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Turkish politics is changing rapidly, as is the place of religion in its public square. In this context, it is useful to ask who prioritizes religious identity and who does not. Our social-psychological approach emphasizes the importance of understanding why religion is more central to certain individuals' sense of self than others. We analyze data from an original, nationally representative survey of over 2,000 adults in Turkey that includes a measure of how strongly respondents identify with religion (among other identity options). We run statistical regression analysis to assess how well existing theories of religiosity in general explain the under-explored theoretical and empirical domain of religious identification. Our findings indicate that ideological conservatism, religious fundamentalism, and minority religious group status have significant implications for one's strength of identification with religion. These results underscore the importance of future research into the psychological roots of attachment to religion and religious identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Religion has been shown to affect the U.S. public opinion about foreign policy. Recent studies emphasize attitudes about issues pertaining to the Middle East. They also tend to focus on the perspectives of evangelical Protestants, so we know comparatively little about how being mainline Protestant, Black Protestant, Catholic, or religiously unaffiliated might affect one's foreign policy preferences. Methods: Using data drawn from the 2009 America's Place in the World General Public Survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, we analyze religion's impact on public attitudes about foreign affairs, comparing evangelical Protestants with four other religious groups. Results: We find that the main driver of religion's impact on foreign policy attitudes is nominal religious affiliation ("belonging"), not the frequency of worship attendance ("behaving"). Religiously unaffiliated Americans and Catholics—and to a lesser extent, mainline and Black Protestants—perceive the world as less threatening than do evangelicals. They also prefer multilateral, cooperative solutions to international problems. Conclusion: Americans vary significantly in their international threat perception and support for militant or cooperative internationalism based on their religious affiliation. In addition, evangelical Protestants' preference for hawkish, unilateral foreign policy extends beyond the context of the Middle East. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why is religion a more central social identity for some people than for others? Previous studies focus on explaining individual differences in religious affiliation and religiosity, often using the term "identification" in reference to these concepts. Yet, few scholars operationalize—let alone attempt to explain—identification with religion in social psychological terms, i.e., as a construct that captures the subjective psychological centrality of one's religious identity. After underscoring the benefits of exploring religious identification using cross‐national data, we employ an original data set composed of nationally representative surveys in three European countries to model religious identification in two ways: importance (independent strength of attachment) and prominence (prioritization of one's religious identity relative to the others one holds). We document substantial variation in the degree to which individuals define themselves on the basis of their religious identity. We then test predictions drawn from existing theories to model these two measures. Our results extend current understandings of what shapes psychological attachment to religion and raise new questions for future theorization and analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provide historical background about the congressional chaplaincy before presenting a content analysis of prayers that chaplains offered before the Senate and the House in 1990, 2000, and 2010. It analyzes differences in the personal styles of presidents and other elected officials and argue that each congressional chaplain develops a distinctive prayer style, and ways in which the distinctiveness reflects both personal preference and a relative lack of clear rules and guidelines.

In this article we analyze the effects of religious, political, socioeconomic, and demographic variables on religious Americans' propensity to identify with religio‐political movements. Using data from the 2013 Economic Values Survey collected by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), we sort nonsecular Americans into four categories: religious right, religious left, both religious right and religious left, or neither religious right nor the religious left. We estimate a multinomial logit model in which we depict religio‐political identification as a function of religious affiliation, worship attendance, religious embeddedness, religious convictions, political attitudes, and socioeconomic and demographic controls. We find that a wide range of religious, political, and socioeconomic/demographic variables affect individuals' identification with the religious right and/or religious left. Our empirical results also permit us to analyze the seeming paradox of identifying with both the religious right and the religious left. We find that individuals who identify with both movements come from the ranks of the highly religious, those who believe that being moral requires one to believe in God, Tea Party supporters, strong partisans, those with lower education and income, older individuals, and blacks and Hispanics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is courage more than just facing fear? We tested the hypothesis that perceived value of the goal, in addition to the perceived riskiness of the action, predicts the extent to which an action is rated as courageous. Participants (300 US undergraduates and 1,254 US residents recruited online) read about either Caitlyn Jenner's public gender transition or Kim Davis's refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Participants then rated how courageous, risky, and valuable the action was. They also completed a Moral Traditionalism scale. Results indicated that across both samples and both conditions, courage was significantly predicted by the value of the goal, with risk of the action a smaller but mostly significant predictor. Adding Moral Traditionalism as a predictor did not alter these patterns. Results of this study support the inclusion of goal value as an important component of accolade courage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I compare progressive and conservative religio-political activists' commitment to their movements (the religious left and right, respectively). I rely on data from the Public Religion Research Institute's 2009 surveys of individuals they identified as religious left activists and religious right activists. Do these activists actually say they identify with the movement with which pollsters assume them to affiliate? How potentially influential do they perceive their movements to be? Third, to what extent do activists support their movement's core social movement organizations? I conclude by arguing that the evidence is mixed that the American religious left lacks influence because its activists tend not to be unified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review of the article “Twenty-Three Theses on the Status of Religion in American Sociology: A Mellon Working- Group Reflection." by Christian Smith, Brandon Vaidyanathan and Nancy Tatom Ammerman, which appeared in the "Journal of the American Academy of Religion" in December 2013, is presented.

This article reviews various theoretical approaches political scientists employ in the analysis of religion and politics and posits culture as a conceptual bridge between competing approaches. After coming to the study of religion slowly in comparison with other social science disciplines, political science finally has a theoretically diverse and thriving religion and politics subfield. However, political scientists' contributions to the social scientific study of religion are hampered by a lack of agreement about whether endogenous or exogenous theoretical approaches ought to dominate our scholarship. I assert that the concept of culture-and more specifically, subculture-might help create more connections across theoretical research traditions. I emphasize how the concept of religion-based subculture is inherent in psychological, social psychological, social movement, and contextual approaches to religion and politics scholarship, and I explore these theoretical connections using the example of religion-based 'us versus them' discourses in contemporary American politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of representation are widespread in the congressional literature, with recent work focusing on both descriptive and substantive representation of various minority groups. The authors focus on religious representation in Congress, examining the extent to which senators' own religious affiliation and the relative size of their religious constituencies affect substantive representation of Religious Right interests. The authors find that Christian senators (evangelical Protestants, conservative Catholics, and Mormons alike) provide better representation of the Religious Right, as do senators from states with larger Christian constituencies. The findings demonstrate that substantive representation is the product of characteristics of both the representatives and the represented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We operationalize three dimensions of religion—religious affiliation, religious commitment, and religious belief—to offer a detailed analysis of how religion affects presidential approval ratings. Using data from the 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 American National Election Studies, we demonstrate that operationalizing religion as a rudimentary Protestant-Catholic affiliation dichotomy masks its influence on presidential approval. We find that religious affiliation, even when measured more precisely than with a Protestant-Catholic dichotomy, contributes less to models of presidential approval than do measures of religious commitment and (especially) orthodoxy of religious belief. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing body of research examines national conflicts over homosexuality in mainline Protestant denominations, but few studies have explored the concrete ways individual congregations are responding. We focus on thirty mainline Protestant congregations (in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church [U.S.A.], and the United Methodist Church) in the northeastern United States that have formally considered the issue of homosexuality recently. Based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with these congregations' clergy, we assess how homosexuality became a public issue in each church and how each denomination influenced the process by which congregations responded. Building on previous research on the relationship between congregations and denominations, we find that denominational resources about homosexuality, primarily in the form of structured educational materials, narrow the range of social processes congregations adopt in response. The more educational resources and structured guidance denominations provided, the narrower the range of processes congregations took in response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some of the most contentious issues in American religion today concern homosexuality. In 1998, we asked 2,300 clergy in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Episcopal Church whether their denomination should adopt official statements on homosexuality. A year later, we asked the same question of 1,600 church members in 60 of those clergy's congregations. In this research note, we analyze the attitudes of clergy and church members about beginning the process to compose formal denominational statements on homosexuality. We find great differences between the two denominations, reflecting established conflict in the Episcopal Church and a lack thereof in the ELCA. The attitudes of both clergy and church members, shaped by denominational context, reflect their general attitudes toward gay rights and the public involvement of the denomination. Clergy exhibit particular concern about how a denominational statement might affect their own congregation, and church members take significant cues from their clergy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. The goal of this article is to analyze the relationship between religion, measured in terms of religious affiliation and religiosity, and public opinion about same-sex marriage, civil unions, and a federal constitutional amendment that would prohibit gay marriage. Methods. We use logistic regression with calculated standardized coefficients to analyze data from a nationally representative survey of 1,610 respondents conducted in March–April 2004. Results. Religious variables perform better than demographic measures in models of attitudes about same-sex unions. Non-Protestants are much more likely to support same-sex unions than are Protestants, and individuals with conservative attitudes toward morality and secularism and (to a lesser extent) those who participate actively in religious life are more likely to oppose such unions. On the whole, religious variables play a weaker role in predicting support for a constitutional amendment to prevent gay marriage than they do in predicting attitudes toward same-sex unions. Conclusions. Religious variables play powerful roles in structuring attitudes about same-sex unions. Moreover, homosexuality appears to be a major component of the “moral values” discourse that is currently so popular in American politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On November 7, 2000, despite the ardent pleas of clergy from across the spectrum of religious traditions, South Carolina voters repealed a constitutional amendment to pave the way for a state lottery. In a state known for intense evangelical religiosity, this outcome raises several important questions about the political influence of religion and religious leaders. In this article we offer a history of the religious aspects of the lottery debate in South Carolina and an empirical look at the relationships between religious factors and support for the lottery among South Carolina voters. Specifically, we explore the extent to which involvement in evangelical Protestantism, political salience of religion, and clergy cues affected public support for a state lottery. Data for the empirical analysis are drawn from an October 3, 2000 poll of 450 South Carolinians who had voted in two previous elections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homosexuality is one of the most divisive issues within mainline Protestantism today. In this article we portray the many sides of mainline Protestantism's debates about homosexuality through the lens of statements clergy made about the issue in early 2000. In interviews with 62 mainline Protestant clergy across the United States, 40 volunteered their views on homosexuality without being prompted. We describe the frames through which clergy understand and articulate issues related to homosexuality in the midst of contentious denominational debate about the subject. The majority of clergy who discussed homosexuality focused on the issue in their churches instead of in society at large, and in their denominations rather than in their own congregations. Moreover, virtually none of the clergy interviewed took hard and fast stands on the issue of homosexuality. Most approach the issue in a pragmatic, rather than prophetic, way. Our interviews also show that pastors who choose to speak on homosexuality tend to frame the issue in terms of the diffuse notion of "homosexuality," rather than talking about gay men and lesbians as people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from separate studies conducted in 1988-89 and I998, we explore changes in the issue agendas of women clergy,. Rosenstone and Hansen (1993) argue persuasively)' that mobilization often occurs clue to a commitment to a particular political issue. Our data allow us to test three separate hypothesis about the evolution of women clergy's issue agendas over the course of a decade that saw an unprecedented number of women enter the ministry: Shifts in the issue agendas of women c/erg), suggest a model of issue agenda evolution including four possible explanations for change: public agenda shifts, changes resulting from the growing number of women clergy, or ideological stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses various articles published within the issue, including one on an analysis of religions freedom around the globe, another on how the state interacts with organized religion within a particular policy-specific context, and another one on prayer behavior in the context of the developing nation-state Tanzania.

The article discusses papers published within the issue including one on health-care professionals' encounters with religion, another on who nurses perceive and include spiritually significant content in their workplace experiences, and the relationship between religiosity and obesity.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Studying Religion in a Rapidly Changing World" in the previous issue.

An obituary for researcher Richard Gorsuch is presented.

A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experience of losing both her parents.

An introduction to articles published within the issue is presented, including the presidential speech given at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, an article on Muslim women in Netherlands and another on Catholic and Protestant Latinos in the U.S.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including the link between religion and gender, significance of national and cultural gaps to societies, and Western Christianity.

The article presents editor's views regarding the completion of her tenure with the journal and death of pubic intellectual Peter Berger of Boston University, and it also presents introduction for the issue focused on an symposium, which examines the role of religion in social institutions.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles within the issue including the measurement of religious attendance, health-related-effects of religion, and role of religion and attitude towards natural environment.

An introduction to articles published within the issue is presented, which includes the presidential address of Michele Dillon at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, an article on religious and spiritual practice of American Indians and another on religious commitment.

An introduction to articles published within the issue is presented, which include one on a study of the ways in which Mormons volunteer, another on the factors that promote participation by people of different races in the same congregation as well as one on leadership transitions in congregations.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses papers published within the issue, including studies that speak to how religion affects the way people deal with one another, articles that discuss how religion affects internal lives, and articles on Muslims and cutting edge treatments of culture wars issues.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including the relationship between religious change and economic growth in European countries, the conflict between religion and science, and the role of religion in shaping the view of people on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including polytheism, the paranormal and traditional African religious practices.

Objectives Despite the obvious relevance of religious themes and symbols in U.S. foreign policy since September 11, 2001, scholars know little about whether or how religious affiliation and behavior affect foreign policy attitudes. In this study, we endeavor to fill this gap in the literature. Methods We analyze the relationship between religious affiliation and public opinion about several dimensions of U.S. foreign policy in the Greater Middle East under President Barack Obama using pooled data from three surveys conducted in 2009 by the Pew Research Center. Results Our analysis indicates that the 'faith factor' is a powerful force driving American attitudes about Obama's foreign policy. Specifically, seculars, mainline Protestants, and Catholics variously stand out as more moderate and more supportive of Obama when compared to evangelical Protestants. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate that even when other determinants of foreign policy public opinion are controlled, religious affiliation has a powerful and independent impact on a wide array of foreign policy attitudes. Religion's impact on foreign policy attitudes thus is limited neither to the period immediately following September 11 nor to the administration of George W. Bush. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from a new survey of mainline Protestant clergy, we explore the extent to which a political gender gap exists between male and female mainline Protestant ministers. Analysis reveals major partisan, ideological, attitudinal, and participatory disparities among clergymen and clergywomen. Women are far more liberal than their male counterparts, and even though they face the constraint of being a professional minority, clergywomen tend to participate in politics at higher rates than clergymen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]