title: Religiosity and Spiritual Engagement in Two American Indian Populations.
abstract: Social scientific investigation into the religiospiritual characteristics of American Indians rarely includes analysis of quantitative data. After reviewing information from ethnographic and autobiographical sources, we present analyses of data from a large, population-based sample of two tribes (n = 3,084). We examine salience of belief in three traditions: aboriginal, Christian, and Native American Church. We then investigate patterns in sociodemographic subgroups, determining the significant correlates of salience with other variables controlled. Finally, we examine frequency with which respondents assign high salience to only one tradition (exclusivity) or multiple traditions (nonexclusivity), again investigating subgroup variations. This first detailed, statistical portrait of American Indian religious and spiritual lives links work on tribal ethnic identity to theoretical work on America's "religious marketplace." Results may also inform social/behavioral interventions that incorporate religiospiritual elements.
authors.affiliation: Boston College and Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health at the University of Colorado Denver.
authors.forename: Eva M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Garroutte
authors.affiliation: Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health at the University of Colorado Denver.
authors.forename: Janette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Beals
authors.affiliation: Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health at the University of Colorado Denver.
authors.forename: Ellen M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Keane
authors.affiliation: Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health at the University of Colorado Denver.
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kaufman
authors.affiliation: Center for Applied Social Research at the University of Oklahoma.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Spicer
authors.affiliation: Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health at the University of Colorado Denver and the Black Hills Center for American Indian Health.
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Henderson
authors.affiliation: Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health at the University of Colorado Denver and the Black Hills Center for American Indian Health.
authors.forename: Patricia N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Henderson
authors.affiliation: Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health at the University of Colorado Denver.
authors.forename: Christina M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.affiliation: Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health at the University of Colorado Denver.
authors.forename: Spero M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Manson