This post was written by Patrick Rist on June 19, 2007
In 1998, sociologist Byron Johnson, then a researcher at Vanderbilt University, wrote an article entitled, “Good News: It’s Slanted Our Way — How to successfully integrate the Christian worldview into your research,” for the CLM periodical, The Real Issue. In the article, Dr. Johnson outlined his vision for how research findings can actually support the Christian worldview and how those findings can be used to guide the policy debates going on in our country toward a more faith-friendly direction.
Since Vanderbilt, Byron has had appointments at the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton. He is now Co-Director of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University.
We asked Byron to comment on his article from a decade ago and about his journey since then.
AI: In your article written almost ten years ago, you stated that the data was “slanted our way.” What did you mean by that, and has your work since then confirmed or challenged that statement?
BRJ: What I really meant by the statement the data are “slanted our way” is that solid research usually yields findings that resonate in important ways with a Christian worldview. For example, we now know from meta analyses (i.e. systematic and objective reviews of entire research literatures) of hundreds of empirical studies that increasing religious commitment is associated with less depression, fewer instances of suicidal ideation, lower levels of hypertension, increased life expectancy, reduced crime and delinquency, and decreasing alcohol and drug abuse, to mention just a few areas. In short, published research documents that increasing religiosity is an important protective factor that helps to buffer or shield people from deleterious outcomes. We also know from a significant body of research that increasing religiosity is positively associated with measures of hope, meaning, and purpose. Stated differently, increasing religiousness is associated with what sociologists like to call pro-social behavior. In this way, you can see that studies examining the role of religion in a number of ways can provide useful data and information that policy-makers and others should know and care about. Similarly, we now know that faith is an important factor in volunteerism, civic engagement, and charitable giving. These kind of findings are what was behind the statement.
AI: The article primarily describes your work with prisons. Where did your research go from there? Do you still do recidivism research?
BRJ: Over the last ten years I have published a number of studies on the role of religion among prisoners and former prisoners and find that religion can be an important factor (among others) in reducing the likelihood of future arrests and incarceration. I have also published a number of studies looking at the role of religion in reducing crime and delinquency among youth and adolescents. As a result of these studies and others by some of my colleagues, religion has now become a widely recognized variable in the mainstream criminology literature. We’re now working on a major grant for the Department of Justice where we’re producing a series of studies connecting religiosity to prosocial youth behavior. Instead of studying what factors help us predict why some kids do bad things, we are trying to understand what factors help predict why kids do good things – a much more positive approach to the subject matter. These federally funded studies may help change the way we think about crime and delinquency in America.
AI: Your article advises professors to become more “media savvy”. Why would a professor host a press conference on his or her findings, rather than simply publishing something in a prestigious journal? How would you answer those with misgivings about that approach, who might say it was “un-academic”?
BRJ: It is very important to publish in prestigious journals and that is a goal that one should continue to achieve, even after tenure. But the unfortunate reality is that outside of a few fellow academics, next to nobody reads these prestigious journals. Journalists don’t like them because they tend to be filled with technical jargon and statistics. By releasing these studies in lay-friendly fashion through press releases and press conferences, allows the media to understand the research and the possible implications of the research, and then to write about the research in a way that the masses get exposed to the findings. For example, we completed an important study on religion in America and released the results in a lay-friendly format in September 2006, at the National Press Club. The research subsequently appeared as the cover story in USA Today, as well as appearing on the cover of Time, Newsweek, and hundreds of other newspapers, radio, and all the major television markets.
AI: Dave Larson, who unexpectedly passed away a few years ago, was a huge player in this field. Describe his influence on you and your vision.
BRJ: Dave was a great mentor to me. He helped me catch a vision for how solid research could have a profound influence for good. Dave was a great scholar for sure, but he also understood how to connect with so many different kinds of scholars and people to produce so much important research and to get the word out. He almost single-handedly quarterbacked the development of the massive spirituality and health literature. A great many scholars, like me, will always be indebted to him.
AI: How do you think senior scholars can play a similar role in the lives and careers of younger scholars?
BRJ: I can’t say enough about how important it is for senior scholars to mentor junior scholars. Dave Larson and I talked about this all the time and how each of us should try to help the next generation of scholars. Such mentoring efforts, I believe, can greatly enhance the quality and quantity of research of the person being mentored. And of course, the more and better research produced as a result, I believe, will continue to show the important and beneficial ways in which faith matters to people and societies.
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