Religious Zeal and the Uncertain Self,” Basic and Applied Social Psychology 30/2 (2008), 183–188.
-
Norris Pippa , & Inglehart Ronald , Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004).
-
oecd, oecd Framework for Statistics on the Distribution of Household Income, Consumption and Wealth (Paris: oecd Publishing, 2013). http://www.oecd.org/statistics/framework-for-statistics-on-the-distribution-of-household-income-consumption-and-wealth-9789264194830-en.htm(accessed 3 June 2016).
-
Risen Jane L. , & Gilovich Thomas , “Why People Are Reluctant to Tempt Fate,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 95/2 (2008), 293–307.
-
Sibley Chris G. , & Bulbulia Joseph , “Faith After an Earthquake: A Longitudinal Study of Religion and Perceived Health Before and After the 2011 Christchurch New Zealand Earthquake,” PLoSONE7/12 (2012), e49648. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0049648(accessed 24 April 2017).
-
Solt Frederick , Habel Philip , & Grant J. Tobin , “Economic Inequality, Relative Power, and Religiosity,” Social Science Quarterly 92/2 (2011), 447–465.
-
Stolz Jörg , “Explaining Religiosity: Towards a Unified Theoretical Model,” The British Journal of Sociology 60/2 (2009), 345–376.
-
Storm Ingrid , “Halfway to Heaven: Four Types of Fuzzy Fidelity in Europe,” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 48/4 (2009), 702–718.
-
Storm Ingrid , “Does Economic Insecurity Predict Religiosity? Evidence from the European Social Survey 2002–2014,” Sociology of Religion 78/2 (2017), 146–172.
-
Storm Ingrid , & Voas David , “The Intergenerational Transmission of Religious Service Attendance,” Nordic Journal of Religion and Society 25/2 (2012), 19–38.
-
Tajfel Henri , & Turner John , “An Integrative Theory of Intergroup Conflict,” in: Austin William G. & Worchel Stephen (eds.), The Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations (Monterey: Brooks-Cole, 1979), 33–47.
-
Tartaro Jessica , Luecken Linda J. , & Gunn Heather E. , “Exploring Heart and Soul: Effects of Religiosity/spirituality and Gender on Blood Pressure and Cortisol Stress Responses,” Journal of Health Psychology 10/6 (2005), 753–766.
-
van Hoorn André , & Maseland Robbert , “Does a Protestant Work Ethic Exist? Evidence from the Well-being Effect of Unemployment,” Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 91 (2013), 1–12.
-
Voas David , “The Rise and Fall of Fuzzy Fidelity in Europe,” European Sociological Review 25/2 (2008), 155–168.
-
Voas David , & Crockett Alasdair , “Religion in Britain: Neither Believing nor Belonging,” Sociology 39/1 (2005), 11–28.
-
Voas David , & Chaves Mark , “Is the United States a Counterexample to the Secularization Thesis?” American Journal of Sociology 121/5 (2016), 1517–1556.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 817 | 187 | 15 |
| Full Text Views | 261 | 7 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 106 | 16 | 0 |
Does Security Increase Secularity? Evidence from the British Household Panel Survey on the Relationship between Income and Religious Service Attendance
In: Journal of Religion in EuropeSearch for other papers by Ingrid Storm in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Material security has been associated with lower religious attendance both between and within countries and has been proposed as one of the mechanisms causing long term religious decline in economically developed countries. Using a British panel study, this article examines (a) whether change to household incomes can incite individual religious change and (b) whether religion can buffer against the stress of economic loss.
The main trend in Britain is that of religious stability or decline, and income change does nothing to reverse this trend. Increases in household income are associated with religious disengagement, but income reduction has no effect on religious attendance. However, religious activity may still act as a ‘buffer’ by improving and maintaining life satisfaction in the face of economic loss.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 817 | 187 | 15 |
| Full Text Views | 261 | 7 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 106 | 16 | 0 |
