Pastor Wayne talked about this on his WSOY radio show recently. Since our household hosts animals of both the feline and canine persuasion, I was intrigued.
(and come to find out, one of the researchers/publishers of the study is Assistant Professor Ryan Burge down at my alma mater, Eastern Illinois University)
And if you’re a church-going cat owner, hold on even tighter: feline lovers attend services less frequently than K-9 folks do.
“Most notably, we find a strong, negative association between worship attendance and cat ownership,” the duo said in the abstract of their paper.
But the paper isn’t an expose on cats. Instead, Burge and Perry explore where religious belief and practice (or none at all) overlap with pet ownership (or none at all) in the U.S.
Their data factors in denominational identification, generation, attendance and geographical setting.
While the kinds of animals preferred by members of different traditions is presented, so is a picture of an increasingly alienated American society.
What an interesting topic, huh? How reliable...... ehhhhhhh. Not sure on that.
The abstract of the study reads:
Over 60 percent of Americans have some sort of family pet. Although studies have explored the personality and demographic correlates of pet ownership, none have considered whether religious characteristics may influence not only pet ownership, but the kind of pet Americans own. Drawing on data from the 2018 General Social Survey, we examine the religious antecedents of pet ownership in general as well as owning a cat or a dog, taking into account factors previously associated with owning certain pets (e.g., urban vs. rural residence, political affiliation). Although religious tradition and biblical literalism generally do not predict pet ownership, frequent worship attendees and the most conservative evangelicals report owning fewer pets. Religious characteristics also predict Americans’ ownership of particular pets. Most notably, we find a strong, negative association between worship attendance and cat ownership. We theorize potential mechanisms. On the one hand, certain personality types might simultaneously attract some Americans toward religious participation and away from pets, and cats in particular. Alternatively, to the extent that pet ownership is a partial substitute for human bonding and interaction, Americans more deeply embedded within a religious community may have less need (or time) for pets generally, and specifically more independent “roommate pets,” like cats.
(https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jssr.12637)
Again, I'm not sure how far along I can go along with these guys, but it makes for great reading.
Grace & Peace & Love to you all -
Matt
p.s. Ryan Burge published another interesting -- and disheartening one -- last spring:
Is Religious Decline Inevitable in the United States?
https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2019/april/is-religious-decline-inevitable-in-united-states.html
The abstract of the study reads:
Over 60 percent of Americans have some sort of family pet. Although studies have explored the personality and demographic correlates of pet ownership, none have considered whether religious characteristics may influence not only pet ownership, but the kind of pet Americans own. Drawing on data from the 2018 General Social Survey, we examine the religious antecedents of pet ownership in general as well as owning a cat or a dog, taking into account factors previously associated with owning certain pets (e.g., urban vs. rural residence, political affiliation). Although religious tradition and biblical literalism generally do not predict pet ownership, frequent worship attendees and the most conservative evangelicals report owning fewer pets. Religious characteristics also predict Americans’ ownership of particular pets. Most notably, we find a strong, negative association between worship attendance and cat ownership. We theorize potential mechanisms. On the one hand, certain personality types might simultaneously attract some Americans toward religious participation and away from pets, and cats in particular. Alternatively, to the extent that pet ownership is a partial substitute for human bonding and interaction, Americans more deeply embedded within a religious community may have less need (or time) for pets generally, and specifically more independent “roommate pets,” like cats.
(https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jssr.12637)
Again, I'm not sure how far along I can go along with these guys, but it makes for great reading.
Grace & Peace & Love to you all -
Matt
p.s. Ryan Burge published another interesting -- and disheartening one -- last spring:
Is Religious Decline Inevitable in the United States?
https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2019/april/is-religious-decline-inevitable-in-united-states.html