Religion and wellbeing: A theoretical analysis (original) (raw)
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The Impact of Worship on Individual's Wellbeing Authors
Purpose: Individual wellbeing has been focus of analysis among rapidly rising number of economists in the world. Especially, after the ground breaking work of (Layard, 2005), a variety of factors affecting wellbeing have been identified in the literature. However, despite its prime importance, religion could not get the due importance in such analysis. Its has been observed by some critics that, for example, GDP ignores the environmental cost a country is bearing, wealth variations between poor and rich, factors impacting wellbeing of individuals like mental health, social relations and personal safety (Anheier and Stares 2002, Fleurbaey 2009, Michaelson et al 2009). Subjective wellbeing is individual's satisfaction level from their life, environment, relationships and other economic and social matters. Researchers found a number of factors which affect wellbeing, which are included for in economic and environmental judgment. There are also many non-material factors which can affect wellbeing, presented in (McAllister, 2005), including personal relationships (e.g. Helliwell and Putnam, 2004); social and community relationships (e.g. Keyes, 1998), employment (e.g. Layard, 2005); and political regimes (e.g. Donovan and Halpern, 2003), contextual and situational factors, demographic factors; (iv) institutional factors, (Hoorn 2007). Some studies included religious factors as the determinant of well being (e.and (Hamdani, 2006) brought the attention of other researchers towards multidisciplinary research. The emerging importance to study religion has convinced the social scientists to observe the affects of the religion on different aspects of human behavior.
The Relation between Religion and Well-Being
Applied Research in Quality of Life, 2016
This article reviews research on religion and well-being, focusing primarily on Western, traditional religions. We provide some nuance, caveats, and future directions for further research. We discuss how and why religious groups may differ in their well-being, that there may be important subgroup differences, that there are multiple dimensions to both religion and well-being, that religion and other cultural identities may interact to impact well-being, and that religion (e.g., religious anxieties) may be associated with lower well-being in some ways. We consider how religious extremism relates to well-being and also suggest that more research is needed regarding well-being in other types of religious and spiritual groups. We hope that this article will add complexity to the important intersections between religion and well-being.
Health, Wealth or Wisdom? Religion and the Paradox of Prosperity
International Journal of Public Theology, 2009
Th e so-called 'happiness hypothesis', associated with the work of the economist Richard Layard, has attracted much public debate over recent years. Its main contention is that despite rising levels of material prosperity in the west, incidence of recorded happiness and greater quality of life has not increased accordingly. In considering the major contributory factors to happiness and well-being, however, Layard is not alone in identifying the signifi cance of religious values and participation in religion for positive and enduring levels of happiness. In response, this article critiques some of the evidence correlating religion and well-being, as well as considering the broader and much more vexed question of how far public policy is capable of incorporating questions of belief and value into its indicators of happiness and the good life. Drawing on traditions of virtue ethics as the cultivation of 'the life well-lived', I ask whether specifi cally Christian accounts of human fl ourishing and the good life still have any bearing in the wider public domain, and what 'rules of engagement' might need to be articulated in any dialogue between Christian values and the discourse of theology and a pluralist society.
This paper will investigate the effects of religion in strengthening a society, especially the economy, or weakening it. Religion often promotes stability and tractability in a nation’s citizens. However, it can also have negative effects, causing distress to people and making the economy suffer. A religion with a pessimistic world view, a tenuous relationship with God and a perception that God can inflict punishment can actually break down social order while one with an optimistic view can stabilize it. We will also look at the impact of religion on economy in various cities, and nations, examining religion as a billion dollar industry. This paper will also investigate the effect of religion on building up the economy of a nation, especially the formation of new jobs, development of foreign direct investment, attraction of religious tourists and peripheral effects.
The Direct and Indirect Impact of Religion on Well-being in Germany
A European Social Survey (ESS)—based study of Clark and Lelkes on the European level showed a double positive connection between religion and life-satisfaction: not only did a personal involvement have a positive impact, but there was also a regional externality. Even atheists seemed to be happier in areas with many religious people. However, the regional structure of the ESS can be seen as methodologically doubtful. We therefore replicated the study with more rich German data. In our study we confirm the positive individual effect of religion, but we did find a negative regional externality. However, further analysis revealed, this was an effect of an omitted variable: the degree of urbanization. In a more detailed approach we show that this effect is confined to areas with a protestant majority. We conclude that the positive degree of urbanization influence on life-satisfaction is presumably due to the chance for more political participation in the (protestant) city states in Germany.
Journal of Religion and Health, 2014
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Why Religion Promotes Happiness
2016
This article examines the relationship between happiness and religious beliefs. According to various authors, there is a direct link between the happiness status of a person and his or her beliefs. However, there are those who oppose this notion, claiming that there is no direct link between happiness and religious beliefs. This paper works with the basic assumption that there is a positive link between happiness and religion and examines various viewpoints that support this assumption. Various religions in the world have some sort of belief about happiness and there have been numerous studies that conclude that people who are religious are happier than those people who are not. Moreover, religion promotes a certain lifestyle that has been associated with happiness in people. While of the other hand, people with no religious affiliations tend to be less happy because of their bad lifestyle life drug abuse. This article generalizes that there is a positive relationship between religi...
Economist Netherlands, 2005
This paper provides an overview of the relationship between economics and religion. It first considers the effects of economic incentives in the religious marketplace on consumers' demand for "religion." It then shows how this demand affects religious institutions and generates a supply of religious goods and services. Other topics include the structure of this religious marketplace and the related "marketplace for ideas" in a religiously pluralistic society. Empirical evidence is summarized for the effects on selected economic behaviors of religious affiliation and intensity of belief or practice.