Religion, Spirituality and Well-Being

Religion, Spirituality, and Well-Being

Religion vs. Spirituality

• Spirituality: A personal or group search for the sacred in life.

• Religion/Religiosity: A search for the sacred within a traditional context, such as a formal religious institution.

Age and Religious Importance

• Younger adults are less likely than older adults to consider religion very important in 46 countries.

• In Georgia and Ghana, older adults (ages 40+) are less likely to say religion is very important in their daily lives.

• Pew Research Center data (2008-2017) shows:

  • 40% of Americans aged 18-29 find religion very important.

  • 65% of Americans aged 65+ find religion very important.

Religiousness vs. Spirituality

• Self-transcendence: Relating to something greater than oneself.

  • Vertical transcendence: Example: God.

  • Horizontal transcendence: Example: Tao.

Belief in Higher Power

• One-third of U.S. adults believe in a higher power of some kind, but not in God as described in the Bible.

• Data:

  • Believe in God as described in the Bible: 56%

  • Believe in some other higher power/spiritual force: 23%

  • Do not believe in God, but believe in some higher power/spiritual force: 9%

  • Do not believe in any higher power/spiritual force: 10%

Spirituality and Quality of Life

• There's a linear relationship between spirituality and quality of life.

  • Linear = 0.442 (Day, 2017; Kim-Prieto & Miller, 2018; Paloutzian & Park, 2005)

Religion and Mental Well-Being

• Better emotional well-being and lower rates of delinquency, alcoholism, and drug abuse (Donahue and Benson, 1995).

• Life satisfaction across all ages (Peacock and Paloma, 1999).

• Increased positive emotions and virtues.

• People with spiritual/self-transcendent strivings/goals experience:

  • Positive emotions.

  • Higher SWB (Subjective Well-Being).

  • Better physical health.

  • More concern for others (empathy) (Ciarrocchi, Dy-Liacco & Deneke, 2008; Matlby, Lewis & Day, 1999; Oman & Thoesen, 2005).

Religion and Culture

• Size of Major Religious Groups in 2010 (Percentage of the global population):

  • Christians: 31.5%

  • Muslims: 23.2%

  • Hindus: 15.0%

  • Unaffiliated: 16.3%

  • Buddhists: 7.1%

  • Folk Religionists: 5.9%

  • Jews: 0.2%

  • Other Religions**: 0.8%

Religion Around the World

• Mentions of Islam, Kabbalah, and Buddhism.

• Buddhism:

  • Uposatha

  • Nirvana

  • Enlightenment

Wong’s Noetic Happiness

• Need something higher and deeper to get through bad days.

• Happiness in a noxious world is predicated on the human capacity to transcend and transform negative experiences through meaning and faith (Wong, 2008b).

• Greatest achievement: ability to experience the invisible spiritual reality and discover shining stars in the darkest night of the soul.

• We become nobler, purer, kinder, and more generous when we dig deep into our innermost being and reach out to the highest heaven while struggling to survive unimaginable terror and torment.

• For suffering beings, happiness has a deeper meaning than positive affect, life satisfaction, or subjective well-being.

Noetic Happiness

• A spiritual or transcendent kind of good life understanding the finitude of life the humility of letting go repentance and forgiveness loving-kindness to all bearing the fruit of righteousness.

• Noetic Happiness vs. Eudaimonic Happiness

Learning About Culture, Religion, or Spiritual Practice

• Effective ways to learn: Observation, Language Study, Research, Immersion, or something else?

Religious Participation and Health

• Religiosity and Health: A Global Comparative Study (Zimmer, Rojo, Osfetedal, Chiu and Saito, 2019)

• Religious participation and self -assessed health by country

Religion and Physical Well-Being

• Importance of God and self-assessed health by country

• Religiosity and Health: A Global Comparative Study (Zimmer, Rojo, Osfetedal, Chiu and Saito, 2019)

Religion and Physical Health

• Greater Religiosity is correlated with: Fewer illnesses, Lower rates of cancer and heart attacks, Quicker recovery, Greater pain tolerance, Longer life.

• Factors: Learned “hardiness”, Positive emotions, Generativity, Religious music, Better social support.

• Religion dispels meaninglessness.

• Stavrova’s research indicates a potential increase of 7 years in lifespan.

Religious Tenets that Promote Well-Being

• The “Golden Rule.”

• Better to give.

• Gratitude.

• Forgiveness.

• Helping others.

• Meditation.

• Prayer.

• Meaning and purpose.

• Ultimate meaning.

Religion and Meaning

• What does it mean to have meaning?

• Imagine the following scenario… life has inherent value and is worth living. Have you discovered ultimate meaning?

Perspectives on Faith and Knowledge

• "Faith without knowledge can be dangerous?"

• OR…

• "Faith is everything and knowledge is irrelevant?"

Religion and Meaning

• Personal/Situational Meaning vs. Cosmic/Global Meaning

• Meaning and Subjective Well-Being:

  • Positive emotions

  • Buffer against stress

  • Having vs. Searching

• Personal/Situational Meaning (Pinquart, 2002)

Creating Meaning

• Personality Traits:

  • Extraversion

  • Conscientiousness

• Social Support and purpose

• Spiritual commitment

• Self-enhanced meaning

• Personal/individual process?

Meaning-Making in the Face of Tragedy

• Connection

• Significance

• Adapting (Park, 2011)

• “After…(tragic event)…I lost faith in…(source of meaning).”

• “I was devastated by…(tragedy)…but I came to realize that…(reappraisal of tragedy)…”

Creating Meaning

• Living in harmony with yourself and the world: Religion/spirituality providing answers, a sense of control/predictability; hope.

• Serving others.

• Creativity.

• Live deeply.

• Suffering.

• Why suffering? (Park & Folkman, 1997; Yalom, 1980; Frankl, 1963; Emmons, 1999; Lillan, 2015; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1995)

Suffering

• Tedeschi and Calhoun (1995):

  • Confidence

  • Enhanced relationships

  • Opportunity to enhance or alter one’s meaning philosophy

• Have you grown from your Suffering? (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1995)

Religion/Life Philosophy and Coping

• James: Prayer is the “essence of religion.”

• Forgiveness, support, compassion, and hope.

• 77% report praying at least occasionally; 55% report praying daily.

• Prayer types

• Whittington and Scher (2010): Less ego-focused prayer

• Do you have a spiritual or religious practice/activity?

• Lambert, et al (2010): Daily colloquial prayer

Prayer and Physical Health

• Better post-op emotional health in cardiac patients.

• Greater vitality and mental health.

• Greater psychological WB.

• Decreased depression after cardiac surgery.

• Benson’s research

Religious Experiences

• Epiphany

• Sacred emotions: Elation, Awe

• Moral acts of beauty (Haidt, 2000)

• Mother Teresa Study: Help others, Affiliation, Love, compassion, Well-being

Religious Experiences and Spiritual Awakenings

• Have you witnessed an act of compassion? When? What was that like?

Religious Experiences

• Awe: a deep appreciative wonder

• A sense of perceived vastness

• An inability to conceive of the experience in a way that makes sense.

• Reflection: Slow down, Savor the moment, Love's Big picture (Schneider)

Religious Experiences

• Wonder

• Imagination

• Joy

• Gratitude

• Love (Stolberg)

• Experiences: personal, physical, metaphysical

• How can wonder be induced? (Stolberg) Mindfulness