title: Religious belief and practice in attitudes toward individuals with body piercing.
abstract: Some research suggests adorning the body with tattoos or piercing jewelry is normative. Survey data were gathered from 450 undergraduates (72% female; 80% Euro-American; 63% freshmen and sophomores). Correlations between an index of respondents' religious belief and practice and their attitudes toward individuals who had more body piercings were weak if piercings were 7 or more, including piercings of the nipples and genitals. As religiosity is a carrier of normative behavior, individuals who have body piercings may be viewed as behaving within cultural norms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409-1012, USA.
authors.forename: Jerome R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: Alden E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: Myrna L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Armstrong
authors.forename: Donna C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Owen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001290:Attitude; D046288:Body Piercing; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011214:Practice, Psychological; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires