tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051713021757781960.post8857624631685514904..comments2023-10-31T10:57:37.652+00:00Comments on Epiphenom: Religious people want religious leaders - of any religionEpiphenomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05420404206189437710noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051713021757781960.post-55432802285108750782014-05-14T10:09:32.423+01:002014-05-14T10:09:32.423+01:00Thank you for your insightful comments everyone. I...Thank you for your insightful comments everyone. If you are interested in reading the original study you will find it here (Breznau, Lykes, Evans and Kelley 2011): http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2011.01605.x/abstract. I think the point is that what people want is a government that they see as stable and willing to enforce some kind of order as suggested by Sabio. That is why we find a large impact of development (e.g. wealth, rule of law, democracy) on preferences for religious leaders. So where countries are more developed individuals do not prefer religious leaders on average. However, in countries that are less developed and there is less stability and rule of law, religious leaders may be seen as able to provide stability or 'morality' as Sabio mentioned. This is true across religious boundaries such as the Muslim/Christian divide, so rather than a clash of religions as Huntington proposed, it might be better phrased as a clash of access to wealth, materials and especially stable governments (things related to development). Although we do not directly test it in our study I might speculate that religious extremism is rooted more in power and wealth inequalities instead of conflict with or hate of other religions. <br /><br />In the end, another really interesting thing is that it is not church attendance or membership in any religion (or non-membership) that impacts preferences for religious leaders. Instead it is personal religiousness or 'religiosity' that determines it. This means being from a family or culture of intense church involvement or strong observance of religious practices does not guarantee that religion is wanted in politics as they are unrelated on average. Again, it is not religion or religious institutions that drives these political preferences, but personal belief systems.Nate Breznauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10710663930008939006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051713021757781960.post-47266787591347979812012-01-24T09:58:24.341+00:002012-01-24T09:58:24.341+00:00That is fascinating, of course. But what it point...That is fascinating, of course. But what it points to, I think, is not religion (painted broadly), because many Christians folks would not want a Muslim ruling instead of a secular. Instead, it is those who want the government to enforce morality -- and not all religious folks share this personality trait.<br /><br />So again, we are looking at more fundamental principals, not religion in general. Sure, religions may harbor a huge disproportionate number of my-morality-my-government folks, but without separating this information, I think we do our understanding a huge disfavor.Sabio Lantzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12963476276106907984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051713021757781960.post-27184177077381986722012-01-24T08:34:37.449+00:002012-01-24T08:34:37.449+00:00True, but it's not necessarily the case that C...True, but it's not necessarily the case that Christians and Muslims would want the same leader. The fact that Muslims in Christian lands want Christian (rather than secular) leaders - and vice versa for Christians in Muslim lands - says something interesting about the idea that the world is divided along religious fault lines.Epiphenomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05420404206189437710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051713021757781960.post-5147986015930547982012-01-23T13:00:15.555+00:002012-01-23T13:00:15.555+00:00I wonder what secular equivalents could exist:
* ...I wonder what secular equivalents could exist:<br /><br />* CEOs want CEOs in office<br />* Lawyers want Lawyers in office<br />* Doctors want Doctors in office<br />* Entertainers want Entertainers in office<br />* Laborers want Laborer sympathetics in office<br />* Women want Women, Blacks want Blacks<br />* Heck, I'd imagine Kids want Kids<br /><br />As long as governments are allowed huge reaches into our lives, everyone is going to want leaders that value what they value so as to manipulate the government, no?Sabio Lantzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12963476276106907984noreply@blogger.com