Exam 1

Question 1

Be able to discuss contemporary distinctions between religiosity and spirituality

Answer 1

 Spirituality is more personal and psychological
 Religion is more institutional and sociological
 Spirituality involves a person’s beliefs, values, and behavior
 Religiousness indicates the person’s involvement with a religious tradition and institution
 Spirituality is associated with openness to change
 Religiousness is associated with conservatism

Question 2

Be able to discuss why we search for meaning (and provide examples)

Answer 2

 Beliefs about human nature, society, the afterlife
 Life Expectations (the rewards for righteousness, punishment for evil)
 Life Goals (benevolence, justice)
 Actions (charitable actions, violent actions)
 Emotions (love, joy, peace, anger, despair)

Question 3

Be able to discuss Hood et al.’s 4 reasons why religion is uniquely able to provide meaning

Answer 3

 1. Comprehensiveness
-Religion addresses a large range of issues that by themselves provide meaning:
-Beliefs about human nature, society, the afterlife
-Life Expectations (the rewards for righteousness, punishment for evil)
-Life Goals (benevolence, justice)
-Actions (charitable actions, violent actions)
-Emotions (love, joy, peace, anger, despair)
 2. Accessibility
-Accessibility is promoted through:
- Doctrinal teachings and creeds
-Religious education
 3. Transcendence
-Religion invokes a sense of transcendence
-Transcendent: beyond human capability, extraordinary
-And a belief in a transcendent & authoritative being provides the most fulfilling sense of meaning for many (Wong, 1998)
-Especially when that Being is considered to be sovereign (the supreme ruler)
 4. Direct Claims
-Religion boldly states its ability to provide meaning
-No other system of meaning does this
-Religion boldly states the human’s purpose
 Specifically, the Judeo-Christian tradition asserts that…

Question 4

Be able to support the notion that we are “created to be religious” or that religion is “built in us” by

Answer 4

 Persinger et al. (1987) ; Found that stimulation of the parietal & temporal lobes created the experience of God; These lobes contain the “the God Spot”

Question 5

Discussing the biology of forgiveness

Answer 5

 Research shows forgiveness

• Counters hostility
• Lowers blood pressure
• Lowers depression
• Lowers “subjective feelings” (personal experience) of stress
• Reduces “objective signs” of stress
• Contributes desirable effects in brain reactions

Question 6

Discussing the biology of prayer

Answer 6

 Benson’s (1975) findings show suggests prayer results in a slowing of breathing
-Slowed Breathing Can Transform Your Health (article)
-Other research findings show faith (in general)
-Lowers anxiety
-Lowers blood pressure
Lowers depression

Question 7

Identifying the brain areas that have been associated with religious experience

Answer 7

Found that stimulation of the parietal & temporal lobes created the experience of God.

Question 8

Be able to give at least 2 reasons why socialization theorists still favor a “preparedness” model for religious/spiritual development and what this model proposes.

Answer 8

 Children are prepared (have a ‘natural’ tendency) to accept religious ideas
-Natural tendency is enhanced when parents reinforce with religious instruction
 Children are naturally-spiritual beings
-They have an inborn sense of interconnectedness with something larger than themselves

Question 9

Be familiar with the various persons our God-image can be based on

Answer 9

 God image may bear more similarity to mother than father (Vergote and Tamayo, 1981)
 Aspects of relationships with both parents may be associated with positive images of God (Potvin, 1977)
 God concepts seem related to discipline styles of parents (Dickie et al., 1997)
 More closely related for girls
 Teachers may be more important than parents in God concept development (De Roos, Miedema, Iedema, 2001)

Question 10

Be able to summarize at least 3 negative consequences of the “God will punish you” disciplinary approach

Answer 10

 More inclined to blame themselves for problems
 Feel a greater need to be obedient
 View God as malevolent

Question 11

Be able to give at least 2 reasons why the authoritarian parenting style is argued to be the most ‘biblical’ parenting style

Answer 11

 Researchers suggest that the authoritarian style is most reflective of Biblical commands
 Conservative Protestants tend to endorse an authoritarian parenting orientation, valuing obedience, above most other goals, in children
 Some conservative Christian books on child rearing emphasize authoritarian-like goals
 Explicitly advise that obedience is a very important goal

Question 12

Generally, which of these parenting styles have been indicated as the most beneficial for children’s development

Answer 12

 process by which we inherit norms, ideas, values, attitudes, and acquire skills and habits necessary for participating in our respective societies

Question 13

Be able to discuss the types of question that might arise during times of religious doubt

Answer 13

 “Does God really exist?”
 “Should I accept my parents’ religious faith?”
 “Does God really answer prayers?”

Question 14

Be able to discuss some positive “consequences” of religious doubt

Answer 14

 Greater openness to various experiences
 Less dogmatism (less my way or the highway)
 Social activism
 Increased complexity of thought around religious issues
 Less prejudice
 Tendency to help others in need
 Aspects of mental health:
▪ personal competence/control,
▪ self-acceptance
▪ open-mindedness/flexibility
 May stimulate cognitive development

Question 15

Be able to discuss some negative “consequences” of religious doubt

Answer 15

 Perceived stress
 Depression
 Negative adjustment to college, relationships with parents for first year
 Increased psychological distress
 Decreased feelings of personal well-being
 Doubt can interfere with coping strategies for stress
▪ Religious coping strategies (i.e. prayer, seeking religious community for support) is linked to increased mental health benefits
 Doubt has been linked to guilt or shame
▪ This can negatively affect self-esteem
 Doubt has been linked to conflictual family patterns

Question 16

Be familiar with Hunsberger et al.’s findings about how people resolve religious doubt

Answer 16

1. Consult with people or read materials that would likely push them in a pro-religious direction
2. Consult resources that would be more likely to push them in a non-religious or antireligious direction
3. In summary: whom one consults may be an indicator of one’s inclination to resolve religious doubts one way or another in the first place!

Question 17

Be able to discuss trends in religiosity, according to Gallup Polls, and the (2) concerns that have stood out

Answer 17

Decline in religion

Question 18

Be able to summarize the Relevant magazine article “4 Lies the Church Taught Me About Sex” we read in class

Answer 18

1. Contact is a gateway drug to sex
2. If you wait, you will be rewarded
3. Girls don’t care about sex
4. When married you will feel sexually uninhibited w/out guilt or shame

Question 19

How have individuals with same-sex orientations responded to rejection from the church?

Answer 19

 Historically, religion has frowned upon, even been hostile towards, homosexuality

• Cites scriptures as basis for negative outlook
• But many contemporary, liberal religious groups have challenged traditional views
• In 2001, the United Methodist Church “ruled that practicing gays cannot be in the ministry”
• However, in 2005, gay and lesbian ministers were being approved by Methodist ruling bodies (Los Angeles Times, 2003)
• Lutheran churches now accept lesbian and gay pastors if they remain celibate (The Denver Post, 2001)

Question 20

Be able to discuss the findings from the 2002 study on effectiveness of “Conversion Therapy”

Answer 20

 87% regarded their therapy as a failure
 13% felt it was successful to some degree
 Half of the “successes” experienced “relapses”
 Some indication that such therapy results in psychological harm

Question 21

Be able to discuss the Janus report & Gallup findings regarding pre-marital sex

Answer 21

Although sexual attitudes and behaviors have shifted dramatically since the 1960s and 1970s, a strong majority of Americans (93%) still believe that extramarital sex is morally wrong, and a sizable minority (41%) cling to the belief that premarital sex is wrong. The sexual revolution may have passed, but it will be interesting to see what changes in opinion, if any, the next stage of evolution in sexual mores will bring.

Question 22

Be able to identify at least 4 historical Judeo-Christian perspectives around sex and sexuality and your personal opinions, with personal examples, as to how far we’ve come

Answer 22

 Places the pleasures of the mind over pleasures of the body
 Implies the body is corrupting
 Implies the body interferes with union with God
 Associates sexuality with women
 Associates women & their sexuality with evil
▪ Woman is “the Devil’s gateway” (Bad woman, bad!)

Question 23

Be able to summarize Baumrind’s 4 different parenting styles
?

Answer 23

	Authoritarian
-“strict parenting”
-High expectations for behavior 
-Low  responsiveness to feelings
-Emphasizes obedience to rules
-Does not offer explanations for rules
-Parent has the power!
	Authoritative 
-High expectations for behavior 
-High responsiveness to child’s feelings
-Explains why rules are necessary
-Open to children’s perspectives 
-Parent and child share the power
	Permissive
-Low behavioral expectations
-High responsiveness
-Uses little punishment
-Maintains little control
-Submits to children’s wishes
-Kid has the power!
-Uninvolved/Neglecting (or even Rejecting)
-“Hands off”
-Little to no expectations
-Dismissive of child’s feelings, opinions
-Disengaged