The Association Between Religious Engagement and Well-Being
Introduction to the Study of the Relationship Between Religious Engagement and Well-Being
In 2016: 2024 – Do my homework – Help write my assignment online, the Pew Research Center published an article titled “How Religious Is Your State?” that sparked a great deal of debate among laypeople and scholars in the field of Sociology of Religion and related fields (SOR).
[1] Residents in each state were asked to complete self-reported dichotomous measures of religiosity, including: importance of religion (i.e, “Is religion important to you?”), worship attendance (i.e., “Do you attend a place of worship on a weekly basis?”), prayer (i.e., “Do you pray daily?”), and belief in God (i.e., “Do you believe in God with absolute certainty?”). Following that, the researchers created an interactive list that includes an overall combined index of religiosity and ranks states from most to least religious, as well as a ranking of states from most to least religious.
Results are shown on the screen Mississippi and Alabama are neck-and-neck for the title of most religious states, with Tennessee a close third place behind them. Massachusetts and New Hampshire, on the other hand, are tied for the distinction of being the least religious states. Although the article is more descriptive than inferential in nature, it is a useful starting point for those interested in the social components and ramifications of religiosity in the United States to pursue further research. Particularly, religious engagement appears to be strongest in certain regions of the United States and weakest in others, suggesting that religiosity may be a “regional phenomenon” rather than a national phenomenon.
The aforementioned phenomenon appears to be most noticeable in the Southeastern states, which have been referred to informally as the “Bible Belt” by many people. Throughout academic literature, the term has frequently been used to draw attention to the religio-cultural influences that have been hypothesized to underpin interactions between residents and institutions in this region. In general, societies that have a strong religio-cultural influence are thought to be those where a significant proportion of their residents identify as believers, adhere to religious customs, beliefs, or practices, and most importantly, regard religion and religiosity as a socially desirable personal and societal characteristic (Okulicz-Kozaryn, 2010 – Essay Writing Service: Write My Essay by Top-Notch Writer; Stroope, 2011; Stavrova et al., 2013).
A large number of studies conducted within the SOR are concerned with the benefits of religious engagement in the preceding region and other similar contexts where religion is highly endorsed. When it comes to drawing conclusions about religious individuals who are present in religious settings, these studies are frequently useful. It is worthwhile to investigate whether the benefits of religious engagement are consistent across different contexts, particularly in non-religious-cultural contexts, given that religious engagement is not limited to congregations and religious circles. Both religious and non-religious individuals have had their lived experiences in non-religious and non-religious cultural contexts, and non-religious individuals have had their lived experiences in religio-cultural contexts. Accordingly, more nuanced findings may be posited, such as those showing benefits to religious engagement are more a result of conforming in a context where it is endorsed, rather than being related to religion directly, as had previously been assumed.
In light of this potentially unaddressed distinction, the proposed study seeks to answer the following broad question: To what extent do context and conformity influence one’s well-being? In addition, consider how the context moderates or mediates the relationship between religious participation and well-being. The proposed study will make use of the findings of the aforementioned Pew Research Center by conducting a comparative study examining religion and well-being in the states of Tennessee and Massachusetts, as well as other states. The rationale behind the selection of these states will be discussed in greater detail in subsequent sections of this document. The proposed study will fill a gap in the existing literature that has largely ignored the importance of context for well-being and religious engagement. This will allow the study to address the gap in the existing literature. This will also contribute to a better understanding of the religious social determinants of well-being from an empirical standpoint. It is hypothesized that the relationship between religious engagement and well-being will be moderated by the context. Additionally, those who identify as non-religious will report better well-being in environments that are more accepting of their non-religious beliefs.
Background
The Relationship Between Religion and Health
Studies examining the relationship between religion and health have repeatedly demonstrated a positive relationship between religious engagement and overall well-being, including both physical and mental well-being (Ellison, 1991; Ellison and Levin, 1998; Pargament et al., 1998; Krause, 2005; Beck, 2006 – Write a paper; Professional research paper writing service – Best essay writers; Lim and Putnam, 2010 – Essay Writing Service: Write My Essay by Top-Notch Writer; Koenig et al., 2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service. Custom Essay Services Cheap; Galek et al., 2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service | Write My Essay For Me Without Delay). People who are more religiously oriented (e.g., intrinsic religiousness) and engage in private religious practices have higher self-reported measures of subjective well-being and competency than people who are less religiously oriented (extrinsic religiousness) or who do not identify as religious, according to the research (Allport and Ross, 1967; Ardelt, 2003; Barry and Nelson, 2008 – Affordable Custom Essay Writing Service | Write My Essay from Pro Writers; Perez and Smith, 2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service | Write My Essay For Me Without Delay). Furthermore, public practices of religious engagement such as worship attendance and volunteering on behalf of a religious institution or organization have been linked to higher self-reported measures of mastery and physical health, as well as higher self-esteem in studies conducted on religious engagement (Tix and Frazier, 1998; Schieman et al., 2003; Schieman, 2007; Spencer and Patrick, 2009). Numerous studies investigating the relationship between religion and health have come to the conclusion that religious individuals tend to benefit uniquely from their religious engagement, as evidenced by higher levels of health and well-being reported by those who practice their religion.
What is it about being religiously active that appears to be associated with a higher level of well-being in one’s life? Over the course of the SOR, researchers have continued to investigate this question and have identified specific mechanisms that promote well-being, including reduced risk taking and increased health-promoting behavior (Regnerus, 2007; Horton, 2015 – Research Paper Writing Help Service); reliance on extensive support networks (Welch et al., 2007; Ammerman, 2009; Ignatow, 2009); adaptive coping mechanisms (Bush et al., 1999; Pargament, 1988); and perceived attachment to a secure-base, divine being (Berger, 1967; Cicirelli, 2004).
While empirical evidence suggests that religion and well-being are positively associated in congregations and among religious circles, few studies have examined religion as a cultural phenomenon and evaluated how norms based on this culture are related to outcomes of well-being. In a similar vein, more consideration should be given to how religious individuals who come from non-religious cultures are more likely to benefit from religious engagement. This also raises the question of how the well-being of individuals who identify as non-religious fare in a religio-cultural context when compared to those who are more closely aligned with the respective culture in which they reside. Within each of the two states, the proposed study assumes that the respective religio-culture is a factor in predicting well-being among the religiously engaged, the less religiously engaged, and the non-religious, as well as among the religiously engaged and the less religiously engaged.
Religious and cultural context, as well as social norms
Social norms are enforced and reinforced by rewarding conforming behavior with feelings of approval and acceptance, and disapproving behavior that is in violation of normative expectations with feelings of rejection and rejection (Fehr et al., 2002; Stavrova et al., 2013). Sanctions against those who do not conform to social norms are implemented through the establishment of boundaries that exclude specific individuals. These boundaries are frequently not physical in nature, though they can certainly be. The majority of the time, these boundaries are established through processes of stigmatization and by denying non-conforming individuals access to financial resources. Social sanctions, on the other hand, can be beneficial if rewards are given to those who abide by the rules (Stroope, 2011; Stavrova, 2013). This, in turn, may confer a “higher status” on certain individuals within the relevant culture or society, and open the door to greater access to a variety of financial instruments. Being elevated in social standing as a result of conformity is likely to foster greater feelings of approval and acceptance, which in turn encourages continued participation in a group and/or organizational setting. Individuals with high status conformity may also benefit from public recognition among their peers and like-minded individuals, which has been shown to be beneficial to self-esteem in particular, as well as overall well-being (Fehr et al., 2002; Okulicz-Kozaryn, 2010 – Essay Writing Service: Write My Essay by Top-Notch Writer; Power and McKinney, 2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service | Write My Essay For Me Without Delay; Gebauer et al, 2015 – Research Paper Writing Help Service). Researchers have discovered the preceding intersection of culture, social norms, and health to be present in religious contexts as well, according to a small number of studies.
Stroope (2011), for example, sought to understand how culture influences the sense of belonging that congregants have in religious settings by conducting research. When congregants were in a group of like-minded people and received positive reinforcement for their behavior, Stroope discovered that they were more likely to continue participating religiously (e.g., attending religious services and classes). On the other hand, those who were less religiously engaged appeared to have less favorable views of their respective congregations, which resulted in a decrease in overall participation and a diminished sense of belonging within that community. The less religiously engaged also reported having a smaller social network in which they could confide and fewer resources on which they could rely when they needed assistance. Stroope’s findings may indicate that capital within certain religious communities is extended only to those who adhere to the expected beliefs and behaviors, despite the fact that drawing conclusions from them without additional qualitative analysis is difficult. As a result, the “disapproval” of not conforming manifests itself in the form of restricted access to social capital.
When considering the relationship between religio-culture and well-being in a broader sense, Stavrova et al. (2013) use large survey data (N = 101,682; across 64 countries) to determine whether the “happiness effect” that religion appears to cultivate is more of a byproduct of social sanctions encouraging a particular religion. According to this definition, the happiness effect is exhibited by religious individuals whose religious affiliation matches the dominant religious identity within a given society, resulting in them feeling more content with their lives. Researchers discovered that the effect was strongest (i.e., respondents were happier) when respondents’ religious affiliation matched that of the dominant religion in their respective country. Respondents who identified as non-religious or less religiously engaged, on the other hand, reported feeling less happy than those who identified as religious. The majority of religiously engaged individuals reported feeling less happy if their religious affiliation did not coincide with the dominant religion, even among those who are the most religiously engaged. Researchers Stavrova and colleagues provide evidence that failing to conform to social norms can be harmful. When compared to their less religious and non-religious counterparts, respondents also reported greater feelings of fairness and respect from social institutions. To put it another way, it appears to have been socially acceptable to deny access to capital as a result of failing to adhere to social norms during this time period.
The benefits of religiosity are often context-dependent, with religious individuals reporting being more satisfied in religious countries (Okulicz-Kozaryn, 2010 – Essay Writing Service: Write My Essay by Top-Notch Writer); strong associations between religious embeddedness into congregational networks and well-being (Krause et al., 2016: 2024 – Do my homework – Help write my assignment online); religious individuals reporting a stronger sense of religiosity in countries where a respective religion is encouraged (Stavrova and Siegers, 2013; Gebauer and colleagues, 2015 – Research Paper Writing Help Service); and an association between religious embeddedness into congregational (Doane and Elliot, 2015 – Research Paper Writing Help Service; Galen, 2015 – Research Paper Writing Help Service; Stewart, 2016: 2024 – Do my homework – Help write my assignment online).
According to the findings of the aforementioned research, religious beliefs and engagement may be a byproduct of religio-culture and social norms, highlighting the extent to which religion has a widespread influence. After taking into consideration the differences in overall religiosity across countries and cities, it is plausible to suggest that religiosity can become normative in some societies and less so in others after accounting for these differences (Hayward and Elliot, 2009; Okulicz-Kozaryn, 2010 – Essay Writing Service: Write My Essay by Top-Notch Writer; Stroope, 2011). These are just a few of the studies that have looked at how religio-culture and the norms that accompany it are an actor in and of themselves in explaining the association between religious engagement and well-being, rather than simply focusing on religion. The literature available to this point appears to suggest that religiosity is certainly beneficial, but only when it is practiced in a context that encourages active participation. This also calls into question the notion that religion is generally beneficial to all of its participants, and it re-conceptualizes the religion-health connection paradigm by extending inquiries to the quantitatively and qualitatively different lived-experiences of those who do not adhere to the religion’s rules and regulations.
For the record, despite significant progress, studies within the SOR have not sufficiently addressed how religio-cultural factors contribute to the explanation of the association between religion and well-being, and the ways in which well-being outcomes vary depending on the context in which religion is encouraged and practiced. With the help of a comparative analysis between two states believed to differ in the degree of religio-cultural influence, the proposed research will attempt to fill this gap in the literature. I believe that this will be the first study of its kind to conduct a comparative analysis across two states within the United States context while assuming that culture is an important factor in predicting overall well-being.
Taking into consideration existing research in the area of religion and health, and the notions of rewards for conformity and disapproval for non-conformity, the following hypothesized outcomes are generated:
In line with much of the literature, religious engagement will be positively associated with well-being regardless of the degree to which one is immersed in a religious culture.
H2: Religious engagement and the context in which it is practiced will have an impact on one’s well-being.
It is hypothesized that there will be stronger associations between religious engagement and well-being for individuals whose religious affiliation corresponds to the dominant religion within the religio-cultural context of the study.
h4: Non-religious individuals will not experience significant differences in their well-being outcomes in non-religious cultures when compared to religiously engaged individuals
