Skip to main content
Log in

The Relation between Religion and Well-Being

  • Published:
Applied Research in Quality of Life Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This article reviews research on religion and well-being, focusing primarily on Western, traditional religions. We provide some nuance, caveats, and future directions for further research. We discuss how and why religious groups may differ in their well-being, that there may be important subgroup differences, that there are multiple dimensions to both religion and well-being, that religion and other cultural identities may interact to impact well-being, and that religion (e.g., religious anxieties) may be associated with lower well-being in some ways. We consider how religious extremism relates to well-being and also suggest that more research is needed regarding well-being in other types of religious and spiritual groups. We hope that this article will add complexity to the important intersections between religion and well-being.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abdel-Khalek, A. M. (2007). Religiosity, happiness, health, and psychopathology in a probability sample of Muslim adolescents. Mental Health, Religion, and Culture, 10, 571–583.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Abramowitz, J., Huppert, J., Cohen, A. B., Cahill, S. P., & Tolin, D. F. (2002). Religious obsessions and compulsions in a non-clinical sample: the Penn inventory of scrupulosity. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 40, 825–838.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Abu-Raiya, H. (2013). The psychology of islam: Current empirically based knowledge, potential challenges, and directions for future research. APA handbook of psychology, religion, and spirituality (vol 1): Context, theory, and research. (pp. 681–695) American Psychological Association, Washington, DC. doi:10.1037/14045-038

  • Agrawal, J., Murthy, P., Philip, M., Mehrotra, S., Thennarasu, K., John, J. P., et al. (2011). Socio-demographic correlates of subjective well-being in urban India. Social Indicators Research, 101, 419–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ai, A. L., Tice, T. N., Peterson, C., & Huang, B. (2005). Prayers, spiritual support, and postiive attitudes in coping with the September 11 national crisis. Journal of Personality, 73, 763–791. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2005.00328.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alcorta, C. S., & Sosis, R. (2005). Ritual, emotion, and sacred symbols: the evolution of religion as an adaptive complex. Human Nature, 16, 323–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allport, G. W., & Ross, J. M. (1967). Personal religious orientation and prejudice. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 5, 432–443.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Altemeyer, B., & Hunsberger, B. (1992). Authoritarianism, religious fundamentalism, quest, and prejudice. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 2, 113–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Argyle, M. (2001). The psychology of happiness (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atran, S., & Norenzayan, A. (2004). Religion’s evolutionary landscape: Counterintuition, committment, compassion, communion. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 27, 713–770.

    Google Scholar 

  • Batson, C. D., Denton, D. M., & Vollmecke, J. T. (2008). Quest religion, anti-fundamentalism, and limited versus universal compassion. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 47, 135–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benson, P., & Spilka, B. (1973). God image as a function of self-esteem and locus of control. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 12, 297–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bjørnskov, C., Dreher, A., & Fischer, J. A. V. (2006). Cross-country determinants of life satisfaction: Exploring different determinants across groups in society (Research Paper No. PEPP21). Retrieved from London School of Economics and Political Science, The Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines website: http://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/pepp/pepp21.pdf

  • Boyer, P. (2001). Religion explained: The evolutionary origins of religious thought. New York, NY: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Büssing, A., Fischer, J., Ostermann, T., & Matthiessen, P. F. (2009). Reliance on God’s help as a measure of intrinsic religiosity in healthy elderly and patients with chronic diseases. Correlations with health-related quality of life? Applied Research in Quality of Life, 4(1), 77–90. doi:10.1007/s11482-009-9068-8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carlucci, L., Tommasi, M., Balsamo, M., Furnham, A., & Saggino, A. (2015). Religious fundamentalism and psychological well-being: an Italian study. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 43, 23–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Casas, F., González, M., Figuer, C., & Malo, S. (2009). Satisfaction with spirituality, satisfaction with religion and personal well-being among spanish adolescents and young university students. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 4(1), 23–45. doi:10.1007/s11482-009-9066-x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, A. B. (2002). The importance of spirituality in well-being for Jews and Christians. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3, 287–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, A. B. (2009). Many forms of culture. American Psychologist, 64(3), 194–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, A. B., & Hall, D. E. (2009). Existential beliefs, social satisfaction, and well-being among Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant older adults. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 19, 39–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, A. B., & Rozin, P. (2001). Religion and the morality of mentality. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 81, 697–710.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, A. B., Hall, D. E., Koenig, H. G., & Meador, K. G. (2005a). Social versus individual motivation: implications for normative definitions of religious orientation. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 9, 48–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, A. B., Pierce Jr., J. D., Meade, R., Chambers, J., Gorvine, B. J., & Koenig, H. G. (2005b). Intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity, belief in the afterlife, death anxiety, and life satisfaction in young Catholic and Protestant adults. Journal of Research in Personality, 39, 307–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coke, M. M. (1992). Correlates of life satisfaction among elderly African Americans. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 47, 316–320.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawkins, R. (2006). The god delusion. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Debnath, R. M., & Shankar, R. (2014). Does good governance enhance happiness: a cross nation study. Social Indicators Research, 116, 235–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dechesne, M., Pyszczynski, T., Arndt, J., Ransom, S., Sheldon, K. M., Knippenberg, A. v., et al. (2003). Literal and symbolic immortality: the effect of evidence of literal immortality on self-esteem striving in response to mortality salience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 722–737.

  • Diener, E., Suh, E., Lucas, R., & Smith, H. (1999). Subjective well-being: three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 276–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Oishi, S., & Lucas, R. E. (2003). Personality, culture, and subjective well-being: emotional and cognitive evaluation of life. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 403–425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Tay, L., & Myers, D. G. (2011). The religion paradox: if religion makes people happy, why are so many dropping out? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101, 1278–1290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott, M., & Hayward, R. D. (2009). Religion and life satisfaction worldwide: the role of government regulation. Sociology of Religion, 70, 285–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellison, C. G., & Fan, D. (2008). Daily spiritual experiences and psychological well-being among US adults. Social Indicators Research, 88(2), 247–271. doi:10.1007/s11205-007-9187-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Epley, N., Akalis, S., Waytz, A., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2008). Creating social connection through inferential reproduction: loneliness and perceived Agency in Gadgets, gods, and greyhounds. Psychological Science, 19(2), 114–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eungi Kim, A. (2003). Religious influences on personal and societal well-being. Social Indicators Research, 62-63(1–3), 149–170. doi:10.1023/A:1022641100109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Exline, J. J. (2003). Anger toward god: a brief overview of existing research. Psychology of Religion Newletter, 29, 1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freud, S. (1961). The future of an illusion. (J. Strachey, Trans.). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Genia, V. (1996). I, E, quest, and fundamentalism as predictors of psychological and spiritual well- being. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 35(1), 56–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • George Dalmida, S., Holstad, M. M., Dilorio, C., Laderman, G., & Hodgson, N. (2011). Spiritual well-being and health-related quality of life among African–American women with HIV/AIDS. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 6, 139–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green, M., & Elliott, M. (2010). Religion, health, and psychological well-being. Journal of Religion and Health, 49, 149–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, D., & Witztum, E. (2001). Sanity and sanctity: Mental health work among the ultra-orthodox in Jerusalem. New Haven: Yale.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Grözinger, G., & Matiaske, W. (2014). The direct and indirect impact of religion on well-being in Germany. Social Indicators Research, 116, 373–387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guttmacher, S., & Ellinson, J. (1971). Ethno-religious variation in perceptions of illness: the use of illness as an explanation for deviant behavior. Social Science and Medicine, 5, 117–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heelas, P. (1996). The New Age movement: The celebration of the self and the sacralization of modernity. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heelas, P., Woodhead, L., Benjamin Seel, B. S., & Tusting, K. (2005). The spiritual revolution: Why religion is giving way to spirituality. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hood, R. W., Hill, P. C., & Williamson, W. P. (2005). The psychology of religious fundamentalism. New York: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Houtman, D., & Aupers, S. (2007). The spiritual turn and the decline of tradition: the spread of post-Christian spirituality in 14 western countries, 1981-2000. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 46, 305–320.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Husaini, B. A., Blasi, A. J., & Miller, O. (1999). Does public and private religiosity have a moderating effect on depression? A bi-racial study of elders in the American south. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 48, 63–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Idler, E. L. (1995). Religion, health, and nonphysical senses of self. Social Forces, 74, 683–704.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Idler, E. L., Hudson, S. V., & Leventhal, H. (1999). The meanings of self-ratings of health: a qualitative and quantitative approach. Research on Aging, 21, 458–476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • James, W. (1902/2002). The varieties of religious experience: A study in human nature. New York: The Modern Library.

  • Johnson, K. A. (2007). The social construction of emotions in the Bhagavad Gita: locating ethics in a redacted text. Journal of Religious Ethics, 35, 655–679.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, K. A., White, A. E., Boyd, B. M., & Cohen, A. B. (2011). Matzah, meat, milk, and mana: Psychological influences on religio-cultural food practices. Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology, 42, 1421–1436.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, K. A., Li, Y. J., Cohen, A. B., & Okun, M. A. (2013). Friends in high places: the influence of authoritarian and benevolent god-concepts on social attitudes and behaviors. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 5, 15–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joshanloo, M., & Weijers, D. (2016). Religiositymoderates the relationship between income inequality and life satisfaction across the globe. Social Indicators Research.

  • Keltner, D., & Haidt, J. (1999). Social functions of emotions at four levels of analysis. Cognition and Emotion, 13, 505–521.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, G. J., Kelman, H. R., Thomas, C., & Chen, J. (1996). The relation of religious preference and practice to depressive symptoms among 1,855 older adults. Journals of Gerontology Series B-Psychological Sciences & Social Sciences, 51, P301–P308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klein, I. (1979). Guide to Jewish religious practice. New York: Jewish Theological Seminary.

    Google Scholar 

  • Langman, P. (1997). White culture, Jewish culture, and the origins of psychotherapy. Psychotherapy, 34, 207–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Layard, R. (2005). Happiness: Lessons from a new science. New York: The Penguin Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazar, A., & Bjorck, J. P. (2008). Religious support and psychosocial well-being among a religious Jewish population. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 11, 403–421.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levin, J. (2013). Religion and mental health among Israeli Jews: findings from the SHARE-Israel study. Social Indicators Research, 113, 769–784.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Markides, K. S. (1983). Aging, religiosity, and adjustment: a longitudinal analysis. Journal of Gerontology, 38, 621–625.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maton, K. I. (1989). The stress-buffering role of spiritual support: cross-sectional and prospective investigations. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 28, 310–323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCauley, R. N., & Lawson, E. T. (2002). Bringing ritual to mind: Psychological foundations of cultural forms. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • McCullough, M. E., & Willoughby, B. L. (2009). Religion, self-regulation, and self-control: associations, explanations, and implications. Psychological Bulletin, 135, 69–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCullough, M. E., Hoyt, W. T., Larson, D. B., Koenig, H. G., & Thoresen, C. (2000). Religious involvement and mortality: a meta-analytic review. Health Psychology, 19, 211–222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michalos, A. C. (1980). Satisfaction and happiness. Social Indicators Research, 8, 385–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mochon, D., Norton, M., & Ariely, D. (2011). Who benefits from religion? Social Indicators Research, 101, 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore, J. T., & Leach, M. M. (2016). Dogmatism and mental health: a comparison of the religious and secular. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 8, 54–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Musick, M. A., Koenig, H. G., Hays, J. C., & Cohen, H. J. (1998). Religious activity and depression among community-dwelling elderly persons with cancer: the moderating effect of race. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 53B, S218–S227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myers, D. (1992). Pursuit of happiness: Discovering the pathway to fulfillment, well-being, and enduring personal joy. New York: Avon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newberg, A. B., & d’Aquili, E. G. (2000). The neuropsychology of religious and spiritual experience. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 7, 251–266.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ng, E. C. W., & Fisher, A. T. (2016). Protestant spirituality and well-being of people in Hong Kong: the mediating role of sense of community. Applied Research in Quality of Life. doi:10.1007/s11482-015-9435-6.

  • Noor, N. M., Gandhi, A. D., Ishak, I., & Wok, S. (2014). Development of indicators for family well-being in Malaysia. Social Indicators Research, 115, 279–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor, S., & Vandenberg, B. (2005). Psychosis or faith? Clinicians’ assessment of religious beliefs. Journal of Consultiing and Clinicial Psychology, 73, 610–616.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paloutzian, R. F., & Ellison, C. W. (1982). Loneliness, spiritual well-being and quality of life. In L. A. Peplau & D. Perlman (Eds.), Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory, research and therapy (pp. 224–237). New York: Wiley Interscience.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pargament, K. I., & Park, C. L. (1997). In times of stress: the religion-coping connection. In B. Spilka & D. N. McIntosh (Eds.), The psychology of religion: Theoretical approaches (pp. 43–53). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pargament, K. I., Koenig, H. G., Tarakeshwar, N., & Hahn, J. (2001). Religious struggle as a predictor of mortality among medically ill elderly patients: a two-year longitudinal study. Archives of Internal Medicine, 161, 1881–1885.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, C. L. (2005). Religion and meaning. In R. F. Paloutzian & C. L. Park (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of religion and spirituality (pp. 295–314). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. (2009). Many Americans mix multiple faiths: Eastern, New Age beliefs widespread. Retrieved October 18 2010, from Pew Forum: http://pewforum.org/Other-Beliefs-and-Practices/Many-Americans-Mix-Multiple-Faiths.aspx#1

  • Pirutinsky, S. (2009). The terror management function of orthodox Jewish religiosity: a religious culture approach. Mental Health Religion and Culture, 12, 247–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pokimica, J., Addai, I., & Takyi, B. (2012). Religion and subjective well-being in Ghana. Social Indicators Research, 106, 61–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poloma, M. M., & Pendleton, B. F. (1990). Religious domains and general well-being. Social Indicators Research, 22(3), 255–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pruyser, P. (1968). A dynamic psychology of religion. New York: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosmarin, D. H., Krumrei, E. J., & Andersson, G. (2009a). Religion as a predictor of psychological distress in two religious communities. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 38, 54–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosmarin, D. H., Pargament, K. I., & Flannelly, K. J. (2009b). Do spiritual struggles predict poorer physical/mental health among Jews? The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 19, 244–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosmarin, D. H., Pirutinsky, S., Pargament, K. I., & Krumrei, E. J. (2009c). Are religious beliefs relevant to mental health among Jews? Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 1, 180–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rozin, P., Lowery, L., Imada, S., & Haidt, J. (1999). The CAD triad hypothesis: a mapping between three moral emotions (contempt, anger, disgust) and three moral codes (community, autonomy, divinity). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76(4), 574–586.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saroglou, V. (2011). Believing, bonding, behaving, and belonging: the big four religious dimensions and cultural variation. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 42, 1320–1340.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sawatzky, R., Gadermann, A., & Pesut, B. (2009). An investigation of the relationships between spirituality, health status and quality of life in adolescents. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 4, 5–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schuurmans-Stekhoven, J. B. (2011). Is it god or just the data that moves in mysterious ways? How well-being research may be mistaking faith for virtue. Social Indicators Research, 100, 313–330.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Authentic happiness. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sethi, S., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1993). Optimism and fundamentalism. Psychological Science, 4, 256–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheldon, K. M. (2006). Catholic guilt? Comparing Catholics’ and Protestants’ religious motivations. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 16, 209–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shweder, R. A., Much, N. C., Mahapatra, M., & Park, L. (1997). The ‘big three’ of morality (autonomy, community, divinity) and the ‘big three’ explanations of suffering. In A. M. Brandt & P. Rozin (Eds.), Morality and health (pp. 119–169). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siev, J., & Cohen, A. B. (2007). Is thought-action fusion related to religiosity? Group differences between Jews and Christians. Behaviour Research & Therapy, 45, 829–837.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sosis, R. (2006). Religious behaviors, badges, and bans: signaling theory and the evolution of religion. In P. McNamara (Ed.), Where God and science meet: How brain and evolutionary studies alter our understanding of religion, Volume 1: Evolution, Genes, and the religious brain (pp. 61–86). Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steenwyk, S. A., Atkins, D. C., Bedics, J. D., & Whitley, J. B. (2010). Images of god as they relate to life satisfaction and hopelessness. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 20, 85–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tiliouine, H. (2009). Measuring satisfaction with religiosity and its contribution to the personal well- being index in a Muslim sample. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 4(1), 91–108. doi:10.1007/s11482-009-9074-x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tiliouine, H., & Belgoumidi, A. (2009). An exploratory study of religiosity, meaning in life and subjective wellbeing in Muslim students from Algeria. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 4, 109–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uchino, B. N., Cacioppo, J. T., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (1996). The relationship between social support and physiological processes: A review with emphasis on underlying mechanisms and implications for health. Psychological Bulletin, 119, 488–531.

  • Veenhoven, R. (1984). Conditions of happiness. Dordrecht: Reidel.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • von Humboldt, S., Leal, I., & Pimenta, F. (2014). Living well in later life: the influence of sense of coherence, and socio- demographic, lifestyle and health-related factors on older adults’ satisfaction with life. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 9, 631–642.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wex, M. (2005). Born to kvetch: Yiddish language and culture in all its moods. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wulff, D. M. (1997). Psychology of religion: Classic and contemporary (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc..

    Google Scholar 

  • Yiengprugsawan, V., Seubsman, S., Khamman, S., Lim, L. L.-Y., & Sleigh, A. C. (2010). Personal wellbeing index in a national cohort of 87,134 Thai adults. Social Indicators Research, 98, 201–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zinnbauer, B. J., Pargament, K. I., & Scott, A. B. (1999). The emerging meanings of religiousness and spirituality: problems and prospects. Journal of Personality, 67, 889–919.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Adam B. Cohen.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Cohen, A.B., Johnson, K.A. The Relation between Religion and Well-Being. Applied Research Quality Life 12, 533–547 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-016-9475-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-016-9475-6

Keywords

Navigation