Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine pp 1–2Cite as

Religiousness/Religiosity

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

  • 162 Accesses

Synonyms

Religion; Spirituality

Definition

The terms religiousness and religiosity are used interchangeably but often defined as an individual’s conviction, devotion, and veneration toward a divinity. However, in its most comprehensive use, religiosity can encapsulate all dimensions of religion, yet the concept can also be used in a narrow sense to denote an extreme view and overdedication to religious rituals and traditions. This rigid form of religiosity in essence is often viewed as a negative side of the religious experience; it can be typified by an overinvolvement in religious practices which are deemed to be beyond the social norms of one’s faith.

Description

Religiousness/Religiosity and Health

As the use of the concept religiosity has a certain ambiguity in its definition, the lack of clarification can lead to much confusion among researchers. Further, adding to this complexity is the fact that research has found both negative and positive relationships between religiosity and...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References and Further Readings

  • Benson, P. L., Donahue, M. J., & Erikson, J. A. (1993). The faith maturity scale: Conceptualization, measurement, and empirical validation. Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, 5, 1–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Vries-Schot, M. R., Pieper, J. Z. T., & van Uden, M. H. F. (2012). Mature religiosity scale: Validity of a new questionnaire. European Journal of Mental Health, 7(2012), 57–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Erwin-Cox, B., Hoffman, L., Grimes, C. S. M., & Fehl, S. (2007). Spirituality, health, and mental health: A holistic model. In K. Rockefeller (Ed.), Psychology, spirituality and healthcare. Westport: Praiger Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huber, S., & Huber, O. W. (2012). The centrality of religiosity scale (CRS). Religions, 3, 710–724.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, L., & Kelley, B. (2005). Relationships of religiosity and spirituality with mental health and psychopathology. In R. F. Paloutzian & C. L. Park (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of religion and spirituality. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piedmont, R. L. (2001). Spiritual transcendence and the scientific study of spirituality. Journal of Rehabilitation, 67, 4–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Streib, H., Hood, R. R., & Klein, C. (2010). The religious schema scale: Construction and initial validation of a quantitative measure for religious styles. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 20, 151–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education & Health Sciences, University of Limerick, Castletroy, Limerick, Ireland

    Stephen Gallagher & Warren Tierney

Authors
  1. Stephen Gallagher
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Warren Tierney
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Stephen Gallagher or Warren Tierney .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA

    Marc Gellman

  2. Campbell University School of Pharmacy, Buies Creek, North Carolina, USA

    J. Rick Turner

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this entry

Cite this entry

Gallagher, S., Tierney, W. (2016). Religiousness/Religiosity. In: Gellman, M., Turner, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_489-2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_489-2

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation