The religion paradox
If religion makes people happy, why are so many dropping out
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6201185 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ed Diener (0000-0002-7418-4282, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), Louis Tay (0000-0002-5522-4728, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), David G Myers (0009-0005-5045-0047, Hope College) |
| Year | 2011 |
| Volume | 101 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 1278-1290 |
| Publication date | 2011-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3514 • E-ISSN: 1939-1315 |
| Publisher | American Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1037/a0024402 |
| PMID | 21806304 |
| OpenAlex | W2084965201 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 282 |
| References cited | 18 |
As we estimate here, 68% of human beings--4.6 billion people--would say that religion is important in their daily lives. Past studies have found that the religious, on average, have higher subjective well-being (SWB). Yet, people are rapidly leaving organized religion in economically developed nations where religious freedom is high. Why would people leave religion if it enhances their happiness? After controlling for circumstances in both the United States and world samples, we found that religiosity is associated with slightly higher SWB, and similarly so across four major world religions. The associations of religiosity and SWB were mediated by social support, feeling respected, and purpose or meaning in life. However, there was an interaction underlying the general trend such that the association of religion and well-being is conditional on societal circumstances. Nations and states with more difficult life conditions (e.g., widespread hunger and low life expectancy) were much more likely to be highly religious. In these nations, religiosity was associated with greater social support, respect, purpose or meaning, and all three types of SWB. In societies with more favorable circumstances, religiosity is less prevalent and religious and nonreligious individuals experience similar levels of SWB. There was also a person-culture fit effect such that religious people had higher SWB in religious nations but not in nonreligious nations. Thus, it appears that the benefits of religion for social relationships and SWB depend on the characteristics of the society
Feeling · General Social Survey · Happiness · Life expectancy · Life satisfaction · Meaning (existential) · Population · Religiosity · Religious identity · Sociology · Subjective well-being · World Values Survey · Demography · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction · Psychology · Religion and Society Interactions · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology · Social Psychology
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The Role of Spirituality and Religiosity in Subjective Well-Being of Individuals With Different Religious Status
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Who Is Happier in China? Exploring Determinant Factors Using Religion as a Moderator
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Religious/Spiritual Connection and Subjective Well-Being Across Religious and Nonreligious Individuals in 121 Countries
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Developmental Patterns of Religiosity in Relation to Criminal Trajectories among Serious Offenders moving from Adolescence to Young Adult
The associations between religiosity and the Big-Five personality traits in college students from Sudan
Confirmatory factor analysis and gender invariance of the Four Basic Dimensions of Religiousness Scale in India
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Examining the relation of religion and spirituality to subjective well-being across national cultures
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What drives apostates and converters? The social and familial antecedents of religious change among adolescents
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Target Article
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| Unique citing works | 282 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 20,14 |
| Citation span | 2012 - 2026 (15) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | Yes |
| Citation types | Neutral: 263 |