Journal of Religion and Health, Vol. 26, No. 2, Summer 1987
Church Youth Alcohol and Drug Education Programs B A R B A R A R. L O R C H
ABSTRACT: This study indicates that pastors believe that their churches should have a role in influencing the alcohol and drug use of their members; that about half of the churches in this study actually had youth alcohol and drug education programs; and that the content of'these education programs and church attitudes toward substance use are affected by the degree of fundamentalism-liberalism of the church.
Public concern a b o u t t h e p r e v a l e n c e of y o u t h alcohol a n d d r u g use in our society h a s r e s u l t e d in s u b s t a n c e e d u c a t i o n p r o g r a m s directed t o w a r d t h e p r e v e n tion a n d decrease of alcohol a n d d r u g abuse. T h e public schools h a v e b e e n a t t h e forefront of such e d u c a t i o n p r o g r a m s . H o w e v e r , o t h e r i n s t i t u t i o n s in our society a r e also involved in t h e e d u c a t i o n of y o u n g people. One such i n s t i t u t i o n is religion, w h e r e s h a p i n g t h e c h a r a c t e r of its m e m b e r s is of v i t a l concern. M a n y r e s e a r c h studies h a v e b e e n directed t o w a r d finding t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n religiosity a n d y o u t h alcohol a n d d r u g use. Some of t h e s e h a v e d e a l t w i t h c h u r c h affiliation,' f u n d a m e n t a l i s m - l i b e r a l i s m of religious group, ~ c h u r c h a t t e n d a n c e a n d p a r t i c i p a t i o n , 3 a n d i m p o r t a n c e of religious belief, 4 a n d t h e i r r e l a t i o n s h i p to y o u t h s u b s t a n c e use. H o w e v e r , little r e s e a r c h h a s b e e n directed specifically t o w a r d t h e church a n d its y o u t h alcohol a n d d r u g e d u c a t i o n p r o g r a m s a n d a t t i t u d e s a n d policies t o w a r d y o u t h s u b s t a n c e use. T h i s r e s e a r c h s t u d y w a s devised to explore t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e norm a t i v e s t r u c t u r e of t h e c h u r c h as m e a s u r e d b y its d e g r e e of f u n d a m e n t a l i s m l i b e r a l i s m , as p e r c e i v e d by its pastor, a n d t h e e x t e n t a n d n a t u r e of y o u t h alcohol a n d d r u g e d u c a t i o n p r o g r a m s , a t t i t u d e s t o w a r d y o u t h alcohol a n d d r u g use, a t t i t u d e s t o w a r d alcoholism a n d d r u g addiction, p e r c e p t i o n of y o u t h alcohol a n d d r u g a b u s e in t h e i r own c o n g r e g a t i o n s and in t h e c o m m u n i t y , a n d freq u e n c y of c o u n s e l i n g y o u t h for s u b s t a n c e a b u s e problems.
Methodology T h e a u t h o r a n d a colleague conducted a s u r v e y of all c h u r c h p a s t o r s in a Weste r n city of a b o u t 250,000 p o p u l a t i o n in the fall of 1984. T h e p o p u l a t i o n for t h e Barbara R. Lorch, Ph.D., is Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. 106
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survey was obtained from a list of the churches, their addresses, telephone numbers, and pastors for this city and the outlying areas, originally taken from the city's 1984 telephone directory. There were 287 listings. However, 50 of those were eliminated from the population because they were either not in the city limits or were inappropriate religious groups for this study such as adult Bible reading and study groups, other small religious groups having only adult membership, and a gay, adult community church. This left 237 churches and their pastors, all of whom were sent a questionnaire which was to be filled out anonymously. A cover letter and a stamped, addressed, return envelope were included for convenience. A telephone and mail follow-up was made, after the first round of returns was received, resulting in a total return rate of 60 percent with an N of 143. With rare exceptions, such as t h a t of Jehovah's Witnesses, all of the various types of religious groups or denominations listed in the population were present in the returns. The questionnaire contained items to obtain information on the following dependent variables: whether the church had an alcohol or drug education program for youth during the past three years; the nature, content, and source of the program, if such existed; church attitudes and policies toward alcohol and drug use, alcoholism, and drug addiction; the pastor's perception of the seriousness of youth alcohol or drug problems in his or her congregation and in the community; and the extent to which the pastor engages in counseling of youth for these problems. Additional information was gathered on the independent variables of religious group, size of church membership, age of pastor, and the pastor's rating of his or her church on a 5-point fundamentalism-liberalism scale. The classification of individual local churches into degree of fundamentalism-liberalism on the basis of their placement into broad religious categories has not proven completely satisfactory in the past, since there is considerable variation on the local level within such groupings2 Therefore, in this study the investigator asked the pastors to rate their own churches on the fundamentalism-liberalism scale in order to have more accuracy on the major independent variable in this study. This scale later was broken down into three categories for the statistical analysis with I including I and 2 at the fundamentalism end of the scale, 2 covering 3 in the middle, and 3 including 4 and 5 at the liberalism end of the scale.
Description of sample Twenty-four types of religious groups were represented by the respondents in this study. When divided into eight major religious group categories, their representation was as follows: Church of Latter Day S a i n t s - - 7 , B a p t i s t - - 2 5 , Church of Christ and Disciples of C h r i s t - - 1 0 , Methodist and L u t h e r a n - - 2 5 , Episcopal and P r e s b y t e r i a n - - l l, Catholic--9, J e w i s h - - I , and Others--55. The membership size ranged from below 100 to over 2,000. Nineteen percent were under 100, 32 percent between 100 and 249, 15 percent between 250 and 399, 18 percent between 400 and 749, 7 percent between 750 and 999, 6 percent
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between 1,000 and 1,999, and 3 percent over 2,000. The youngest responding pastor was 23 and the oldest 81, with a mean age of 45.
Findings Despite the fact t h a t nearly all the churches in this study (98 percent) indicated t h a t they believed t h a t the church should have a role in influencing the alcohol and drug usage of its members, only about half of the churches reported t h a t they had youth substance abuse education programs during the past three y e a r s - - 4 9 percent alcohol education programs and 47 percent drug education programs. Sixty-five percent of the churches with substance use education programs reported t h a t they had one or two such sessions a year; 19 percent had three to five sessions a year; 5 percent had five or more a year and 11 percent marked the "other" category. This latter category consisted mainly of incorporating such education somewhat informally into other church activities from time to time. For both youth alcohol and drug education programs the pastors reported that their churches used speakers from both inside and outside the church most frequently (42 percent), with the next most frequent sources of speakers coming only from the church itself (alcohol education prog r a m s - - 2 0 percent, and drug education programs--24 percent). Since the position of the church on various issues, including youth alcohol and drug use, frequently has been found to be related to its degree of fundamentalism-liberalism, the author in this study explored what effect it had on church attitudes and policy concerning youth substance use. The degree of fundamentalism-liberalism of the religious group was found to be statistically significantly related to nearly all of the dependent variables. Those relationships t h a t were statistically significant at least at the .05 level are reported in Table 1. There was no statistically significant relationship between the church's position on the fundamentalism-liberalism scale and the pastor's belief concerning the church's role in influencing the alcohol and drug use of its members. The overwhelming percentage (over 95 percent in all three scale categories) of all pastors indicated that they believed their churches should have a role in influencing the substance use of its members. However, a higher percentage of those churches in the middle of the fundamentalism-liberalism scale reported having youth substance education programs than did those at the fundamentalist or liberal ends of the scale. The youth alcohol education program percentages for the three scale positions were fundamentalism = 42 percent, middle = 61 percent, and liberalism = 41 percent, and for the youth drug education program the percentages were fundamentalism = 43 percent, middle = 61 percent, and liberalism = 48 percent. For both youth alcohol and drug education programs those churches at the fundamentalist end of the scale were more likely to forbid the use of alcohol or drugs, while those at the liberal end were more likely to provide information and guidelines for alcohol and drug use, leaving the decision as to whether to use or how much to use up to the individual.
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TABLE 1 Church Substance Use Attitudes and Policies by Fundamentalism-Liberalism o f Religious Group Dependent Variables
Cramer's V
Level ofSignificance
.62
.0001
.53 .51 .43 .61 .62 .60 .44
.0002 .0001 .0001 .0001 .0001 .0001 .0001
.23
.02
.27
.002
.29
.002
.26
.01
C o n t e n t of C h u r c h Y o u t h Alcohol Education Programs C o n t e n t of C h u r c h Y o u t h D r u g Education Programs A t t i t u d e Toward Alcohol U s e A t t i t u d e Toward Illegal D r u g U s e View A l c o h o l i s m a s a Sin V i e w A l c o h o l i s m as an I l l n e s s View D r u g Addiction as a Sin View D r u g Addiction as a n Illness View Y o u t h Alcohol A b u s e as a P r o b l e m in T h e i r C o n g r e g a t i o n View Y o u t h D r u g A b u s e as a P r o b l e m in T h e i r C o n g r e g a t i o n E x t e n t of Y o u t h Alcohol A b u s e C o u n s e l i n g in P a s t Y e a r E x t e n t of Y o u t h D r u g A b u s e C o u n s e l i n g in P a s t Y e a r
TABLE 2 Content of Church Youth Alcohol Education Programs by Fundamentalism-Liberalism of Religious Group FundamentalismLiberalism Scale
Forbid Use
Fundamentalism Middle Liberalism
87% 9% 8%
Content of Program Forbid Use and Provide Provide Information Information and Guidelines and Guidelines 0% 0% 8%
13% 91% 84%
C r a m e r ' s V = .62, s i g n i f i c a n t at t h e .0001 level
TABLE 3 Content o f Church Youth Drug Education Programs by Fundamentalism-Liberalism o f Religious Group FundamentalismLiberalism Scale
Forbid Use
Fundamentalism Middle Liberalism
97% 39% 23%
Content of Program Forbid Use and Provide Provide Information Information and Guidelines and Guidelines
C r a m e r ' s V = .53, s i g n i f i c a n t at t h e .0002 level
3% 21% 8%
0% 40% 69%
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TABLE 4 C h u r c h A t t i t u d e T o w a r d A l c o h o l Use b y F u n d a m e n t a l i s m - L i b e r a l i s m of Religious Group Church Attitudes FundamentalismLiberalism Scale Fundamentalism Middle Liberalism
Sin
Sin and MoraUyWrong
MoraUyWrong
Acceptable
Other
38% 8% 4%
22% 0% 0%
20% 16% 0%
10% 54% 85%
10% 22% 11%
C r a m e r ' s V = .51, significant at the .0001 level
TABLE 5 C h u r c h A t t i t u d e T o w a r d D r u g U se b y F u n d a m e n t a l i s m - L i b e r a l i s m of Religious G r o u p Church Attitudes FundamentalismLiberalism Scale Fundamentalism Middle Liberalism
Sin
Sin and Morally Wrong
Morally Wrong
Acceptable
Other
53% 19% 0%
24% 11% 11%
22% 49% 59%
0% 0% 4%
1% 21% 26%
C r a m e r ' s V = .43, significant at the .0001 level
As might be expected, the degree of fundamentalism-liberalism of religious groups was also statistically significantly related to the church's attitude toward alcohol and drug use (see tables 4 and 5). In the case of the use of alcohol, fundamentalists are more likely to consider the use of alcohol as a sin (38 percent), or a sin and morally wrong (22 percent), while those at the liberal end of the scale more often considered its use as acceptable (85 percent). For the use of illegal drugs, once again the fundamentalists are the most likely to consider drug use as a sin (53 percent), or a sin and morally wrong (24 percent), while those at the other end of the scale are more likely to consider drug use as morally wrong (59 percent). The churches' views of alcoholism and drug addiction were also affected by the degree of fundamentalism-liberalism of the religious group (see tables 6 and 7). Those at the liberal end of the scale .are more likely to view both alcoholism (89 percent) and drug addiction (67 percent) as an illness, compared to 18 percent for alcoholism and 17 percent for drug addiction as an illness for the fundamentalists. On the other hand, the fundamentalists were more likely to consider alcoholism (71 percent) and drug addiction (73 percent) as a sin, while for the liberals only 4 percent considered alcoholism and drug addiction as a sin. These pastors in general were more likely to believe t hat there was a considerable or serious problem of youth alcohol abuse (87 percent) and youth drug
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TABLE 6 Church View of Alcoholism by Fundamentalism-Liberalism of Religious Group View of Alcoholism FundamentalismLiberalism Scale
Yes
No
Yes
No
Fundamentalism Middle Liberalism
71% 16% 4%
29% 84% 96%
18% 70% 89%
82% 30% 11%
Sin
Illness
Cramer's V = .61, significant at the .0001 level
Cramer's V = .62, significant at the .0001 level
TABLE 7 Church V i e w of Drug Addiction by Fundamentalism-Liberalism of Religious Group View of Drug Addiction Fundamentalism Liberalism Scale
Sin Yes
No
Yes
Illness No
Fundamentalism Middle Liberalism
73% 24% 4%
27% 76% 96%
17% 51% 67%
83% 49% 33%
Cramer's V = .60, significant at the .0001 level
Cramer's V = .44, significant at the .0001 level
a b u s e (92 percent) in t h e c o m m u n i t y t h a n in t h e i r own c o n g r e g a t i o n s - - 18 percent for y o u t h alcohol use a n d 13 p e r c e n t for y o u t h d r u g abuse. H o w e v e r , t h i s difference w a s e v e n m o r e p r o n o u n c e d for t h e f u n d a m e n t a l i s t s t h a n for t h e libe r a l s (see t a b l e s 8 a n d 9). F o r f u n d a m e n t a l i s t s , 96 p e r c e n t considered y o u t h alcohol a b u s e a n d 94 p e r c e n t y o u t h d r u g a b u s e a c o n s i d e r a b l e or serious p r o b l e m in t h e c o m m u n i t y c o m p a r e d to 12 p e r c e n t who considered y o u t h alcohol a b u s e a n d 9 p e r c e n t who considered y o u t h d r u g a b u s e as a c o n s i d e r a b l e or serious p r o b l e m in t h e i r own congregations. F o r c h u r c h e s a t t h e liberal e n d of t h e scale 85 p e r c e n t considered y o u t h alcohol a b u s e a n d 82 p e r c e n t y o u t h d r u g a b u s e a c o n s i d e r a b l e or serious p r o b l e m in t h e c o m m u n i t y c o m p a r e d to 19 p e r c e n t who considered y o u t h alcohol a b u s e a n d 11 p e r c e n t y o u t h d r u g a b u s e as a c o n s i d e r a b l e or serious p r o b l e m in t h e i r own congregations. I n c o u n s e l i n g y o u t h for s u b s t a n c e a b u s e p r o b l e m s we found t h a t t h e p a s t o r s of liberal c h u r c h e s w e r e m o r e active t h a n w e r e p a s t o r s in f u n d a m e n t a l i s t churches. P a s t o r s of f u n d a m e n t a l i s t c h u r c h e s m o r e f r e q u e n t l y r e p o r t e d t h a t t h e y h a d not e n g a g e d in a n y y o u t h alcohol a b u s e (56 percent) or y o u t h d r u g a b u s e (58 percent) c o u n s e l i n g d u r i n g t h e p a s t y e a r t h a n did those a t t h e liberal
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end of the scale, with 26 percent of those reporting they had not engaged in any youth alcohol abuse counseling and 41 percent reporting t h a t they had not engaged in any youth drug abuse counseling during the past year. On the other hand, 43 percent of the fundamentalist pastors compared to 74 percent of the liberal pastors reported that they had engaged in counseling for youth alcohol abuse problems occasionally or frequently during the past year, and 41 percent of the fundamentalist pastors compared to 69 percent of the liberal pastors indicated t h a t they had engaged in youth drug abuse counseling occasionally or frequently during the past year.
Conclusions Both fundamentalist and liberal churches believe t h a t they should be influencing the alcohol and drug behavior of their members; however, those in the middle of the scale were the most likely actually to have youth alcohol or drug education programs in their churches. These substance use programs generally consisted of one or two sessions a year with most using both church and outside speakers for these sessions. The fundamentalism-liberalism scale was found to be statistically significantly related to the content of youth substance use education programs, attitudes toward alcohol and drug use, and attitudes concerning alcoholism and drug addiction. Fundamentalist church youth alcohol and drug education programs were more likely to forbid alcohol and drug use, to consider such use as a sin, or a sin and morally wrong, and to consider alcoholism and drug addiction as a sin. Liberal churches were more likely to provide information and guidelines about alcohol and drugs and leave the decision to use to the individual. They viewed drug use as morally wrong, alcohol use as acceptable, and alcoholism and drug addiction as illnesses. Both fundamentalist and liberal church pastors perceived t h a t youth alcohol and drug abuse was very much less of a problem in their own congregations t h a n in the community, but for the fundamentalists the perception gap was larger t h a n for the liberals. Pastors at the liberal end of the scale were more active in youth substance abuse counseling t h a n were fundamentalist pastors. Nearly all the pastors in this study believe t h a t the church should have a role in influencing the alcohol and drug behavior of its members, and about half of the churches actually have youth substance use education programs. However, these churches show considerable variation, based on their degree of fundamentalism-liberalism, in their views and policies concerning alcohol and drug use and the content of their youth alcohol and drug education programs.
References 1. See Blum, R.; Braustein, L.; and Stone, A., "Normal Drug Use: An Exploratory Study of Patterns and Correlates." In Cole, J. I., and Wittenborn, J. R., eds., Drug Abuse: Social and Psychopharmacological Aspects. Springfield, Ill., Charles C. Thomas, 1969, pp. 59-62; Mauss, A.L., "Anticipatory Socialization Toward College as a Factor in Adolescent Marijuana Use,"
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Social Problems, 1969, 16, 357-364; Whitehead, P.C., "Religious Affiliation and Use of Drugs Among Adolescent Students," J. Scientific Study of Religion, 1970, 9, 152-154; Gergen, M.K.; Gergen, K.J.; and Morse, S.J., "Correlates of Marijuana Use Among College Students," J. Applied Psychology, 1972, 2, 1-16; Johnson, B.D., "Social Determinants of the Use of Dangerous Drugs by College Students," unpublished dissertation, Columbia University, 1972; Rachal et al., "Adolescent Drinking Behavior, Attitudes and Correlates," National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Contract No. JSM 42.73-80 (NIA), 1975; Schlegel, R.P., and Sanborn, M.D., "Religious Affiliation and Adolescent Drinking," J. Studies on Alcohol, 1979, 40,693-703; Nelsen, H.M., and Rooney, J.F., "Fire and Brimstone, Lager and Pot: Religious Involvement and Substance Use," Sociological Analysis, 1982, 43,247-255; Lorch, B.R., and Hughes, R.H., "Religion and Youth Substance Use," J. Religion and Health, 1985, 24, 197-208. 2. See Schlegel and Sanborn, op. cit.; Nelsen and Rooney, op. cit.; Lorch and Hughes, op. cir. 3. See Hager, D.C., "Adolescent Drug Use in Middle America," unpublished dissertation, Michigan University, 1970; Blumenfield, M. et al., "Marijuana Use in High School Students," Diseases of the Nervous System, 1972, 33, 603-710; Globetti, G., "Problem and Non-problem Drinking Among High School Students in Abstinence Communities," International J. of the Addictions, 1972, 7, 511-523; Burkett, S., and White, M., "Hellfire and Delinquency: Another Look," J. Scientific Study of Religion, 1974, 13,455-562; Shibuya, R.R., "Categorizing Drug Users and Nonusers on Selected Social and Personality Variables," J. School Health, 1974, 44, 442-444; Jessor, R., and Jessor, S.L., "Adolescent Development and the Onset of Drinking: A Longitudinal Study," J. Studies on Alcohol, 1975, 3, 27-51; Donovan, J.E., and Jessor, R., "Adolescent Problem Drinking," J. Studies on Alcohol, 1978, 39, 1506-1523; Nelsen and Rooney, op. cit.; and Lorch and Hughes, op. cir. 4. See Brigance, R.S., "Social and Cultural Factors Related to Adolescent Drug Use," unpublished dissertation, Mississippi State University, 1970, Wechsler, H., and Thum, D., "Teenage Drinking, Drug Use, and Social Correlates." Quarterly J. of Studies on Alcohol, 1973, 34, 1220-1227; Lombillo, J.R., and Hain, J.D., "Patterns of Drug Use in a High School Population," Amer. J. Psychiatry, 1972, 128, 836-841; Shibuya, op. cir.; Rohrbaugh, J., and Jessor, R., "Religiosity in Youth: A Personal Control Against Deviant Behavior," J. of Personality, 1975, 43, 136-155; Kendall, R.F., "The Content and Implications of Drinking and Drug Use Among High School and College Students," unpublished dissertation, New York University, 1976; O'Donnel, J. et al., "Young Men and Drugs: A Nationwide Survey," Rockville, Md., National Institute on Drug Use, 1976; Donovan and Jessor, op. cit.; and Lorch and Hughes, op. cit. 5. Ploch, D.R., "Religion as an Independent Variable: A Critique of Some Major Research." In Eister, A.W., ed., Changing Perspectives in the Scientific Study of Religion. New York, Wiley, 1974, pp. 275-294.
Church Youth Alcohol and Drug Education Programs B A R B A R A R. L O R C H
ABSTRACT: This study indicates that pastors believe that their churches should have a role in influencing the alcohol and drug use of their members; that about half of the churches in this study actually had youth alcohol and drug education programs; and that the content of'these education programs and church attitudes toward substance use are affected by the degree of fundamentalism-liberalism of the church.
Public concern a b o u t t h e p r e v a l e n c e of y o u t h alcohol a n d d r u g use in our society h a s r e s u l t e d in s u b s t a n c e e d u c a t i o n p r o g r a m s directed t o w a r d t h e p r e v e n tion a n d decrease of alcohol a n d d r u g abuse. T h e public schools h a v e b e e n a t t h e forefront of such e d u c a t i o n p r o g r a m s . H o w e v e r , o t h e r i n s t i t u t i o n s in our society a r e also involved in t h e e d u c a t i o n of y o u n g people. One such i n s t i t u t i o n is religion, w h e r e s h a p i n g t h e c h a r a c t e r of its m e m b e r s is of v i t a l concern. M a n y r e s e a r c h studies h a v e b e e n directed t o w a r d finding t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n religiosity a n d y o u t h alcohol a n d d r u g use. Some of t h e s e h a v e d e a l t w i t h c h u r c h affiliation,' f u n d a m e n t a l i s m - l i b e r a l i s m of religious group, ~ c h u r c h a t t e n d a n c e a n d p a r t i c i p a t i o n , 3 a n d i m p o r t a n c e of religious belief, 4 a n d t h e i r r e l a t i o n s h i p to y o u t h s u b s t a n c e use. H o w e v e r , little r e s e a r c h h a s b e e n directed specifically t o w a r d t h e church a n d its y o u t h alcohol a n d d r u g e d u c a t i o n p r o g r a m s a n d a t t i t u d e s a n d policies t o w a r d y o u t h s u b s t a n c e use. T h i s r e s e a r c h s t u d y w a s devised to explore t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e norm a t i v e s t r u c t u r e of t h e c h u r c h as m e a s u r e d b y its d e g r e e of f u n d a m e n t a l i s m l i b e r a l i s m , as p e r c e i v e d by its pastor, a n d t h e e x t e n t a n d n a t u r e of y o u t h alcohol a n d d r u g e d u c a t i o n p r o g r a m s , a t t i t u d e s t o w a r d y o u t h alcohol a n d d r u g use, a t t i t u d e s t o w a r d alcoholism a n d d r u g addiction, p e r c e p t i o n of y o u t h alcohol a n d d r u g a b u s e in t h e i r own c o n g r e g a t i o n s and in t h e c o m m u n i t y , a n d freq u e n c y of c o u n s e l i n g y o u t h for s u b s t a n c e a b u s e problems.
Methodology T h e a u t h o r a n d a colleague conducted a s u r v e y of all c h u r c h p a s t o r s in a Weste r n city of a b o u t 250,000 p o p u l a t i o n in the fall of 1984. T h e p o p u l a t i o n for t h e Barbara R. Lorch, Ph.D., is Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. 106
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survey was obtained from a list of the churches, their addresses, telephone numbers, and pastors for this city and the outlying areas, originally taken from the city's 1984 telephone directory. There were 287 listings. However, 50 of those were eliminated from the population because they were either not in the city limits or were inappropriate religious groups for this study such as adult Bible reading and study groups, other small religious groups having only adult membership, and a gay, adult community church. This left 237 churches and their pastors, all of whom were sent a questionnaire which was to be filled out anonymously. A cover letter and a stamped, addressed, return envelope were included for convenience. A telephone and mail follow-up was made, after the first round of returns was received, resulting in a total return rate of 60 percent with an N of 143. With rare exceptions, such as t h a t of Jehovah's Witnesses, all of the various types of religious groups or denominations listed in the population were present in the returns. The questionnaire contained items to obtain information on the following dependent variables: whether the church had an alcohol or drug education program for youth during the past three years; the nature, content, and source of the program, if such existed; church attitudes and policies toward alcohol and drug use, alcoholism, and drug addiction; the pastor's perception of the seriousness of youth alcohol or drug problems in his or her congregation and in the community; and the extent to which the pastor engages in counseling of youth for these problems. Additional information was gathered on the independent variables of religious group, size of church membership, age of pastor, and the pastor's rating of his or her church on a 5-point fundamentalism-liberalism scale. The classification of individual local churches into degree of fundamentalism-liberalism on the basis of their placement into broad religious categories has not proven completely satisfactory in the past, since there is considerable variation on the local level within such groupings2 Therefore, in this study the investigator asked the pastors to rate their own churches on the fundamentalism-liberalism scale in order to have more accuracy on the major independent variable in this study. This scale later was broken down into three categories for the statistical analysis with I including I and 2 at the fundamentalism end of the scale, 2 covering 3 in the middle, and 3 including 4 and 5 at the liberalism end of the scale.
Description of sample Twenty-four types of religious groups were represented by the respondents in this study. When divided into eight major religious group categories, their representation was as follows: Church of Latter Day S a i n t s - - 7 , B a p t i s t - - 2 5 , Church of Christ and Disciples of C h r i s t - - 1 0 , Methodist and L u t h e r a n - - 2 5 , Episcopal and P r e s b y t e r i a n - - l l, Catholic--9, J e w i s h - - I , and Others--55. The membership size ranged from below 100 to over 2,000. Nineteen percent were under 100, 32 percent between 100 and 249, 15 percent between 250 and 399, 18 percent between 400 and 749, 7 percent between 750 and 999, 6 percent
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between 1,000 and 1,999, and 3 percent over 2,000. The youngest responding pastor was 23 and the oldest 81, with a mean age of 45.
Findings Despite the fact t h a t nearly all the churches in this study (98 percent) indicated t h a t they believed t h a t the church should have a role in influencing the alcohol and drug usage of its members, only about half of the churches reported t h a t they had youth substance abuse education programs during the past three y e a r s - - 4 9 percent alcohol education programs and 47 percent drug education programs. Sixty-five percent of the churches with substance use education programs reported t h a t they had one or two such sessions a year; 19 percent had three to five sessions a year; 5 percent had five or more a year and 11 percent marked the "other" category. This latter category consisted mainly of incorporating such education somewhat informally into other church activities from time to time. For both youth alcohol and drug education programs the pastors reported that their churches used speakers from both inside and outside the church most frequently (42 percent), with the next most frequent sources of speakers coming only from the church itself (alcohol education prog r a m s - - 2 0 percent, and drug education programs--24 percent). Since the position of the church on various issues, including youth alcohol and drug use, frequently has been found to be related to its degree of fundamentalism-liberalism, the author in this study explored what effect it had on church attitudes and policy concerning youth substance use. The degree of fundamentalism-liberalism of the religious group was found to be statistically significantly related to nearly all of the dependent variables. Those relationships t h a t were statistically significant at least at the .05 level are reported in Table 1. There was no statistically significant relationship between the church's position on the fundamentalism-liberalism scale and the pastor's belief concerning the church's role in influencing the alcohol and drug use of its members. The overwhelming percentage (over 95 percent in all three scale categories) of all pastors indicated that they believed their churches should have a role in influencing the substance use of its members. However, a higher percentage of those churches in the middle of the fundamentalism-liberalism scale reported having youth substance education programs than did those at the fundamentalist or liberal ends of the scale. The youth alcohol education program percentages for the three scale positions were fundamentalism = 42 percent, middle = 61 percent, and liberalism = 41 percent, and for the youth drug education program the percentages were fundamentalism = 43 percent, middle = 61 percent, and liberalism = 48 percent. For both youth alcohol and drug education programs those churches at the fundamentalist end of the scale were more likely to forbid the use of alcohol or drugs, while those at the liberal end were more likely to provide information and guidelines for alcohol and drug use, leaving the decision as to whether to use or how much to use up to the individual.
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TABLE 1 Church Substance Use Attitudes and Policies by Fundamentalism-Liberalism o f Religious Group Dependent Variables
Cramer's V
Level ofSignificance
.62
.0001
.53 .51 .43 .61 .62 .60 .44
.0002 .0001 .0001 .0001 .0001 .0001 .0001
.23
.02
.27
.002
.29
.002
.26
.01
C o n t e n t of C h u r c h Y o u t h Alcohol Education Programs C o n t e n t of C h u r c h Y o u t h D r u g Education Programs A t t i t u d e Toward Alcohol U s e A t t i t u d e Toward Illegal D r u g U s e View A l c o h o l i s m a s a Sin V i e w A l c o h o l i s m as an I l l n e s s View D r u g Addiction as a Sin View D r u g Addiction as a n Illness View Y o u t h Alcohol A b u s e as a P r o b l e m in T h e i r C o n g r e g a t i o n View Y o u t h D r u g A b u s e as a P r o b l e m in T h e i r C o n g r e g a t i o n E x t e n t of Y o u t h Alcohol A b u s e C o u n s e l i n g in P a s t Y e a r E x t e n t of Y o u t h D r u g A b u s e C o u n s e l i n g in P a s t Y e a r
TABLE 2 Content of Church Youth Alcohol Education Programs by Fundamentalism-Liberalism of Religious Group FundamentalismLiberalism Scale
Forbid Use
Fundamentalism Middle Liberalism
87% 9% 8%
Content of Program Forbid Use and Provide Provide Information Information and Guidelines and Guidelines 0% 0% 8%
13% 91% 84%
C r a m e r ' s V = .62, s i g n i f i c a n t at t h e .0001 level
TABLE 3 Content o f Church Youth Drug Education Programs by Fundamentalism-Liberalism o f Religious Group FundamentalismLiberalism Scale
Forbid Use
Fundamentalism Middle Liberalism
97% 39% 23%
Content of Program Forbid Use and Provide Provide Information Information and Guidelines and Guidelines
C r a m e r ' s V = .53, s i g n i f i c a n t at t h e .0002 level
3% 21% 8%
0% 40% 69%
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TABLE 4 C h u r c h A t t i t u d e T o w a r d A l c o h o l Use b y F u n d a m e n t a l i s m - L i b e r a l i s m of Religious Group Church Attitudes FundamentalismLiberalism Scale Fundamentalism Middle Liberalism
Sin
Sin and MoraUyWrong
MoraUyWrong
Acceptable
Other
38% 8% 4%
22% 0% 0%
20% 16% 0%
10% 54% 85%
10% 22% 11%
C r a m e r ' s V = .51, significant at the .0001 level
TABLE 5 C h u r c h A t t i t u d e T o w a r d D r u g U se b y F u n d a m e n t a l i s m - L i b e r a l i s m of Religious G r o u p Church Attitudes FundamentalismLiberalism Scale Fundamentalism Middle Liberalism
Sin
Sin and Morally Wrong
Morally Wrong
Acceptable
Other
53% 19% 0%
24% 11% 11%
22% 49% 59%
0% 0% 4%
1% 21% 26%
C r a m e r ' s V = .43, significant at the .0001 level
As might be expected, the degree of fundamentalism-liberalism of religious groups was also statistically significantly related to the church's attitude toward alcohol and drug use (see tables 4 and 5). In the case of the use of alcohol, fundamentalists are more likely to consider the use of alcohol as a sin (38 percent), or a sin and morally wrong (22 percent), while those at the liberal end of the scale more often considered its use as acceptable (85 percent). For the use of illegal drugs, once again the fundamentalists are the most likely to consider drug use as a sin (53 percent), or a sin and morally wrong (24 percent), while those at the other end of the scale are more likely to consider drug use as morally wrong (59 percent). The churches' views of alcoholism and drug addiction were also affected by the degree of fundamentalism-liberalism of the religious group (see tables 6 and 7). Those at the liberal end of the scale .are more likely to view both alcoholism (89 percent) and drug addiction (67 percent) as an illness, compared to 18 percent for alcoholism and 17 percent for drug addiction as an illness for the fundamentalists. On the other hand, the fundamentalists were more likely to consider alcoholism (71 percent) and drug addiction (73 percent) as a sin, while for the liberals only 4 percent considered alcoholism and drug addiction as a sin. These pastors in general were more likely to believe t hat there was a considerable or serious problem of youth alcohol abuse (87 percent) and youth drug
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TABLE 6 Church View of Alcoholism by Fundamentalism-Liberalism of Religious Group View of Alcoholism FundamentalismLiberalism Scale
Yes
No
Yes
No
Fundamentalism Middle Liberalism
71% 16% 4%
29% 84% 96%
18% 70% 89%
82% 30% 11%
Sin
Illness
Cramer's V = .61, significant at the .0001 level
Cramer's V = .62, significant at the .0001 level
TABLE 7 Church V i e w of Drug Addiction by Fundamentalism-Liberalism of Religious Group View of Drug Addiction Fundamentalism Liberalism Scale
Sin Yes
No
Yes
Illness No
Fundamentalism Middle Liberalism
73% 24% 4%
27% 76% 96%
17% 51% 67%
83% 49% 33%
Cramer's V = .60, significant at the .0001 level
Cramer's V = .44, significant at the .0001 level
a b u s e (92 percent) in t h e c o m m u n i t y t h a n in t h e i r own c o n g r e g a t i o n s - - 18 percent for y o u t h alcohol use a n d 13 p e r c e n t for y o u t h d r u g abuse. H o w e v e r , t h i s difference w a s e v e n m o r e p r o n o u n c e d for t h e f u n d a m e n t a l i s t s t h a n for t h e libe r a l s (see t a b l e s 8 a n d 9). F o r f u n d a m e n t a l i s t s , 96 p e r c e n t considered y o u t h alcohol a b u s e a n d 94 p e r c e n t y o u t h d r u g a b u s e a c o n s i d e r a b l e or serious p r o b l e m in t h e c o m m u n i t y c o m p a r e d to 12 p e r c e n t who considered y o u t h alcohol a b u s e a n d 9 p e r c e n t who considered y o u t h d r u g a b u s e as a c o n s i d e r a b l e or serious p r o b l e m in t h e i r own congregations. F o r c h u r c h e s a t t h e liberal e n d of t h e scale 85 p e r c e n t considered y o u t h alcohol a b u s e a n d 82 p e r c e n t y o u t h d r u g a b u s e a c o n s i d e r a b l e or serious p r o b l e m in t h e c o m m u n i t y c o m p a r e d to 19 p e r c e n t who considered y o u t h alcohol a b u s e a n d 11 p e r c e n t y o u t h d r u g a b u s e as a c o n s i d e r a b l e or serious p r o b l e m in t h e i r own congregations. I n c o u n s e l i n g y o u t h for s u b s t a n c e a b u s e p r o b l e m s we found t h a t t h e p a s t o r s of liberal c h u r c h e s w e r e m o r e active t h a n w e r e p a s t o r s in f u n d a m e n t a l i s t churches. P a s t o r s of f u n d a m e n t a l i s t c h u r c h e s m o r e f r e q u e n t l y r e p o r t e d t h a t t h e y h a d not e n g a g e d in a n y y o u t h alcohol a b u s e (56 percent) or y o u t h d r u g a b u s e (58 percent) c o u n s e l i n g d u r i n g t h e p a s t y e a r t h a n did those a t t h e liberal
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Barbara R. Lorch
113
end of the scale, with 26 percent of those reporting they had not engaged in any youth alcohol abuse counseling and 41 percent reporting t h a t they had not engaged in any youth drug abuse counseling during the past year. On the other hand, 43 percent of the fundamentalist pastors compared to 74 percent of the liberal pastors reported that they had engaged in counseling for youth alcohol abuse problems occasionally or frequently during the past year, and 41 percent of the fundamentalist pastors compared to 69 percent of the liberal pastors indicated t h a t they had engaged in youth drug abuse counseling occasionally or frequently during the past year.
Conclusions Both fundamentalist and liberal churches believe t h a t they should be influencing the alcohol and drug behavior of their members; however, those in the middle of the scale were the most likely actually to have youth alcohol or drug education programs in their churches. These substance use programs generally consisted of one or two sessions a year with most using both church and outside speakers for these sessions. The fundamentalism-liberalism scale was found to be statistically significantly related to the content of youth substance use education programs, attitudes toward alcohol and drug use, and attitudes concerning alcoholism and drug addiction. Fundamentalist church youth alcohol and drug education programs were more likely to forbid alcohol and drug use, to consider such use as a sin, or a sin and morally wrong, and to consider alcoholism and drug addiction as a sin. Liberal churches were more likely to provide information and guidelines about alcohol and drugs and leave the decision to use to the individual. They viewed drug use as morally wrong, alcohol use as acceptable, and alcoholism and drug addiction as illnesses. Both fundamentalist and liberal church pastors perceived t h a t youth alcohol and drug abuse was very much less of a problem in their own congregations t h a n in the community, but for the fundamentalists the perception gap was larger t h a n for the liberals. Pastors at the liberal end of the scale were more active in youth substance abuse counseling t h a n were fundamentalist pastors. Nearly all the pastors in this study believe t h a t the church should have a role in influencing the alcohol and drug behavior of its members, and about half of the churches actually have youth substance use education programs. However, these churches show considerable variation, based on their degree of fundamentalism-liberalism, in their views and policies concerning alcohol and drug use and the content of their youth alcohol and drug education programs.
References 1. See Blum, R.; Braustein, L.; and Stone, A., "Normal Drug Use: An Exploratory Study of Patterns and Correlates." In Cole, J. I., and Wittenborn, J. R., eds., Drug Abuse: Social and Psychopharmacological Aspects. Springfield, Ill., Charles C. Thomas, 1969, pp. 59-62; Mauss, A.L., "Anticipatory Socialization Toward College as a Factor in Adolescent Marijuana Use,"
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Journal of Religion and Health
Social Problems, 1969, 16, 357-364; Whitehead, P.C., "Religious Affiliation and Use of Drugs Among Adolescent Students," J. Scientific Study of Religion, 1970, 9, 152-154; Gergen, M.K.; Gergen, K.J.; and Morse, S.J., "Correlates of Marijuana Use Among College Students," J. Applied Psychology, 1972, 2, 1-16; Johnson, B.D., "Social Determinants of the Use of Dangerous Drugs by College Students," unpublished dissertation, Columbia University, 1972; Rachal et al., "Adolescent Drinking Behavior, Attitudes and Correlates," National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Contract No. JSM 42.73-80 (NIA), 1975; Schlegel, R.P., and Sanborn, M.D., "Religious Affiliation and Adolescent Drinking," J. Studies on Alcohol, 1979, 40,693-703; Nelsen, H.M., and Rooney, J.F., "Fire and Brimstone, Lager and Pot: Religious Involvement and Substance Use," Sociological Analysis, 1982, 43,247-255; Lorch, B.R., and Hughes, R.H., "Religion and Youth Substance Use," J. Religion and Health, 1985, 24, 197-208. 2. See Schlegel and Sanborn, op. cit.; Nelsen and Rooney, op. cit.; Lorch and Hughes, op. cir. 3. See Hager, D.C., "Adolescent Drug Use in Middle America," unpublished dissertation, Michigan University, 1970; Blumenfield, M. et al., "Marijuana Use in High School Students," Diseases of the Nervous System, 1972, 33, 603-710; Globetti, G., "Problem and Non-problem Drinking Among High School Students in Abstinence Communities," International J. of the Addictions, 1972, 7, 511-523; Burkett, S., and White, M., "Hellfire and Delinquency: Another Look," J. Scientific Study of Religion, 1974, 13,455-562; Shibuya, R.R., "Categorizing Drug Users and Nonusers on Selected Social and Personality Variables," J. School Health, 1974, 44, 442-444; Jessor, R., and Jessor, S.L., "Adolescent Development and the Onset of Drinking: A Longitudinal Study," J. Studies on Alcohol, 1975, 3, 27-51; Donovan, J.E., and Jessor, R., "Adolescent Problem Drinking," J. Studies on Alcohol, 1978, 39, 1506-1523; Nelsen and Rooney, op. cit.; and Lorch and Hughes, op. cir. 4. See Brigance, R.S., "Social and Cultural Factors Related to Adolescent Drug Use," unpublished dissertation, Mississippi State University, 1970, Wechsler, H., and Thum, D., "Teenage Drinking, Drug Use, and Social Correlates." Quarterly J. of Studies on Alcohol, 1973, 34, 1220-1227; Lombillo, J.R., and Hain, J.D., "Patterns of Drug Use in a High School Population," Amer. J. Psychiatry, 1972, 128, 836-841; Shibuya, op. cir.; Rohrbaugh, J., and Jessor, R., "Religiosity in Youth: A Personal Control Against Deviant Behavior," J. of Personality, 1975, 43, 136-155; Kendall, R.F., "The Content and Implications of Drinking and Drug Use Among High School and College Students," unpublished dissertation, New York University, 1976; O'Donnel, J. et al., "Young Men and Drugs: A Nationwide Survey," Rockville, Md., National Institute on Drug Use, 1976; Donovan and Jessor, op. cit.; and Lorch and Hughes, op. cit. 5. Ploch, D.R., "Religion as an Independent Variable: A Critique of Some Major Research." In Eister, A.W., ed., Changing Perspectives in the Scientific Study of Religion. New York, Wiley, 1974, pp. 275-294.
