Is religiosity related to better parenting? Disentangling religiosity from religious cognitive style

This study examined associations between parental religiosity and parenting in a sample of 482 mother-child and 453 father-child dyads. Parents completed a religiosity measure that allows disentangling the effects of being religious from the effects of the way in which people process religious contents (i.e., literal versus symbolic). Additionally, parent and adolescent reports of two parenting style (i.e., need support and regulation) and parental goal promotion dimensions (i.e., intrinsic versus extrinsic and conservation versus openness to change goal promotion) were gathered. Whereas parental religiosity was positively related to a tendency to promote conservation rather than openness to change goals, a symbolic religious cognitive style related positively to need support and the promotion of intrinsic rather than extrinsic goals. Hence, whereas relations between parental religiosity as such and parenting are limited and not unequivocally positive, a symbolic religious cognitive style systematically related to adaptive parenting styles and goals. Implications are discussed.