Support for Prayer in School and Creationism
This study considers why school prayer and creationism continue to receive widespread public support. One view is that these proposals are simply alternative expressions of religious political conservatism. A competing interpretation is that, although related, school prayer and creationism are disti...
Authors: | ; |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
[publisher not identified]
1992
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In: |
Sociological analysis
Year: 1992, Volume: 53, Issue: 3, Pages: 309-321 |
Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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Summary: | This study considers why school prayer and creationism continue to receive widespread public support. One view is that these proposals are simply alternative expressions of religious political conservatism. A competing interpretation is that, although related, school prayer and creationism are distinct issues deriving from significantly different social bases. Original data from a state-wide survey are analyzed using logistic regression to test hypotheses from both interpretations. Low education, religious salience, and political conservatism do increase odds of support for both issues; yet multivariate findings indicate the social support bases of school prayer and creationism are substantially distinct. Biblical literalism is critical to creationist support, whereas biological ignorance is not. School prayer support derives from more heterogenous sources than does creationism. These findings are interpreted in terms of moral communities and competing world views held by religious traditionalists versus modern secularists. We conclude that despite considerable public support, political prospects for these proposals are limited. |
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ISSN: | 2325-7873 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Sociological analysis
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3711707 |