Scheitle Christopher P, Dabbs Ellory
West Virginia University, United States.
West Virginia University, United States.
Soc Sci Res. 2021 Jan;93:102503. doi: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2020.102503. Epub 2020 Nov 10.
Individuals who hold an identity that is stigmatized in a particular social context will often, if possible, conceal that identity. While such concealment is intended to help the individual fit into that context, research has found that concealment often harms the individual's ability to form an identity and sense of belonging. The study presented here examines this dynamic as it relates to religious individuals in science. Past research suggests that being religious is a stigmatized identity within academic science and that many religious scientists conceal their religious identity to avoid that stigma. Using data generated from a survey of U.S. science graduate students and structural equation modeling, we examine concealment of religious identity among religious students and whether this concealment mediates a negative relationship between student religiosity and identification as a scientist. The analysis finds that religiosity is positively associated with concealment of religious identity, which itself is negatively associated with identification as a scientist. This study contributes to the sociological study of religion and science by shifting the focus away from epistemological conflicts and towards more social and cultural forms of religion-science conflict. These findings also contribute to research on identity conflict, stigma management, and the role of social identities in workplaces.
在特定社会背景下，拥有被污名化身份的个体通常会尽可能隐瞒该身份。虽然这种隐瞒旨在帮助个体融入该背景，但研究发现，隐瞒往往会损害个体形成身份认同和归属感的能力。本文呈现的研究探讨了这一动态关系，具体涉及科学界中的宗教人士。过去的研究表明，宗教信仰在学术科学界是一种被污名化的身份，许多宗教科学家隐瞒自己的宗教身份以避免这种污名。利用对美国理科研究生的调查数据和结构方程模型，我们研究了宗教学生对宗教身份的隐瞒情况，以及这种隐瞒是否会在学生的宗教信仰与科学家身份认同之间起到负面的中介作用。分析发现，宗教信仰与宗教身份隐瞒呈正相关，而宗教身份隐瞒本身与科学家身份认同呈负相关。本研究通过将焦点从认识论冲突转向宗教与科学冲突的更多社会和文化形式，为宗教与科学的社会学研究做出了贡献。这些发现也有助于身份冲突、污名管理以及社会身份在工作场所中的作用等方面的研究。
