Psychological Defensiveness as a Mechanism Explaining the Relationship Between Low Socioeconomic Status and Religiosity

People who are low in socioeconomic status (SES) are more likely to be religious than their higher status counterparts; however, little research has tested the mechanisms for this relationship. Using data from 90 diverse societies and multilevel path analysis, we replicated findings that individuals...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Brandt, Mark J. (Author) ; Henry, P. J. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group 2012
In: The international journal for the psychology of religion
Year: 2012, Volume: 22, Issue: 4, Pages: 321-332
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Parallel Edition:Electronic
Description
Summary:People who are low in socioeconomic status (SES) are more likely to be religious than their higher status counterparts; however, little research has tested the mechanisms for this relationship. Using data from 90 diverse societies and multilevel path analysis, we replicated findings that individuals low in SES are more religious and furthermore found that in wealthy countries this relationship was mediated by a measure of psychological defensiveness even while controlling for participants' sense of financial insecurities. These results suggest that religious belief may play a psychologically protective role for low SES individuals, independent of realistic economic concerns.
ISSN:1532-7582
Contains:Enthalten in: The international journal for the psychology of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/10508619.2011.646565