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Religiosity and Life SatisfactionAnne Bergan MA a & Jasmin Tahmeseb McConathaPhD aa West Chester University , USAPublished online: 22 Sep 2008.
To cite this article: Anne Bergan MA & Jasmin Tahmeseb McConatha PhD (2001)Religiosity and Life Satisfaction, Activities, Adaptation & Aging, 24:3, 23-34, DOI:10.1300/J016v24n03_02
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Religiosity and Life Satisfaction
Anne BerganJasmin Tahmeseb McConatha
ABSTRACT. Religiosity has been examined in relation to life satisfac-tion, subjective well-being, happiness, health and social involvement.Previous social psychological research generally evaluated religiosityas a unidimensional concept focusing primarily on religious attendance.Researchers have noted that reliance on religious attendance as a solemeasure of religiosity may be insufficient and lead to incorrect conclu-sions. Recent studies have explored the relationship between multipledimensions of religiosity and measures of well-being (Ellison, Gay &Glass, 1989; Ellison, 1991; Chumbler, 1996).
This study examined the relationships between religiosity, life satis-faction, age and gender. Two dimensions of religiosity were evaluated,religious affiliation and private religious devotion. Results indicate thatreligious affiliation is more strongly tied to life satisfaction than privatereligious devotion. Both measures of religiosity increased with age,indicating that adults tend to increase levels of religious affiliation andprivate religious devotion across the lifespan. In support of previousfindings, women reported a higher level of religiosity than men in thesample studied. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth DocumentDelivery Service: 1-800-342-9678. E-mail address: [email protected]<Website: http://www.haworthpressinc.com>]
KEYWORDS. Religiosity, life satisfaction, age, gender
Religiosity has been identified as a major factor influencing well-being across the life-span. Religious beliefs and religious involvementhave been examined in relation to a number of factors such as lifesatisfaction, subjective well-being, happiness, health and social in-
Anne Bergan, MA, and Jasmin Tahmeseb McConatha, PhD, Professor ofPsychology, are both affiliated with West Chester University.
Activities, Adaptation & Aging, Vol. 24(3) 2000� 2000 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. 23
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ACTIVITIES, ADAPTATION & AGING24
volvement. This study focuses on an examination of the relationshipbetween age, gender, religiosity and life satisfaction.
Religiosity refers to the various dimensions associated with religiousbeliefs and involvement. Previous social psychological research gener-ally evaluated religiosity as a unidimensional concept focusing primari-ly on religious attendance. More recent studies have stressed the impor-tance of evaluating religiosity as a multidimensional concept focusingon subjective, cognitive, behavioral, and the social and cultural com-ponents as well (Ellison et al., 1989; Ellison, 1991; Chumbler, 1996).Aspects of religiosity, such as private devotion (prayer) and existentialcertainty, are now also regarded as important components of this trait.
Researchers have noted that reliance on religious attendance as asole measure of religiosity may be insufficient and lead to incorrectconclusions. This is especially the case with older adults with physicallimitations who are unable to attend religious services regularly (Idler,1987; Markides, Levin & Ray, 1987). At least for this population,certain aspects of religiosity, such as private devotion and religiousbelief systems, may serve as more accurate measures of religiositythan participation (Koenig, Kvale & Ferrel, 1988).
Recent studies have explored the relationship between multipledimensions of religiosity and measures of well-being. For example,Ellison et al. (1989) independently examined three aspects of religios-ity: private devotion (devotional), amount of religious attendance (par-ticipatory), and degree of connection to a denomination (affiliative).The results from this study indicated that devotional and participatoryaspects of religiosity were both positively related to life satisfaction.With regard to the affiliative dimension of religiosity, the researchfound that more conservative denominations expressed greater lifesatisfaction than liberal denominations. These effects remained de-spite controlling for secular social ties.
In a later study, Ellison (1991) analyzed the relationship betweenfour aspects of religious involvement and measures of well-beingfrom a cross-sectional sample. The four aspects investigated included:‘‘the promotion of more specific patterns of religious organization andpersonal lifestyle (denominational ties); social integration and sup-port; the establishment of personal relationships with a divine other(divine relations) and through the provision of systems of meaningand existential coherence (existential certainty)’’ (Ellison, 1991, p. 80).
This study enhanced the literature base in this field and presented a
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Anne Bergan and Jasmin Tahmeseb McConatha 25
clearer understanding of the multidimensional aspects of religiousinvolvement. Unlike previous studies, Ellison (1991) directly mea-sured ‘‘existential certainty’’ as one component of religious involve-ment and explored the variation in denominational ties. Also, Ellisonexamined religious involvement in relation to stressful life events, ageand educational attainment.
Overall, the results of studies examining religiosity and life satis-faction generally indicate that people who express stronger religiousfaith and involvement also report fewer stressful life events and great-er life satisfaction (Maxwell & Cockriel, 1995; Ellison, 1991; Chum-bler, 1996). Although some researchers have failed to find a directrelationship between religiosity and life satisfaction, in general, thereis a consensus within the literature that religiosity enhances life satis-faction (Gee & Veevers, 1990; Diener, 1984).
Bibby and Brinkerhoff (1974) suggested that religious involvementpromotes a sense of community and belonging which in turn increaseslife satisfaction. Research stemming from this view engendered theresource interpretation of religion which proposed that people rely onreligion as a resource of social and emotional support (Hadaway,1978). Schwab and Peterson (1990) suggested several ways religioncan enhance life satisfaction. For example, religious beliefs and in-volvement may promote a sense of belonging and provide meaningand purpose in life, and hope and security for the future.
Although most researchers presently regard religiosity as a multidi-mensional concept, they have yet to agree on what particular dimen-sions of religiosity are most closely tied to life satisfaction (Krause,1993; Peterson & Roy, 1985; Ellison, 1991; Ellison, Guy & Glass,1989). Krause (1993) suggested that the lack of consensus regardingthe measurement of religiosity has lead to equivocal findings in thisarea. For although there appears to be a consistent relationship be-tween religiosity and life satisfaction, some researchers failed to sup-port strong findings (Campbell, Converse & Rodgers, 1976; Markideset al., 1987).
Age and gender similarities and differences in measures of religios-ity have also been addressed in a number of studies. Although aconventional assumption exists that religiosity increases with age,research examining the assumption has been mixed (Krause, 1993;Markides et al., 1987). In a meta-analytic review, Witter, Stock, Okunand Haring (1985) supported age differences in a study of religiosity
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and life satisfaction. Across studies, the relationship between mea-sures of religiosity and subjective well-being was stronger for olderadults than younger adults. Ellison (1991) considered age in his ex-amination of religiosity and life satisfaction and reported that frequen-cy of prayer, feelings of communality with God and religious certaintyincreased with age. Although these results suggest that the relationshipbetween religiosity and life satisfaction intensifies with age, research-ers have noted that more attention is needed in this area of study,particularly within the gerontological literature (Krause, 1993).
Gender differences have also been noted in studies examiningreligiosity and life satisfaction, with differences most pronounced inresearch addressing religiosity in isolation (Ellison et al., 1989; Koe-nig et al., 1988; Miller & Hoffman, 1995). Koenig et al. (1988) re-ported that the correlations between religious behavior, attitudes andmorale were stronger among women than men. ‘‘Studies of religiousbeliefs and religious behaviors have demonstrated consistently thatfemales are more religious than males. They are more likely to expressa greater interest in religion’’ (Miller & Hoffman, 1995, p. 63).
Given some inconsistent findings in the relationship betweenreligiosity, life satisfaction, age and gender, and the need to more fullyunderstand how various dimensions of religiosity are related to lifesatisfaction, further research is still needed in this area. This studyexamines the relationships between religiosity, life satisfaction, ageand gender. Two dimensions of religiosity are evaluated, religiousaffiliation and private religious devotion. Based on previous research,it is expected that the results of this study will lend further support tothe positive relationship between religiosity and life satisfaction. Inline with previous research, it is expected that women will report asignificantly higher level of religiosity and that measures of religiositywill increase with age.
METHOD
The results of this research are based on a cross-sectional sample ofadults. Three hundred and twenty adults residing in a suburban areawest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania volunteered to participate in thestudy. Data were gathered at local community events, senior centers,school events and through neighborhood contacts. The sample con-sisted of 137 male and 193 female respondents who ranged from 17 to
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92 years of age. For the purposes of analyses, age was broken downinto four categories: Group 1 (n = 92) consisted of 17-25 year olds,group 2 (n = 23) 26-40 year olds, group 3 (n = 79) 41-64 year olds, andgroup 4 (n = 36) 65 and over. Numbers not totaling 100% indicatemissing cases. The majority of the participants were white (84% ) andmiddle class, with approximately 39% reporting a family incomeranging between $20,000 and $40,000 and approximately 38% report-ing a family income ranging from $40,000 to $80,000. Fifty-six per-cent of the sample was presently married with over 50% having one ormore children.
Questionnaires were self-administered to participants individuallyor in small groups of 2 to 6. Life satisfaction was measured on a 5point Likert-type scale with responses ranging from very satisfied todissatisfied. Reliability analysis of this scale produced an alpha of .65.Religiosity was measured by two separate items. In accord with theliterature on religiosity, the items measured religious affiliation andprivate religious devotion (prayer). Religious affiliation was measuredon a 5 point Likert-type scale with (1) representing very strong affilia-tion and (5) representing very weak affiliation. The second itemassessed the frequency of private religious devotion on a 6 point Likert-type scale with (1) representing several times per week to (6) represent-ing never. Demographic variables such as age, occupation, maritalstatus, and income were also evaluated.
Data were analyzed through analyses of variance with two levelsof gender (male and female) and four levels of age group (transitionto adulthood, young adulthood, middle adulthood and late adulthood)for the effects of general life satisfaction, religious affiliation andprivate religious devotion. The relationships between general lifesatisfaction and age, gender, religious affiliation, private religiousdevotion, income, education and marital status were evaluatedthrough a Pearson product moment correlational analysis. The datawere further examined through a multiple regression analysis, withgeneral life satisfaction as the dependent variable. The independentvariables were age, gender, religious affiliation and private religiousdevotion. The purpose of the regression analysis was to determine ifgeneral life satisfaction is predictable by any of the independentvariables of interest.
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RESULTS
Results from analyses of variance indicated that religious affiliationstrongly varied as a function of age (see Table 1). In examining themeans from a reversed-keyed 5 point Likert-type scale, religious affil-iation consistently increased across the four age groups (M = 3.0; 2.9;2.7; 2.0), with late adulthood respondents reporting a strongerreligious affiliation than young and middle adulthood respondents. Amain effect for gender was also found with women reporting signifi-cantly higher religious affiliation than men overall.
For the effect of private religious devotion, the results indicatedboth significant gender and age group differences (see Table 2). Themeans for private religious devotion on a reversed-keyed 6 point Lik-ert type scale revealed that this variable consistently increased withage (M = 2.6; 2.4; 2.1; 1.7). The older adult age group reportedpraying more frequently than younger adults. Women (M = 2.1) alsoreported praying more often than men (M = 2.7). These two significantfindings are in support of previous findings reported in the literatureon age, gender and religiosity.
Pearson correlation matrices were computed for the sample and theresults of this analysis are presented in Table 3. A significant relation-ship was found between religious affiliation and life satisfaction. Incontrast, the positive relationship between private religious devotionand general life satisfaction was not found to be significant. Despitethis discrepancy, the two measures of religiosity, religious affiliationand private religious devotion, were strongly correlated with oneanother.
Both measures of religiosity were also significantly related to ageand gender. Overall, religious affiliation and private religious devotionappeared to increase with age, and women reported significantlygreater religious affiliation and frequency of private religious devotion
TABLE 1. Analysis of Variance for Religious Affiliation
Source df Mean FSquare
Age (A) 3 1.32 7.97***Gender(G) 1 5.07 3.90*A � G 3 .16 .3
p < .05 **p < .01 ***p < .001
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TABLE 2. Analysis of Variance for Private Religious Devotion
Source df Mean FSquare
Age (A) 3 1.06 3.48*Gender (G) 1 22.35 7.74*A � G 3 .29 .1
*p < .05 **p <. 01 ***p <. 001
TABLE 3. Pearson Correlations Among General Life Satisfaction, Domain LifeSatisfaction and Seven Predictor Variables
Variable L.S. Age Gender R.A. P.R.D Income Ed.
Age .04Gender�.05 �.4*R.A. �.19*** �.22*** �.2P.R.D. �.06 �.14** �.15** .61***Income .06 .20** �.05 .09Ed. .16** �.14** �.02 �.07 .02 .07Marital .20*** .46*** �.09 �.07 �.2* .33*** .03Status
*p < .05 **p < .01 ***p < .001
Variables
L.S. Life SatisfactionR.A. Religious AffiliationP.R.D. Private Religious DevotionEd. Education
than men. These findings are consistent with previous trends reportedin the literature. Contrary to previous research findings reporting anincrease in life satisfaction with age (Diener, 1984), general life satis-faction was not significantly related to age in this study.
Age was also positively correlated with a number of demographicvariables including income, education and marital status. No signifi-cant relationship between gender and life satisfaction was found in thisanalysis. Interestingly, gender was also not significantly related toincome and education.
Noteworthy of mention is the significant relationship between gen-eral life satisfaction and education. These variables were positivelyrelated, indicating that an increase in educational level is associatedwith higher general life satisfaction (r = .16). Consistent with previous
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findings reporting a relationship between marital status and life satis-faction, a positive correlation was found between these variables (r =.20). Married respondents reported higher levels of general life satis-faction than non-married respondents.
Four independent variables, gender, age, private religious devotion,and religious affiliation, were used in a stepwise multiple regressionanalysis to predict general life satisfaction. The results of this analysisare depicted in Table 4. A significant relationship was found betweengeneral life satisfaction and the linear composite of the four indepen-dent variables examined. Approximately 18% of the variation in gen-eral life satisfaction was accounted for by the combination of thesefour variables.
For the purposes of comparison, standardized partial regressioncoefficients were computed for each independent variable and arerepresented in Table 4. T distributions were used to determine whichof the independent variables, controlling for all others, were statistical-ly related to general life satisfaction. Religious affiliation was found tobe a significant predictor of general life satisfaction in this analysis.However, private religious devotion was not statistically related togeneral life satisfaction. Since these two measures are consideredaspects of the broader concept of religiosity, this finding suggests thepossibility that certain components of religiosity may be more strong-ly related to life satisfaction than others.
DISCUSSION
With regard to general satisfaction with life, the sample studiedindicated a high level of life satisfaction overall. Approximately 90%of the entire sample reported being somewhat to very satisfied withtheir lives and only 6% of the population studied indicated that theywere not very satisfied or dissatisfied with their lives at present. Thisfinding is consistent with previous research (Campbell et al., 1976;Myers & Diener, 1995) and suggests that in general, people are moreoften satisfied than dissatisfied with their lives.
This study evaluated two aspects of religiosity, one external and oneinternal: religious affiliation and private religious devotion (prayer)respectively. In support of some previous findings reporting an in-crease in religiosity with age (Witter et al., 1985), analyses revealedsignificant age differences for both aspects of religiosity. In both
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TABLE 4. Summary of a Hierarchical Multiple Regression Analysis for Vari-ables Predicting General Life Satisfaction
Variable B SE B
Gender –.043 .076 –.028
Age –.002 .002 –.057
Private Religious Devotion .032 .029 .066
Religious Affiliation –.30 .041 �.177**
*p < .05 **p < .01 ***p < .001
instances, an increase in age was associated with higher levels ofreligiosity. Secondly, significant gender differences were found forboth religiosity measures as well. Women reported a higher religiousaffiliation and frequency of prayer than men. These results are inaccord with documented findings reporting that women are consistent-ly more religiously involved and committed than men (Thompson,1991; Levin, Taylor & Chatters, 1994; Miller & Hoffman, 1995).
In Ellison’s (1991) study examining four dimensions of religiosityand life satisfaction, he reported that private devotion and religiousattendance may have an indirect impact, rather than direct, on lifesatisfaction by serving to intensify individual religious belief systems.Along these lines, the second aspect of religiosity evaluated in thisstudy, private religious devotion, was not significantly correlated withlife satisfaction. These findings suggest that this facet of religiositymay impact life satisfaction differently, and perhaps less directly, thanreligious affiliation.
From a step-wise multiple regression analysis, religious affiliationwas found to be a significant predictor of general life satisfaction;however, private religious devotion was not seen to possess strong andsignificant predictive power for this variable. Once again, it appearsthat private devotion bears a less direct relation to life satisfaction.More broadly, these findings imply that dimensions of religiosity mayvary in their degree of relation to general life satisfaction. Hence, theimportance of conceptualizing religiosity as a multidimensionalconstruct, emphasized by researchers in this field (Chumbler, 1996;Ellison, 1991; Ellison et al., 1989; Peterson & Roy, 1985; Krause,1991), is supported in this study. The question of which aspects of
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religiosity are most strongly associated with life satisfaction should beaddressed further in future research.
Although researchers have not arrived at a consensus on whichaspects of religiosity affect life satisfaction the most (Krause, 1993),several possible explanations for the positive relationship betweenreligiosity and life satisfaction have been proposed. Social supportand interaction may be one benefit of increased religious affiliationwhich serves to increase satisfaction with life (Schwab & Peterson,1990). Also, researchers have proposed that increased religious affil-iation may result in lifestyle choices that are more healthy and pro-duce positive outcomes, and hence, increase satisfaction with life(Ellison, 1991). Private religious devotion may relate to life satisfac-tion in a more personal way. Establishing a divine religious relation-ship may provide solace, support and meaning to life (Schwab &Peterson, 1990; Ellison, 1991; Bergin, Masters & Richards, 1987).Lastly, private religious devotion may increase life satisfactionthrough boosting feelings of self-esteem and self-efficacy (Ellison,1991).
The findings of this study have enhanced the literature base in thisfield by validating the positive relationship between religiosity and lifesatisfaction and the need to examine religiosity in a multidimensionalfashion. Results indicate that religious affiliation is more strongly tiedto life satisfaction than private religious devotion. Religiosity, al-though firmly linked to life satisfaction, is in need of more compre-hensive and in depth study. Which aspects of religiosity and howreligiosity positively affects life satisfaction are questions which de-serve more attention in upcoming investigations.
In this study, both measures of religiosity increased with age, indi-cating that adults tend to increase levels of religious affiliation andprivate religious devotion across the lifespan. Also in support of pre-vious findings, women reported a higher level of religiosity than menin the sample studied. Both these findings provide support for pre-vious research conducted in this field. Why these gender and agedifferences exist and whether or not they are culturally dependent areinteresting questions for future research.
There were several limitations to this study worthy of mention. Alack of representativeness of the sample to the general populationexisted which limits the generalizations which can be drawn fromthese findings. Most participants were white and resided in a suburban
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community outside of Philadelphia. Also, the sample studied was notproportionately distributed for age; there were more younger respond-ents than older respondents. Future research should address thesefactors with different socio-economic and ethnic populations. Whetherlife satisfaction leads to increased levels of religiosity or religiosityenhances satisfaction with life may be explored in a longitudinal studyaddressing causal ordering.
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