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Previous research raises the question of self-esteem as a fundamental human need, but also indicates that self-esteem is an inherently social product. Is religious involvement influential—and does it depend on beliefs about God? In this research, we examine the associations between multiple dimensions of religious involvement and self-esteem, and specifically focus on the belief in a supportive higher power (“divine support”) as a central influence in this relationship. Analyses of a national probability sample of adults from the US (2004 General Social Survey) reveal two central findings: (1) divine support helps to explain a positive association between religious involvement and self-esteem; (2) divine support strengthens that association. These findings contribute to the growing discussion about beliefs about God—especially as an engaged, involved, and influential force in everyday life—and the association with different components of the self-concept. Our observations underscore the need for more research on the intersection of beliefs and practices in shaping various facets of personal functioning.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic, the accompanying lockdown measures, and their possible long-term effects have made mental health a pressing public health concern. Acts that focus on benefiting others—known as prosocial behaviors—offer one promising intervention that is both flexible and low cost. However, neither the range of emotional states prosocial acts impact nor the size of those effects is currently clear—both of which directly influence its attractiveness as a treatment option. Objective To assess the effect of prosocial activity on emotional well-being (happiness, belief that one’s life is valuable) and mental health (anxiety, depression). Methods 1,234 respondents from the United States and Canada were recruited from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk and randomly assigned (by computer software) to perform prosocial (N = 411), self-focused (N = 423), or neutral (N = 400) behaviors three times a week for three weeks. A follow-up assessment was given two weeks after the intervention. Participants were blind to alternative conditions. Analyses were based on 1052 participants (Nprosocial = 347, Nself = 365, Nneutral = 340). Findings Those in the prosocial condition did not differ on any outcome from those in the self-focused or neutral acts conditions during the intervention or at follow-up, nor did prosocial effects differ for those who had been negatively affected socially or economically by the pandemic (all p’s > 0.05). Exploratory analyses that more tightly controlled for study compliance found that prosocial acts reduced anxiety relative to neutral acts control (β = -0.12 [95% CI: -0.22 to -0.02]) and increased the belief that one’s life is valuable (β = 0.11 [95% CI: 0.03 to 0.19]). These effects persisted throughout the intervention and at follow-up. Conclusion Prosocial acts may provide small, lasting benefits to emotional well-being and mental health. Future work should replicate these results using tighter, pre-registered controls on study compliance.

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Researchers are increasingly identifying a number of elements of the “dark side” of religion that undermine its overall positive relationship with well‐being. This study assesses the impact of changes in religious doubt for physical health and depression in emerging adulthood, a life course stage when individuals begin to form their own religious identity. Using Waves 3 and 4 of the National Study of Youth and Religion, a latent class growth analysis was used to derive four trajectories of religious doubt (stable no doubt, stable doubt, increasing doubt, decreasing doubt). Regression results suggest that those in the increasing doubt class reported higher depression and worse self‐rated health than with stable no doubt. Causal mediation analyses revealed that a decreased sense of meaning in life was found to mediate this relationship. This study sets forth implications for future research centered on religion and health over the life course.