Religion is inextricable woven into culture, so how can we measure its influence in cross-cultural psychology?
In summary, let's explore the five-dimensional framework of religion explaining the ways through which religion (as part of culture) affects behaviors and attitudes
Ideological dimension
Religious beliefs and their salience in a person's life including beliefs about the nature of the divine, the ultimate destination or purpose of life, and pathways people should follow to fulfill this divine purpose
Religious/spiritual beliefs
Can be an integral part of a culture's conceptualization of health
Have been linked to an active form of coping when faced with a life threatening illness, such as cancer
Play part in appraising situations as a punishment from God and questioning God's powers, that are tied to poorer mental and physical well-being
Ritualistic dimension
Behaviors expected of a person who identifies with a certain religion
How ritualistic dimension affects everyday life
Rituals can form the foundation of an individual's everyday life (scheduling of the day)
Critical life transitions, such as adolescence, marriage, childbirth, and death can also serve as occasions that bear religious significance
Daily prayer is said to strengthen faith and make Islam a way of life for Muslim families
Religious rituals serve as a symbolic reminder of Jewish history, promote developmentally appropriate transitions for children, help children/adolescents in their identity development, and provide a context for bringing family members together for Jewish families
Religious pilgrimage served as a way to seek the support of their religion to counter external forces that were controlling their lives for Hindus
Experiential dimension
Concerned with the inner mental and emotional world of the individual and includes the sense of physical, psychological and spiritual well-being an individual derives from religious beliefs and practices
How experiential dimension affects everyday life
Indian migrant women have been observed to rely on mystical or supernatural solutions, such as those contained in dreams to overcome their conflicts when faced with anxiety
The use of the transcendental meditation technique by government officials in Quebec resulted in significantly lower physician payments
Relaxation training, combining imagery with meditation, was reported to lower the stress level and improve the psychological health of nurses working in a hospital in Taiwan
Intellectual dimension
Refers to an individual's knowledge about his or her faith
Intellectual dimension
Affects cultural/ethnic identity: many Hindus in the United States practice rituals but struggle with a lack of knowledge of the meaning of the religious rituals and hence encounter difficulties in passing their tradition and culture on to their children
Influences tolerance towards members of other religions (intergroup processes): studies reported an association between fundamentalism and prejudice which was largely mediated by right wing authoritarianism
Social dimension
Religious beliefs and practices are held and observed in a social context
In sum, religious beliefs play a role in suggesting what is acceptable and renders practices found "weird" in one culture "acceptance" in the other on different dimensions of every day life
Along with personal religiosity, the level of industrialization within a nation may also shape tolerance for non-conventional groups and ideas
Survival vs self-expressive cultural orientation
Traditional vs secular/rational
Survival vs self-expression
Survival vs self-expressive cultural orientation
Can be used to explain cross-national attitudes about homosexuality
As people become increasingly interested in issues related to subjective well-being, quality of life and self-expressions, they become less threatened by things that were unfamiliar and can more easily afford to tolerate new ideas and non-normative behaviors
Bringing it all together, religion and cultural orientation shape attitudes about homosexuality