Religious Pluralism and the Individual: The Effects and Meaning of Inter-religious Contact

Abstract

This study tests three competing hypotheses regarding the effect of religious pluralism on individual-level religiosity. Although most theory in this area focuses on the individual, most measures of religious pluralism only take account of the macro-level. Inter-religious contact is a measure that takes more direct account of individuals’ experiences of religious pluralism. Using a random national sample from The Religion and Diversity Survey (2003), we conduct multivariate regressions that indicate relationships between inter-religious contact and two dependent variables: church attendance and spiritual effort. The results indicate that religious economies, Berger’s sacred canopies, and non-effect models all are illuminated by a more direct measure of individual-level religious pluralism.