Religion and Well-being: Assessing the Evidence
by Nick Spencer, Theos:
The relationship between religion and wellbeing is widely and frequently reported. Academic studies published in peer-reviewed journals regularly confirm the widespread belief that ‘religion’ is good for ‘well-being’.
But what do we mean by ‘religion’ and what do we mean by ‘well-being’? Neither term is exactly self-explanatory.
This report evaluates the evidence from nearly 140 academic studies conducted over the last three decades examining the relationship between religion and well-being in a wide range of countries and contexts.
It clarifies the key terms, showing how ‘religion’ has been used to cover a multitude of subtly different concepts (e.g. religious affiliation, subjective religiosity, religious belief, religious group participation, and religious personal participation), as has ‘well-being’ (e.g. subjective well-being, mental health, physical health, and health supporting behaviours).
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