Religiosity is part of daily social and political life. Perspectives on Religion and Religiosity varies with the ‘old’ psychology of religiosity, which looks at correlates and consequences. Religiosity is more an aspect of the life of older people and there is documented relationship between religiosity and depression among older people. Religious practice is an indicator of social solidarity than an aspect of religiosity. Minority groups rely on religious stratagems to cope with their distress. Religiosity is the degree to which one is involved in religion. Attending a relgious place is an aspect of religiosity. Believing in the values, morals and mythology of religion is also an aspect of religiosity. Criminologists have observed for long an inverse relationship between personal religiosity and self-reported delinquency. That the negative effect of religiosity on delinquency is the by-product of general social control.
Religiosity is a complex concept and difficult to define. Perspectives on Religion and Religiosity varies. Colloquially, religiosity is found to be synonymous with such terms as religiousness, faith, and piousness. The concept of religiosity crosses several academic disciplines, each approaching religiosity from different vantage points, and few consulting one another (Cardwell, 1980; Demerath & Hammond, 1969). A theologian would address religiosity from the viewpoint of faith, while religious educators could focus on orthodoxy and belief (Groome, 1998). Sociologists would consider the concept of religiosity to include church membership, church attendance, and doctrinal knowledge.
Glock and Stark have been influential in defining religious orientations, origins, and dimensions. Glock and Stark identified five dimensions of religiosity: experiential, ritualistic, ideological, intellectual, and consequential.
The experiential dimension focuses on the personal faith experience, the ritualistic domain involves the worship experience, the ideological dimension is “constituted by expectations that the religious will hold to certain beliefs”, and the intellectual dimension “has to do with the expectation that the religious person will be informed and knowledgeable about the basic tenets of his faith and sacred scriptures.”
Fukuyama examined four dimensions of religiosity that he identified as cognitive, cultic, creedal, and devotional, which are summarized in Cardwell (1980): The cognitivedimension is concerned with what individuals know about religion. The cultic dimension makes reference to the individual’s religious practices. The creedal dimension is concerned with a personal religious belief, and the devotional dimension refers to a person’s religious feelings and experiences.
Psychological Perspectives on Religion and Religiosity By Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi. A useful book for those studying Sociology of Religion. Written by one of the world’s leading authorities on the psychology of religion and social identity, Psychological Perspectives on Religion and Religiosity offers a comprehensive and multidisciplinary review of a century of research into the origins and consequences of religious belief systems and religious behaviour. The book employs a unique theoretical framework that combines the ‘new’ cognitive-evolutionary psychology of religion, examining the origins of religious ideas, with the ‘old’ psychology of religiosity, which looks at correlates and consequences.
Methodological Pitfalls in the Study of Religiosity and Spirituality - Devon Berry. The number of studies demonstrating a relationship between religiosity and spirituality and physical and psychological health have increased rapidly during the past decade.
Parental Religiosity,
Parenting Style, and Adolescent Social Responsibility.
Marjorie Lindner Gunnoe, E. Mavis Hetherington, David Reiss.
Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that
religiosity was associated positively with authoritative parenting for both parents.