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Changes in Religious Beliefs, Practices and Attitudes among University Students over an Eleven‐Year Period in Relation to Sex Differences, Denominational Differences and Differences between Faculties and Years of Study
Author(s) -
PILKINGTON G. W.,
POPPLETON PAMELA K.,
GOULD JUDITH B.,
McCOURT MARGARET M.
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
british journal of social and clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.479
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8260
pISSN - 0007-1293
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1976.tb00001.x
Subject(s) - psychology , religious belief , period (music) , social psychology , scale (ratio) , significant difference , developmental psychology , demography , medicine , sociology , philosophy , physics , epistemology , quantum mechanics , acoustics
A questionnaire investigation into university students' religious beliefs, practices and attitudes, originally carried out in 1961, was repeated in 1972 on a comparable sample of students. Eight indices of religious belief, practice or attitude were used. A substantial and statistically highly significant movement away from religion by the students was found for all indices. Sex differences in religious behaviour, highly prominent in 1961, were less marked in 1973, although five of the eight indices still showed a statistically significant sex difference. Further analysis of changes in the men's and women's responses between 1961 and 1972 led to the conclusion that the women students had declined more than the men. Findings concerning denominational differences and differences between faculties and years of study in 1961 and 1972 were also presented and discussed. It was suggested that the Religious Attitude Scale was as valid a measure of the strength of Christian belief in 1972 as it was in 1961.