Dogmatism, Religion, and Religiosity, a Review and Re-Evaluation

Abstract

A review of the literature concerning religious preference, religiosity and dogmatism showed that Catholics consistently had been found by Rokeach and others to be more dogmatic than members of other religious groups. Since no Southern sample had been reported, 245 male and 250 female Ss from two Southern universities were administered Form E of the Dogmatism scale. Ss were Catholics, Protestants, Jews, and nonbelievers and were asked their average monthly church attendance. Churchgoers were generally more dogmatic than nonchurchgoers. Catholics and nonbelievers were less dogmatic than Jews and Protestants. Differences between our findings and those of Rokeach and others were discussed, and possible explanations for them were given. Several methodological suggestions were made concerning future research on dogmatism. It was concluded that speculations about the relative dogmatism of religious groups as a whole are inappropriate.