Question

A recent sociological study found that more than 40% of the members of a large conservative Christian church were the adult children of divorce. This led the researchers to conclude that growing up in a family where there is divorce leads people to become more religious. Which of the following would be the best way to test the researchers' conclusions?

• A. Interview a large random sample of adult children of divorce to see if they are also very religious.
• B. Interview the congregants of the large conservative church to find out if they grew up in the church or converted as adults.
• C. Interview a large sample of adults who grew up in the same religious community to find out if they are more religious.
• D. Interview the congregants of the large conservative church to find out if they grew up in a family where there is divorce.
• E. Interview a large random sample of adults to see if they grew up in a family where there is divorce.

Hint:

Make sure to focus on the specific factor or variable being tested in a study. Here, the key is to isolate the impact of divorce within the targeted religious community.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Understanding the argument.
The study concludes that growing up in a family with divorce leads to greater religiosity. To test this, we need to focus on whether divorce itself is the factor contributing to religiosity among the church's congregants.

Step 2: Analysis of options.
- (A) Interview a large random sample of adult children of divorce to see if they are also very religious: Incorrect. This option does not target the specific religious community the researchers are studying.
- (B) Interview the congregants of the large conservative church to find out if they grew up in the church or converted as adults: Incorrect. This does not directly test the influence of divorce on religiosity.
- (C) Interview a large sample of adults who grew up in the same religious community to find out if they are more religious: Incorrect. This does not focus on the role of divorce specifically.
- (D) Interview the congregants of the large conservative church to find out if they grew up in a family where there is divorce: Correct. This directly addresses the researchers' hypothesis about the effect of divorce on religiosity within the targeted community.
- (E) Interview a large random sample of adults to see if they grew up in a family where there is divorce: Incorrect. This is too general and does not specifically focus on the religious community of interest.

Step 3: Conclusion.
The correct answer is (D) Interview the congregants of the large conservative church to find out if they grew up in a family where there is divorce.

Final Answer: \[ \boxed{(D) \, \text{Interview the congregants of the large conservative church to find out if they grew up in a family where there is divorce.}} \]