Believing, Bonding, Behaving, and Belonging: The Cognitive, Emotional, Moral, and Social Dimensions of Religiousness across Cultures


Saroglou V., Clobert M., Cohen A. B., Johnson K. A., Ladd K. L., Van Pachterbeke M., ...More

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, vol.51, pp.551-575, 2020 (SSCI) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 51
  • Publication Date: 2020
  • Doi Number: 10.1177/0022022120946488
  • Journal Name: Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, ASSIA, IBZ Online, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, Applied Science & Technology Source, CINAHL, EBSCO Education Source, Index Islamicus, Linguistics & Language Behavior Abstracts, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Psycinfo, Social services abstracts, Sociological abstracts
  • Page Numbers: pp.551-575
  • Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

© The Author(s) 2020.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.