Archived News – December 2017
Dec
22
2017
Dec. 22, 2017
Americans feel stressed during the holidays — and year-round. But while a growing number of Americans turn to meditation and yoga to de-stress, only about 29 percent pray to help ease stress. And for those who pray, prayer is not always a cure-all, said Baylor sociologist and researcher Blake V. Kent, who recently co-authored a study on prayer with Matt Bradshaw, Ph.D., assistant professor of sociology at Baylor. “Where the perception of God is secure, warm and loving, then prayer is associated with positive mental health outcomes and coping with stressors,” Kent said. “But when the perception of God is distant or disconnected, prayer is associated with negative outcomes.” (Terry Goodrich, assistant director of Baylor Media Communications, arranged this interview and pitched the research nationally. She covers sociology faculty and research.)
Americans feel stressed during the holidays — and year-round. But while a growing number of Americans turn to meditation and yoga to de-stress, only about 29 percent pray to help ease stress. And for those who pray, prayer is not always a cure-all, said Baylor sociologist and researcher Blake V. Kent, who recently co-authored a study on prayer with Matt Bradshaw, Ph.D., assistant professor of sociology at Baylor. “Where the perception of God is secure, warm and loving, then prayer is associated with positive mental health outcomes and coping with stressors,” Kent said. “But when the perception of God is distant or disconnected, prayer is associated with negative outcomes.” (Terry Goodrich, assistant director of Baylor Media Communications, arranged this interview and pitched the research nationally. She covers sociology faculty and research.)
Dec
19
2017
Nov. 27, 2017
White male gun owners who have lost, or fear losing, their economic footing tend to feel morally and emotionally attached to their guns, according to a Baylor University study. This segment of the population also is more likely to say that violence against the United States government is sometimes justified, said Baylor sociologists Carson Mencken, Ph.D., and Paul Froese, Ph.D. The study was published in the journal Social Problems and drew data for analysis from the fourth wave of the Baylor Religion Survey in 2014.
White male gun owners who have lost, or fear losing, their economic footing tend to feel morally and emotionally attached to their guns, according to a Baylor University study. This segment of the population also is more likely to say that violence against the United States government is sometimes justified, said Baylor sociologists Carson Mencken, Ph.D., and Paul Froese, Ph.D. The study was published in the journal Social Problems and drew data for analysis from the fourth wave of the Baylor Religion Survey in 2014.
Dec
13
2017
Dec. 13, 2017
Scientific American interviews Paul Froese, Ph.D., professor of sociology in the College of Arts & Sciences and director of the Baylor Religion Surveys, about recent Baylor research that studied American gun owners’ moral and emotional attachment to their guns. Froese, along with F. Carson Mencken, Ph.D., professor and chair of sociology, published their study last month in the journal Social Problems.
Scientific American interviews Paul Froese, Ph.D., professor of sociology in the College of Arts & Sciences and director of the Baylor Religion Surveys, about recent Baylor research that studied American gun owners’ moral and emotional attachment to their guns. Froese, along with F. Carson Mencken, Ph.D., professor and chair of sociology, published their study last month in the journal Social Problems.
Dec
4
2017
Dec. 3, 2017
This column focuses on new research into the impact of economic distress on gun culture by F. Carson Mencken, Ph.D., and Paul Froese, Ph.D., professors of sociology in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences, which was published in the journal Social Problems. The profile of white, aging, conservative gun owners who feel emboldened by firepower as societal changes leaves them feeling culturally and politically adrift comes from a national Gallup survey of 1,542 respondents in 2014.
This column focuses on new research into the impact of economic distress on gun culture by F. Carson Mencken, Ph.D., and Paul Froese, Ph.D., professors of sociology in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences, which was published in the journal Social Problems. The profile of white, aging, conservative gun owners who feel emboldened by firepower as societal changes leaves them feeling culturally and politically adrift comes from a national Gallup survey of 1,542 respondents in 2014.