Discussions of Religion and Relational Messages: Differences between Comfortable and Uncomfortable Interactions

Although many Americans consider religion important in their everyday lives, most feel uncomfortable when confronted with issues concerning religion and faith. The present study focused on the relational messages and contextual factors related to comfort levels in religious conversations. Using Burgoon and Hale's (1984, 1987) relational topoi, it was hypothesized that messages of intimacy and composure would relate positively to comfort levels in religious conversations, whereas messages of dominance and formality would relate negatively to comfort levels. These hypotheses received support. Furthermore, contextual factors such as perceived religious similarity and relational closeness were both positively associated with comfort levels. A discriminant analysis of these variables revealed that relational messages, specifically affection/involvement, receptivity/trust, and dominance, were the strongest predictors whether participants perceived a conversation as comfortable or uncomfortable.

Notes

¹Internal reliability estimates are based on Cronbach's alpha.

²Variables were measured on 7-point scales wherein higher values indicate a greater frequency or intensity of the variable.

³Relational closeness and religious similarity do not have alpha reliabilities because they are single-item scales.

*p < .05 (two-tailed).

Notes. Rc = .77, Λ = .42, χ² (9) = 227.26, p < .001.

¹Item-total correlations.

Note. 88.3% of cases correctly classified.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alan C. Mikkelson

Alan C. Mikkelson, Whitworth University.

Colin Hesse

Colin Hesse, Arizona State University.