Park, Jerry Z.Granstra, Shanna L.Baylor University. Dept. of Sociology.2010-10-082010-10-082010-082010-10-08http://hdl.handle.net/2104/8030Includes bibliographical references (p. ).According to the Center for Disease Control, obesity is currently at epidemic proportions in the United States. Approximately a third of American adults are obese. With the prevalence of obesity in the United States has come scholarly interest into how obesity is related to health, psychological, and social outcomes. The purpose of this study is to discover if there is a positive or negative relationship between obesity and engagement in a religious community. Results are gendered and mixed; obese women are more likely than women of a healthy weight to be members of a religious community, but attend less often. This suggests that while religious beliefs are strong enough to overcome fear of stigmatization in joining a social community, they are not strong enough to prompt obese women to actually socialize within the religious community, perhaps because of expected stigmatization.386086 bytes69347 bytesapplication/pdfapplication/pdfen-USBaylor University theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact librarywebmaster@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.Sociology.ThesisWorldwide access.Access changed 3/18/13.