“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine”

This essay explores the relationship between humour, religion, and wellbeing. It surveys some historical and contemporary psychological approaches to humour, and examines the empirical findings on the relationship between humour and health. It notes the historical antipathy between religion and humour, and argues that this is based on an incomplete analysis of the complexities of both religion and humour, including the chronological aspects of phase in the life of a religion or religious movement, and the capacity of humour both to conserve and subvert received wisdom of the faith tradition. Finally, it argues that aspects of both humour and religion are associated with transcendence, and that this maybe a helpful a conceptual bridge linking the two

Aesthetics · Antipathy · Art · Epistemology · Faith · Literature · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Humor Studies and Applications · Law · Media Influence and Health · Obesity and Health Practices · Philosophy · Psychology

• The Power of Humor in Strong African American Marriages

  Loren D Marks, Danielle H Cannon et al.•Marriage & Family Review•2025

  Incluir item

• Purity and Danger

  Mary Douglas•Purity and Danger•2003

  Incluir item

• Affective Neuroscience

  Jaak Panksepp•Affective neuroscience•1998

  Incluir item

• Handbook of Posttraumatic Growth

  Lawrence G Calhoun, Richard G Tedeschi•Handbook of Posttraumatic Growth•2014

  Incluir item

• Trauma & Transformation

  Richard Tedeschi, Richard G Tedeschi et al.•Trauma & Transformation•1995

  Incluir item

• Handbook of Religion and Health

  Harold Koenig, Harold George Koenig et al.•Handbook of religion and health•2001

  Incluir item

• Coping humour, stress, and cognitive appraisals.

  Nicolas A Kuiper, Rod A Martins et al.•Canadian Journal of Behavioural…•1993

  Incluir item

• The sociology of humor

  Giselinde Kuipers•Primer of Humor Research•2008

  Incluir item

• Religion and spirituality

  Lynda H Powell, Leila Shahabi et al.•American Psychologist•2003

  Incluir item

• Spiritual Development Across the Adult Life Course

  Open Access•Paul Wink, Michele Dillon•Journal of Adult Development•2002

  Incluir item

• Types of stressors that increase susceptibility to the common cold in healthy adults.

  Sheldon Cohen, Ellen Frank et al.•Health Psychology•1998

  Incluir item

• Target Article

  Richard G Tedeschi, Lawrence G Calhoun•Psychological Inquiry•2004

  Incluir item

• The Theory Of Social And Economic Organization

  Max Weber•The Theory Of Social And Economic…•1997

  Incluir item

• Critique of Judgment

  Immanuel Kant•Art and Its Significance•1994

  Incluir item

• Beyond dogmatism

  Saroglou•Mental Health Religion & Culture•2002

  Incluir item

• Being religious implies being different in humour

  Saroglou, Vassilis Saroglou•Mental Health Religion & Culture•2004

  Incluir item

• Philosophische Anthropologie

  Joachim Fischer•Philosophische Anthropologie•2022

  Incluir item

• Humor, laughter, and physical health

  Rod A Martins, Rod A Martin•Psychological Bulletin•2001

  Incluir item

• Psychological resources, positive illusions, and health

  Shelley E Taylor, Margaret E Kemeny et al.•American Psychologist•2000

  Incluir item

• Religiousness, Religious Fundamentalism, and Quest as Predictors of Humor Creation

  Saroglou•International Journal for the…•2002

  Incluir item

• Coding and Quantifying Counterintuitiveness in Religious Concepts

  Justin L Barrett, Justin Barrett•Method & Theory in the Study of…•2008

  Incluir item

• The biology of humor

  William F Fry•Humor - International Journal of…•1994

  Incluir item

• Thoughts of feeling better? Sense of humor and physical health

  Nicholas A Kuiper, Sorrel Nicholl•Humor - International Journal of…•2004

  Incluir item

• Humor, stress, and coping strategies

  Millicent H Abel•Humor - International Journal of…•2002

  Incluir item

• Humor is not always the best medicine

  Nicholas A Kuiper, Melissa Grimshaw et al.•Humor - International Journal of…•2004

  Incluir item

• Value Priorities and Religiosity in Four Western Religions

  Shalom H Schwartz, Sipke E Huismans et al.•Social Psychology Quarterly•1995

  Incluir item

• Individual differences in uses of humor and their relation to psychological well-being

  Open Access•Rod A Martins, Rod A Martin et al.•Journal of Research in Personality•2003

  Incluir item

• Enhancement of humor appreciation by transferred excitation

  Joanne Cantor, Joanne R Cantor et al.•Journal of Personality and Social…•1974

  Incluir item

• Using Humor in Systematic Desensitization to Reduce Fear

  W Larry Ventis, Garrett Higbee et al.•The Journal of General Psychology•2001

  Incluir item

• Situational Humor Response Questionnaire

  Rod A Martins, Rod A Martin et al.•Journal of Personality and Social…•1984

  Incluir item

• Jokes

  Ted Cohen•Jokes•1999

  Incluir item

• The psychology of religion

  Ralph W Hood•The psychology of religion•2009

  Incluir item

• Jokes and their Relation to the Unconscious 1905

  Sigmund Freud, Abraham Arden Brill et al.•The joke and its relation to the…•2024

  Incluir item

• Target Article

  Kenneth I Pargament•Psychological Inquiry•2002

  Incluir item

• Religion and sense of humor

  Saroglou•Humor - International Journal of…•2002

  Incluir item

• Approaching awe, a moral, spiritual, and aesthetic emotion

  Dacher Keltner, Jonathan Haidt•Cognition & Emotion•2003

  Incluir item

• Authoritarianism, Religious Fundamentalism, Quest, and Prejudice

  Bob Altemeyer, Bruce Hunsberger•International Journal for the…•1992

  Incluir item

• A Cultural History of Humour. From Antiquity to the Present Day

  Christie Davies, Jan Bremmer et al.•British Journal of Sociology•1998

  Incluir item

• Gender differences in mate selection preferences

  Alan Feingold•Psychological Bulletin•1992

  Incluir item

• Jokes

  Elliott Oring, Ted Cohen•Western Folklore•2000

  Incluir item

• The Psychology of Religion

  Bruce Hunsberger, Bruce E Hunsberger et al.•Review of Religious Research•1986

  Incluir item

• Redeeming Laughter

  Peter L Berger•Redeeming Laughter•1997

  Incluir item

• The Psychology of Religion

  Michael J Donahue, Ralph W Hood et al.•Journal for the Scientific Study…•1998

  Incluir item

• The Psychology of Religion and Coping

  Susan H Mcfadden, Kenneth I Pargament•Journal for the Scientific Study…•1998

  Incluir item