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Hitting the target: why existing measures of "religiousness" are really reverse-scored measures of "secularism".

Publication ,  Journal Article
Hall, DE; Koenig, HG; Meador, KG
Published in: Explore (NY)
2008

Over 100 measures of religiousness and spirituality are used in research investigating the associations between religion and health. These measures are often used to assess "religiousness in general," but this approach lumps together widely divergent worldviews in ways that can distort religion beyond recognition. The authors suggest that the existing measures of religiousness are perhaps better understood as reverse-coded measures of "secularism." This argument suggests that the existing data regarding religiousness and health might be best interpreted as demonstrating a small, robust health liability associated with a deliberately secular worldview. If true, this conclusion might change the direction of future research, and it would imply that meaningful inferences about the health associations of religious practice will depend on developing tools that measure specific religions in their particularity.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Explore (NY)

DOI

ISSN

1550-8307

Publication Date

2008

Volume

4

Issue

6

Start / End Page

368 / 373

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Spirituality
  • Secularism
  • Research Design
  • Religion and Science
  • Religion and Psychology
  • Religion and Medicine
  • Humans
  • Holistic Health
  • Health Status
  • Complementary & Alternative Medicine
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Hall, D. E., Koenig, H. G., & Meador, K. G. (2008). Hitting the target: why existing measures of "religiousness" are really reverse-scored measures of "secularism". Explore (NY), 4(6), 368–373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2008.08.002
Hall, Daniel E., Harold G. Koenig, and Keith G. Meador. “Hitting the target: why existing measures of "religiousness" are really reverse-scored measures of "secularism".Explore (NY) 4, no. 6 (2008): 368–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2008.08.002.
Hall, Daniel E., et al. “Hitting the target: why existing measures of "religiousness" are really reverse-scored measures of "secularism".Explore (NY), vol. 4, no. 6, 2008, pp. 368–73. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/j.explore.2008.08.002.
Journal cover image

Published In

Explore (NY)

DOI

ISSN

1550-8307

Publication Date

2008

Volume

4

Issue

6

Start / End Page

368 / 373

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Spirituality
  • Secularism
  • Research Design
  • Religion and Science
  • Religion and Psychology
  • Religion and Medicine
  • Humans
  • Holistic Health
  • Health Status
  • Complementary & Alternative Medicine