Bernard D Digregorio
Biographic Data
| ID | 291984 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Bernard D Digregorio |
| GIVEN NAMES | Bernard D |
| FAMILY NAME | Digregorio |
| SIGNATURE | DIGREGORIO B D |
| AFFILIATIONS | West Virginia University |
| ORCID | 0009-0005-3085-3789 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 23 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 13 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2021 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Questions of Truth vs. Questions of Trust
Religiosity and political conservatism are often hypothesized to be negatively associated with attitudes towards science. Yet, past research has often failed to distinguish between trust in science versus the acceptance of science as a source of truth. Using data generated from a probability survey of U.S. adults, we identify four latent factors within a battery of items asking about individuals’ views on science. Two of these represent science’s…
Perceptions of Group Boundaries between Amish and Non-Amish during the Covid-19 Pandemic
Social environments shape group identity. Environmental changes force adaptation in varying ways. Disruptions created by the COVID-19 pandemic provide an opportunity to empirically study how group identities form, transform, and establish and reinforce collective boundaries. All social groups discern between “us,” referencing in-group members from “them,” referring to outsiders. High-tension religious communities tend to reinforce pre-defined gro…
Easy targets
Most prior research on religion and crime focuses on predictors of criminal behavior and neglects victimization. Studies of religion and victimization generally examine religion-based hate crimes. We present a theory of religion-based victimization drawing on routine activities theory, emphasizing how particular religious beliefs and practices may increase one's vulnerability to predatory crime victimization due to opportunity, not hate. We draw …
Social Locations of Secularization and Worldview (Dis)Enchantment
Forces of secularization are theorized to disenchant an individual's worldview-i.e., erode an individual's belief in nonnatural beings, forces, or abilities. Tests of this proposition, though, have often failed to measure the variety of forms of worldview enchantment found among individuals. Drawing on the broader secularization literature, we theorize correlates of (dis)enchantment and test these predictions using a nationally representative sur…
Science on the mind
Previous research has examined people's attitudes toward science and scientists, highlighting how religious identities, beliefs, or behavior shapes these attitudes. However, survey design choices have been previously shown to influence individuals' attitudes toward religion and science. We investigated the extent to which question ordering (i.e. presenting questions about science before questions about religion or the paranormal) in a large-scale…
Strange Affinities in the Search for Personalized Health
A prominent focus of New Age beliefs and practices has always been health and healing-including the use of holistic healing, power crystals, homeopathy, and complementary and alternative medicine. Given its association with modern science and medicine, genetic testing would seem to run counter to New Age alternative medical practices. On the other hand, the use of at-home genetic health tests and the use of such New Age alternative medical practi…
Covid‐19 pandemic's impact on the public's confidence in scientific community
Objective This study considers how having personally tested positive for COVID‐19 or knowing someone who has tested positive for COVID‐19 is associated with an individual's reported change in confidence in the scientific community due to the pandemic. Methods Using data generated from a probability sample of U.S. adults, we estimate regression models predicting individuals’ reported change in confidence in the scientific community due to the pand…
Paranormal Beliefs, Vaccine Confidence, and Covid-19 Vaccine Uptake
Conservative religious ideologies have been linked to vaccine hesitancy. Yet, little is known about how paranormal beliefs relate to vaccine confidence and uptake. We hypothesize that paranormal beliefs will be negatively related to both confidence and uptake due to their association with lower levels of trust in science and a greater acceptance of conspiratorial beliefs. We test this hypothesis using a new nationally representative sample of U.S…
Echo Chambers in a Closed Community
Recent scholarship finds linkages between religiosity and vaccination practices but neglects the role of religious, social structural influences. The relationship between religious beliefs and immunization in the context of closed religious communities remains understudied. We use a survey of Amish and Old Order Mennonite parents to explore relationships between religious belief, group closure, perceived vaccine effectiveness, and vaccine uptake.…
Individuals’ Use of Religion in Response to the Covid‐19 Pandemic as Complementary to Their Use of Medically Recommended Responses
Many individuals have engaged in behaviors to cope with and mitigate the COVID‐19 pandemic, including mask wearing and physical distancing. This study considers the extent to which individuals have also engaged in religious behaviors in response to the pandemic and how those responses are associated with behaviors like mask wearing. Using data from a probability survey of U.S. adults, our analysis finds that over half of the respondents have enga…
God will protect us
Background Vaccines represent one of the best ways to counter the COVID-19 pandemic. However, vaccine hesitancy among the population limits the effectiveness of vaccines. Recent research has explored the role of religion in vaccine hesitancy, but in doing so has encountered a "black box" problem. There is a relationship between religion and vaccine hesitancy, but the explanation for why remains unclear. Purpose The purpose of this study is to exp…
Christian nationalism and Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy and uptake
When the Waves Roll High
Religious beliefs, practices, and social support facilitate coping with psychologically distressful events and circumstances. However, COVID-19 and governmental mandates for social distancing and isolation make in-person communal forms of religious coping difficult. While some congregations began holding virtual rituals, this was not an option for Amish and conservative Mennonite groups that restrict communication and media technologies as a reli…
God will protect us
Background Vaccines represent one of the best ways to counter the COVID-19 pandemic. However, vaccine hesitancy among the population limits the effectiveness of vaccines. Recent research has explored the role of religion in vaccine hesitancy, but in doing so has encountered a "black box" problem. There is a relationship between religion and vaccine hesitancy, but the explanation for why remains unclear. Purpose The purpose of this study is to exp…
Paranormal Beliefs, Vaccine Confidence, and Covid-19 Vaccine Uptake
Conservative religious ideologies have been linked to vaccine hesitancy. Yet, little is known about how paranormal beliefs relate to vaccine confidence and uptake. We hypothesize that paranormal beliefs will be negatively related to both confidence and uptake due to their association with lower levels of trust in science and a greater acceptance of conspiratorial beliefs. We test this hypothesis using a new nationally representative sample of U.S…
Individuals’ Use of Religion in Response to the Covid‐19 Pandemic as Complementary to Their Use of Medically Recommended Responses
Many individuals have engaged in behaviors to cope with and mitigate the COVID‐19 pandemic, including mask wearing and physical distancing. This study considers the extent to which individuals have also engaged in religious behaviors in response to the pandemic and how those responses are associated with behaviors like mask wearing. Using data from a probability survey of U.S. adults, our analysis finds that over half of the respondents have enga…
Social Locations of Secularization and Worldview (Dis)Enchantment
Forces of secularization are theorized to disenchant an individual's worldview-i.e., erode an individual's belief in nonnatural beings, forces, or abilities. Tests of this proposition, though, have often failed to measure the variety of forms of worldview enchantment found among individuals. Drawing on the broader secularization literature, we theorize correlates of (dis)enchantment and test these predictions using a nationally representative sur…
When the Waves Roll High
Religious beliefs, practices, and social support facilitate coping with psychologically distressful events and circumstances. However, COVID-19 and governmental mandates for social distancing and isolation make in-person communal forms of religious coping difficult. While some congregations began holding virtual rituals, this was not an option for Amish and conservative Mennonite groups that restrict communication and media technologies as a reli…
Echo Chambers in a Closed Community
Recent scholarship finds linkages between religiosity and vaccination practices but neglects the role of religious, social structural influences. The relationship between religious beliefs and immunization in the context of closed religious communities remains understudied. We use a survey of Amish and Old Order Mennonite parents to explore relationships between religious belief, group closure, perceived vaccine effectiveness, and vaccine uptake.…
Covid‐19 pandemic's impact on the public's confidence in scientific community
Objective This study considers how having personally tested positive for COVID‐19 or knowing someone who has tested positive for COVID‐19 is associated with an individual's reported change in confidence in the scientific community due to the pandemic. Methods Using data generated from a probability sample of U.S. adults, we estimate regression models predicting individuals’ reported change in confidence in the scientific community due to the pand…
Christian nationalism and Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy and uptake
When the Waves Roll High
Religious beliefs, practices, and social support facilitate coping with psychologically distressful events and circumstances. However, COVID-19 and governmental mandates for social distancing and isolation make in-person communal forms of religious coping difficult. While some congregations began holding virtual rituals, this was not an option for Amish and conservative Mennonite groups that restrict communication and media technologies as a reli…
Individuals’ Use of Religion in Response to the Covid‐19 Pandemic as Complementary to Their Use of Medically Recommended Responses
Many individuals have engaged in behaviors to cope with and mitigate the COVID‐19 pandemic, including mask wearing and physical distancing. This study considers the extent to which individuals have also engaged in religious behaviors in response to the pandemic and how those responses are associated with behaviors like mask wearing. Using data from a probability survey of U.S. adults, our analysis finds that over half of the respondents have enga…
God will protect us
Background Vaccines represent one of the best ways to counter the COVID-19 pandemic. However, vaccine hesitancy among the population limits the effectiveness of vaccines. Recent research has explored the role of religion in vaccine hesitancy, but in doing so has encountered a "black box" problem. There is a relationship between religion and vaccine hesitancy, but the explanation for why remains unclear. Purpose The purpose of this study is to exp…
Covid‐19 pandemic's impact on the public's confidence in scientific community
Objective This study considers how having personally tested positive for COVID‐19 or knowing someone who has tested positive for COVID‐19 is associated with an individual's reported change in confidence in the scientific community due to the pandemic. Methods Using data generated from a probability sample of U.S. adults, we estimate regression models predicting individuals’ reported change in confidence in the scientific community due to the pand…
Paranormal Beliefs, Vaccine Confidence, and Covid-19 Vaccine Uptake
Conservative religious ideologies have been linked to vaccine hesitancy. Yet, little is known about how paranormal beliefs relate to vaccine confidence and uptake. We hypothesize that paranormal beliefs will be negatively related to both confidence and uptake due to their association with lower levels of trust in science and a greater acceptance of conspiratorial beliefs. We test this hypothesis using a new nationally representative sample of U.S…
Echo Chambers in a Closed Community
Recent scholarship finds linkages between religiosity and vaccination practices but neglects the role of religious, social structural influences. The relationship between religious beliefs and immunization in the context of closed religious communities remains understudied. We use a survey of Amish and Old Order Mennonite parents to explore relationships between religious belief, group closure, perceived vaccine effectiveness, and vaccine uptake.…
Science on the mind
Previous research has examined people's attitudes toward science and scientists, highlighting how religious identities, beliefs, or behavior shapes these attitudes. However, survey design choices have been previously shown to influence individuals' attitudes toward religion and science. We investigated the extent to which question ordering (i.e. presenting questions about science before questions about religion or the paranormal) in a large-scale…
Strange Affinities in the Search for Personalized Health
A prominent focus of New Age beliefs and practices has always been health and healing-including the use of holistic healing, power crystals, homeopathy, and complementary and alternative medicine. Given its association with modern science and medicine, genetic testing would seem to run counter to New Age alternative medical practices. On the other hand, the use of at-home genetic health tests and the use of such New Age alternative medical practi…
Questions of Truth vs. Questions of Trust
Religiosity and political conservatism are often hypothesized to be negatively associated with attitudes towards science. Yet, past research has often failed to distinguish between trust in science versus the acceptance of science as a source of truth. Using data generated from a probability survey of U.S. adults, we identify four latent factors within a battery of items asking about individuals’ views on science. Two of these represent science’s…
Perceptions of Group Boundaries between Amish and Non-Amish during the Covid-19 Pandemic
Social environments shape group identity. Environmental changes force adaptation in varying ways. Disruptions created by the COVID-19 pandemic provide an opportunity to empirically study how group identities form, transform, and establish and reinforce collective boundaries. All social groups discern between “us,” referencing in-group members from “them,” referring to outsiders. High-tension religious communities tend to reinforce pre-defined gro…
Easy targets
Most prior research on religion and crime focuses on predictors of criminal behavior and neglects victimization. Studies of religion and victimization generally examine religion-based hate crimes. We present a theory of religion-based victimization drawing on routine activities theory, emphasizing how particular religious beliefs and practices may increase one's vulnerability to predatory crime victimization due to opportunity, not hate. We draw …
Social Locations of Secularization and Worldview (Dis)Enchantment
Forces of secularization are theorized to disenchant an individual's worldview-i.e., erode an individual's belief in nonnatural beings, forces, or abilities. Tests of this proposition, though, have often failed to measure the variety of forms of worldview enchantment found among individuals. Drawing on the broader secularization literature, we theorize correlates of (dis)enchantment and test these predictions using a nationally representative sur…
Psychology (10 works) · Sociology (9 works) · Medicine (8 works) · Social Psychology (8 works) · Pandemic (6 works) · Political science (6 works) · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (5 works) · Epistemology (4 works) · Internal Medicine (4 works) · Law (4 works)