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Study says self-esteem soars in religious teens

R

Riprorin

Banned
"Religious 12th-graders have significantly higher self-esteem and hold more positive attitudes about life than their less religious peers, a new national study has concluded."

Story
 
Originally posted by: luv2chill
Check out who sponsored that "research"

l2c
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Well you think the Freedom From Religion Foundation would sponsor it? Every study is sponsored by someone, and that someone is interested in the subject, that's why they sponsor it. It's also why every study is biased in someway.
 
Dont need research to tell me that. Just go to a highschool. Hang around the religious crowd, then go hang around a non religious crowd.
 
not very surprising. They live in an illusion and think they're better than everyone else. Why wouldn't they be happy?


 
Originally posted by: LH
Religious students also tend to be alot more naive about the world as well.
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Yes, so true. My granddaughters are in for a big surprise when they get out in the real world.
 
Well, the results would be more meaningful if their research ever appears in some well known, respected, refereed soc. journal.
 
My girlfriend is a devout Methodist and she has incredibly low self-esteem. When I first asked her out, she assumed someone dared me to do it. She couldn't accept the fact that she was pretty enough and nice enough that someone would even want to ask her out. Now me on the other hand, I'm an atheist, and I'm an egotistical bastard 🙂
 
They sure do have high self esteem. This one missionary guy in my English glass senior year didn't turn in a major paper and got bumped down to regular level and he didn't give a damn because he was high on Jesus.
 
Can someone tell me how they quantatatively measure self esteem?
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Key findings:
A sampling from the most recent survey in the National Study of Youth and Religion project:

High school seniors who attend weekly religious services are more likely to have a positive attitude about themselves than seniors who never attend (82 percent vs. 68 percent).

Those who attend weekly services are more likely to agree with the statement, ''I feel I am a person of worth on an equal plane with others'' (53.9 percent vs. 38 percent of those who do not attend).

Seventy-three percent of seniors who consider religion ''very important'' agree with the statement, ''It feels good to be alive,'' compared with 47 percent of those for whom religion is ''not important.''

4.6 percent of those who consider religion very important agreed with the statement ''Life often seems meaningless,'' vs. 10 percent of seniors for whom religion is not important.
 
Originally posted by: LH
Religious students also tend to be alot more naive about the world as well.
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Do you have a link to a study about how naive religious/non-religious students are, or is this just your opinion?
 
Ignorance is bliss. People feel good when going to church because of the people their that care and pray for them, not because some God is out there watching for them. I wish they could see that.
 
Well, of course they are going to feel better. They keep getting told that no matter what crappy thing happens it's all part of some plan that will turn out well in the end. I'm not anti-religion, but the study seems pointless.

I'm not sure what the benefit of having higher self-esteem or a positive attitude is anyway. Also, what's the big deal about thinking that life is meaningless? Thinking life is meaningless does not automatically mean that a person finds life distasteful. I go on meaningless drives all the time for fun. I play meaningless computer games for fun. I read meaningless books, and watch meaningless TV shows and movies for run. A lack of meaning doesn't negate enjoyability. And I've never bought into that whole "self-esteem" BS. While thinking highly of yourself is good, to my mind the whole "self-esteem" thing was started as a way of making little Timmy feel better about not being able to read.

ZV
 
On Table 2: Attitude Toward Self, 12th Graders, 1996

they ask: How much do you agree or disagree with the statement: 'I take a positive attitude toward myself?'

overall---------------44.3-----------------34.3

Attendance
Weekly or more------43.9 mostly agree 38.1 agree
1-2 times/month------47.0----------------33.8
Rarely-----------------44.1----------------35.0
Never-----------------41.7----------------26.3

Hmmm. To me, it looks like they all feel just about the same regardless of how often they attend church.

When you look at the data, the percentages are all about the same. If 70% of the kids agreed or mostly agreed with the statement, then about 70% of the kids, regardless of their feelings toward religion tend to agree or mostly agree with the statement.

edit: To the researcher's credit: they do say that they cannot determine the direction of cause and effect between religion and life attitudes, which is given since all of this research is correlational. They have no control over how the research is presented in the media. 😉
 
I'm not sure what the benefit of having higher self-esteem or a positive attitude is anyway
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It has been stated that there is evidence that children's self-esteem can be enhanced by teachers encouragement of self-rewarding behavior on the part of their students. With increasing self-esteem comes improvement in academic performance which, in turn, enhances self-esteem. Further, above-average levels of self-esteem are associated positively with better adjustment, more independence, less defensive and deviant behavior, and greater social effectiveness and acceptance of others. (Gurney, 1987)

Nathaniel Branden (1986) states,

"I cannot think of a single psychological problem - from anxiety and depression, to fear of intimacy or of success, to alcohol or drug abuse, to spousal battering or child molestation, to suicide and crimes of violence--that is not traceable to the problem of a poor self-concept. Positive self-esteem is a cardinal requirement of a fulfilling life. There is overwhelming evidence, including scientific research findings, that the higher the level of an individual s self-esteem, the more likely that he or she will treat others with respect, kindness and generosity."

Keegan(1987) has stated that low self-esteem either causes or contributes to neurosis, anxiety, defensiveness, drug abuse, alcoholism, depression, adolescent interpersonal problems as well as low academic achievement.

Steffenhagen & Burns, (1987) have gone so far as to state,

"We believe that low self-esteem is the psychological mechanism underlying all deviant behavior."

Numerous social science studies have documented a link between low self-esteem and such social ills as juvenile delinquency, violent crime, drug and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy, child and spousal abuse, chronic welfare dependency, and school failure. (Gurney, 1987)

 
Not that I have anything against it, but there is a reason why they call religion the opiate of the masses.
 
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