The increasing number of never-married individuals has become a global phenomenon. Like many Asian countries, the sociocultural standard in Indonesia defines being married as a desirable social achievement, which leaves single adults vulnerable to derogation. Religiosity is also highly valued in Indonesian society, to the extent that those who show religious attributes tend to be positively regarded. This study aims to describe how Indonesian society defines the status and to explore the role of religiosity in overcoming its negative stigma. This is a narrative literature review study of relevant published literature from the last two decades. Our literature analysis showed that religiosity may mitigate the effect of being undervalued both by increasing the capacity to cope and by providing socially valued attributes that are regarded positively by Indonesian society. However, there is a risk that although singles can use religiosity as a primary coping mechanism to manage their social difficulties, society as a whole does not undergo genuine cultural shifts toward accepting a later age for marriage or singlehood as life choices. Although future studies are needed to comprehensively address the issues, the social acts of reducing stigma toward Indonesian singles are urgently needed. is a licensed clinical psychologist, a lecturer in the faculty of Psychology, Universitas Pelita Harapan, Indonesia, and a PhD candidate in the University of Queensland, Australia. His research interests include interpersonal relationship (dating, marriage, and singleness), religiosity and spirituality, and psychological functioning in various social interactions.Matthew Bambling is a senior lecturer and researcher in the
There is a growing number of single people in the population in Asia, with a higher tendency for single people to be found in the East and Southeast Asia regions. Nevertheless, limited studies are available on the sociopsychological aspects of Asian singles. In fact, societies in many Asian countries have a variety of responses and attitudes toward singles. The overarching purpose of this literature review is, thus, to present many profiles of singles in Asia, although societal acceptance toward singles in each country varies. This study also explores several government policies and social acts that have been implemented to control the rising number of singles, and reviews their effectiveness. Directions for future studies are discussed at the end of this study.
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