TY - JOUR
T1 - Believing, Bonding, Behaving, and Belonging
T2 - The Cognitive, Emotional, Moral, and Social Dimensions of Religiousness across Cultures
AU - Saroglou, Vassilis
AU - Clobert, Magali
AU - Cohen, Adam B.
AU - Johnson, Kathryn A.
AU - Ladd, Kevin L.
AU - Van Pachterbeke, Matthieu
AU - Adamovova, Lucia
AU - Blogowska, Joanna
AU - Brandt, Pierre Yves
AU - Çukur, Cem Safak
AU - Hwang, Kwang Kuo
AU - Miglietta, Anna
AU - Motti-Stefanidi, Frosso
AU - Muñoz-García, Antonio
AU - Murken, Sebastian
AU - Roussiau, Nicolas
AU - Tapia Valladares, Javier
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2020.
PY - 2020/9/1
Y1 - 2020/9/1
N2 - Based on theorization on the four basic dimensions of religiousness, Believing, Bonding, Behaving, and Belonging, and corresponding cognitive, emotional, moral, and social motives and functions of religion, we developed a measure and investigated cross-cultural consistency of the four dimensions as well interindividual and cross-cultural variability. Data were collected from 14 countries varying in religious heritage: Catholicism, Protestantism, Orthodox Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism/Taoism (N = 3,218). Beyond their high interrelation and common personality correlates, that is, agreeableness and conscientiousness, the four dimensions were distinct across cultures and religions, less interrelated in Eastern Asia compared to the West, differentially preferred across cultural zones, and characterized by distinct features. Believing and bonding, to which spirituality was primarily related, were preferred in Western secular societies. Behaving and belonging, valued in religious societies, were importantly related to fundamentalism, authoritarianism, and low openness. Bonding and behaving were primordial in, respectively, Israel and Turkey. Furthermore, belonging (marked by extraversion) and bonding were uniquely associated with increased life satisfaction, whereas believing was uniquely related to existential quest and decreased life satisfaction. Thus, the multidimensionality of religiousness seems deeply rooted in distinct psychological dispositions evident at both the individual and the cultural levels.
AB - Based on theorization on the four basic dimensions of religiousness, Believing, Bonding, Behaving, and Belonging, and corresponding cognitive, emotional, moral, and social motives and functions of religion, we developed a measure and investigated cross-cultural consistency of the four dimensions as well interindividual and cross-cultural variability. Data were collected from 14 countries varying in religious heritage: Catholicism, Protestantism, Orthodox Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism/Taoism (N = 3,218). Beyond their high interrelation and common personality correlates, that is, agreeableness and conscientiousness, the four dimensions were distinct across cultures and religions, less interrelated in Eastern Asia compared to the West, differentially preferred across cultural zones, and characterized by distinct features. Believing and bonding, to which spirituality was primarily related, were preferred in Western secular societies. Behaving and belonging, valued in religious societies, were importantly related to fundamentalism, authoritarianism, and low openness. Bonding and behaving were primordial in, respectively, Israel and Turkey. Furthermore, belonging (marked by extraversion) and bonding were uniquely associated with increased life satisfaction, whereas believing was uniquely related to existential quest and decreased life satisfaction. Thus, the multidimensionality of religiousness seems deeply rooted in distinct psychological dispositions evident at both the individual and the cultural levels.
KW - Big Five personality traits
KW - closed-mindedness
KW - cross-cultural differences
KW - life satisfaction
KW - religious dimensions
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U2 - 10.1177/0022022120946488
DO - 10.1177/0022022120946488
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85089175490
SN - 0022-0221
VL - 51
SP - 551
EP - 575
JO - Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology
JF - Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology
IS - 7-8
ER -