scholarly journals American Gun Culture: Are Pro-Gun Tendencies Ingrained in United States Residents?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Dunning
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Previous Literature ◽  
Gun Control ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Control Module ◽  
Political Views ◽  
Gun Culture ◽  
The Relationship

Does being born in the United States affect pro-gun tendencies? Does having parents born in the United States affect pro-gun tendencies? This study proposes that being born in the United States, and having one, or both, parents born in the United States will increase pro-gun tendencies. Previous literature focuses on the importance of demographics associated with gun attitudes within the United States, but does not examine the potential relationship between the country itself and its gun culture. Using the gun control module from the 2006 General Social Survey (N = 1179), a pro-gun scale was created for the purpose of measuring pro-gun opinions. The correlation results show that those born in the United States score higher on the pro-gun scale than those born outside of the United States. However, the iterative regression shows this relationship is mediated by political views. The number of parents born in the United States does not have an effect on where the respondent lands on the pro-gun scale. The results support the notion that being born in the United States increases the likelihood of scoring higher on the pro-gun scale. It does not support the relationship between the number of parents born in the United States and the respondent’s views on gun regulation.

Political Identity and Confidence in Science and Religion in the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 439-461
Author(s):  
Timothy L O’Brien ◽  
Shiri Noy
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Identity ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Science And Religion ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Political Identities ◽  
Moral Claims ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract This article investigates changes in public perceptions of science and religion in the United States between 1973 and 2018. We argue that the deepening ties between science and religion and opposing moral claims reconfigured the relationship between political identities and confidence in science and religion during this period. Our analysis of 30 waves of General Social Survey data finds that while Republicans once were more likely than Democrats to be more confident in science than religion, Democrats are now more likely to than Republicans. And, while Democrats used to be more likely than Republicans to be more confident in religion than science, this difference also reversed. These findings underscore the growing importance of political identities as predictors of confidence in science and religion and suggest that the politicization of science and religion fueled a perception that they provide not just alternative frameworks but opposing ones.

The Arts as a Polarized Issue and the Role of Political Trust in Promoting the Arts: Evidence From the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-97
Author(s):  
Lim Jae Young ◽  
Woo Harin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Moderating Role

The arts in the United States, for a long time received strong support from both sides of the political aisle. However, in recent years, the arts have been transformed into a partisan issue that pits conservatives against liberals. The article points to the importance of political trust as a means of helping conservatives overcome their ideological inclinations and support the arts. Scholars argue that political trust influences more strongly individuals who perceive a given policy to be one that imposes ideological risks for them compared with those without such risks. Focusing on the moderating role of political trust, the article examines whether political trust can help alleviate the conservatives’ hostility to the arts. Relying on the 2016 General Social Survey, the article finds that conservatives have no direct relationship with arts spending, but they will be more likely to support arts spending when this is contingent upon political trust.

scholarly journals Gendered Religiosity

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Landon Schnabel
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Gender Differences ◽  
Social Identity ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Gender Expression ◽  
The Feminine

This study uses measures of cognitive and expressive aspects of gender as a social identity from the General Social Survey to examine whether and how they relate to religiosity. I find that religiosity is clearly gendered, but in different ways for women and men. Consistent with the feminine-typing of religion in the Christian-majority context of the United States, gender expression is linked with more religiousness among women but not men. Consistent with religion being a sometimes patriarchal institution, those with more pride in being men are more religious. I conclude that religiosity is gendered, that degendering and secularization processes could go hand-in-hand, and that future research on gender differences in religiosity should further examine variation among women and among men.

Religion and Happiness

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Hout ◽  
Andrew Greeley
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Religious Affiliation ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Religious Rituals ◽  
Religious Services ◽  
Using Data ◽  
International Social

This chapter discusses the link between happiness and religion. It draws on meaning-and-belonging theory to deduce that a religious affiliation heightens happiness through participation in collective religious rituals. Attendance and engagement appear key: a merely nominal religious affiliation makes people little happier. Notably, two religious foundations of happiness—affiliation with organized religious groups and attendance at services—have fallen. Softened religious engagement, then, may contribute to the slight downturn in general happiness. In fact, steady happiness is reported among those who participate frequently in religious services, but falling levels among those who are less involved. The chapter also considers the association between religion and happiness outside the United States using data from the International Social Survey Program, an international collaborative survey to which the General Social Survey contributes the American data.

Understanding Female Gun Ownership

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria D. H. Koeppel ◽  
Matt R. Nobles
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Fear Of Crime ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gun Ownership ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
New Research

This research examines female gun ownership trends from 1973 to 2010. Nationally representative General Social Survey data are used to compare rates for male and female gun ownership. In light of the specific marketing trends by gun manufacturers beginning in the mid-1990s as well as previous findings within the literature, we test (a) whether an increase in female gun ownership is observed from 1973 to 2010, (b) whether female gun owners report increased fear of crime, and (c) the extent to which other gun-owning motivations, especially hunting, shape women’s gun ownership. Our analysis confirms a decline in women’s gun ownership, but in contrast to previous studies emphasizing a link between fear of crime and female gun ownership, we find that hobbies and lifestyle factors may better explain women’s interests in firearms. We could conclude by highlighting avenues for new research that better take into account the heterogeneity of gun ownership in the United States.

Saying “I Don’t” to Matrimony: An Investigation of Why Long-Term Heterosexual Cohabitors Choose Not to Marry

2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (12) ◽  
pp. 1651-1674 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Hatch
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Heterosexual Couples ◽  
Political Views ◽  
Break Up ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Legal Marriage

Research indicates the continuance of a rising trend in cohabitation among heterosexual couples. Although most cohabitors eventually marry or break up, there is a subset of cohabitors that are consciously committed to remaining unmarried. Based on interviews with 45 committed unmarried heterosexual couples residing in the United States, this study investigates the reasons why some choose to abstain from legal marriage altogether. Participants indicate a variety of reasons for forgoing legal marriage, including political views, economic practicalities, divorce concerns, and a lack of rationales or incentives to marry. The reasons offered fit into two larger categories: unease about the meanings associated with marriage and concerns about what marriage does to the relationship. As a subset of cohabitors often overlooked in research, it is important to understand what motivates some into saying “I Don’t” to legal marriage.

Crime, Punishment, and Social Disorder

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Wright ◽  
Jana L. Jasinski ◽  
Drew Noble Lanier
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Crime Rates ◽  
Social Disorder ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Crime And Punishment ◽  
Changing Attitudes ◽  
First Time

In 1980, Arthur Stinchcombe, Tom Smith, Garth Taylor, and several additional coauthors published Crime and Punishment—Changing Attitudes in America. The book reviewed public opinion data from the first five or six waves of the General Social Survey (GSS), plus a large number of pre-GSS polls and surveys dating back to the 1930s, all dealing with attitudes of the American public toward crime, punishment, and social disorder. This chapter revisits the principal findings, themes, and conclusions of Crime and Punishment in light of what is now 30-plus years worth of GSS data. In addition, for the first time since Crime and Punishment was published, the United States has recently experienced a sharp decline in crime rates that began in about 1994 and continued for a decade. Thus, the chapter also explores the apparent effects of declining crime rates on Americans' attitudes about crime, punishment, and related matters.

scholarly journals An Examination of the Attitudes towards Immigration across U.S. Demographic Groups

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siyuan Yu
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
American Culture ◽  
Univariate Analysis ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Contact Theory ◽  
Immigration Policies ◽  
Attitudes Toward Immigrants ◽  
Demographic Groups ◽  
Political Views

What demographic backgrounds are associated with a person’s attitudes toward immigrants and immigration policies? Applying group threat theory and contact theory, I propose that race, age, education, political views, and religiosity all affect how people view immigration. To test the hypotheses, I analyze data from the 2014 General Social Survey, in which adults living in households in the United States are randomly selected and interviewed. A subset containing 1,022 respondents who answered every question relevant to this study is selected from the 2014 GSS. The univariate analysis shows that most Americans do not agree with the statement that immigrants undermine American culture, and that Americans are divided on whether the number of immigrants should be increased nowadays. The multivariate result indicates that education and political views are the most significant predictors of how one views immigrants and immigration policies, correspondingly, while race, age, and religiosity have no statistically significant relationships with either dependent variable. Statistical findings support the hypothesis that the more liberal a person is, the more likely the person is to agree that immigrants do not undermine American culture and to say that the number of immigrants nowadays should be increased. Contact theory is consistent with the result of this study. However, the findings also demonstrate that immigration is a complicated issue. This study is valuable in understanding the acceptance of immigrants across demographic groups. It also invites additional research on this important topic that will affect the future of the United States.

scholarly journals Homosexuality, Religion, and the Family: The Effects of Religion on Americans’ Appraisals of the Parenting Abilities of Same-Sex Couples

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew L Whitehead
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Multivariate Analyses ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
The Family ◽  
Nationally Representative

While a growing body of research focuses on Americans’ attitudes toward same-sex couples as parents, very few include measures of religion and those that do fail to capture its multidimensional nature. Furthermore, many past studies rely on convenience samples of college students, or samples gathered outside the United States. Multivariate analyses of the 2012 General Social Survey – a nationally representative sample of adults in the United States – reveal that a slim majority of Americans still do not believe same-sex couples can parent as well as male-female couples and the religious beliefs, behaviors, and affiliations of Americans are significantly and at times differentially associated with appraisals of same-sex couples’ parenting abilities. It appears that while religion is generally associated with more negative appraisals of the parenting abilities of same-sex couples, it is not uniformly so. Americans’ immediate religious and cultural context can shape their appraisals of homosexuality in diverse ways.

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