One Religion, Two Tales: Religion and Happiness in Urban and Rural Areas of China

Zhang, Jing Hua; Zou, Wen Chi; Jiang, Xiao

doi:10.3390/rel10090532

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 62 publications

(81 reference statements)

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“…In a previous study conducted in Iran [ 34 ], levels of religiosity of urban and rural residents differed significantly and the level of religiosity in rural residents tended to be higher relative to that in urban residents. A study conducted in China indicated that urban and rural residents could have different levels of individual or social motivation to practice religion and despite the hostile rural social environment, the religious residents tend to be more likely to report higher level relative to their peers in urban areas [ 35 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rural–Urban Differences in the Factors Affecting Depressive Symptoms among Older Adults of Two Regions in Myanmar

Sasaki

Shobugawa

Nozaki

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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The aim of the study was to investigate rural–urban differences in depressive symptoms in terms of the risk factors among older adults of two regions in Myanmar to provide appropriate intervention for depression depending on local characteristics. This cross-sectional study, conducted between September and December, 2018, used a multistage sampling method to recruit participants from the two regions, for face-to-face interviews. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 15-item version of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Depressive symptoms were positively associated with living in rural areas (B = 0.42; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.12,0.72), female (B = 0.55; 95% CI: 0.31,0.79), illness during the preceding year (B = 0.68; 95% CI: 0.45,0.91) and non-Buddhist religion (B = 0.57; 95% CI: 0.001,1.15) and protectively associated with education to middle school level or higher (B = −0.61; 95% CI: −0.94, −0.28) and the frequency of visits to religious facilities (B = −0.20; 95% CI: −0.30, −0.10). In women in urban areas, depressive symptoms were positively associated with illness during the preceding year (B = 0.78; 95% CI: 0.36, 1.20) and protectively associated with education to middle school level or higher (B = −0.67; 95% CI: −1.23, −0.11), middle or high wealth index (B = −0.92; 95% CI: −1.59, −0.25) and the frequency of visits to religious facilities (B = −0.20; 95% CI: −0.38, −0.03). In men in rural areas, illness during the preceding year was positively associated with depressive symptoms (B = 0.87; 95% CI: 0.33, 1.42). In women in rural areas, depressive symptoms were positively associated with illness during the preceding year (B = 0.83; 95% CI: 0.36, 1.30) and protectively associated with primary education (B = −0.62; 95% CI: −1.12, −0.12) and the frequency of visits to religious facilities (B = −0.44; 95% CI: −0.68, −0.21). Religion and wealth could have different levels of association with depression between older adults in the urban and rural areas and men and women. Interventions for depression in older adults should consider regional and gender differences in the roles of religion and wealth in Myanmar.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rural–Urban Differences in the Factors Affecting Depressive Symptoms among Older Adults of Two Regions in Myanmar

Sasaki

Shobugawa

Nozaki

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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“…More recent studies using nationally representative population samples found a positive relationship between religion and SWB in China (Chen and Williams 2016;He et al 2016;Lu and Zhang 2016). Zhang et al (2019) found that, regardless of affiliation with Buddhism or Protestantism, there is a significant positive association between religion and SWB among rural residents, whereas this association is insignificant among urban respondents.…”

Section: Religion Background In Chinamentioning

confidence: 89%

“…A high-quality team of international scholars designed the questionnaire and managed to collect the data through face-to-face interview surveys (ARDA (Association of Religion Data Archives)). The SLSC dataset provides a set of high quality about the spiritual and religious life of Chinese residents and until now is still the only national representative survey with such rich information for understanding the practice of religion in China (Lu and Gao 2017;Zhang et al 2019).…”

Section: Data Source and Samplementioning

confidence: 99%

Association between Religion and Health in China: Using Propensity Score Matching Method

Zhang

Liu

et al. 2020

Religions

Self Cite

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The association between religion and health is well debated and receives continuous attention in research. Selection bias is often a major concern among the observatory data routinely used worldwide to examine this topic. Adopting the propensity score matching (PSM) method, the present study tries to assess the treatment effects of religion on self-reported health status. The final sample from the 2007 Spiritual Life Study of Chinese Residents (SLSC) contains 6194 valid responses. The average treatment effects (ATEs) estimated by the PSM method show that respondents with religious affiliations are on average significantly more likely to report being very healthy by 5.2 percentage points (by 3.6 and 9.6 percentage points among Buddhists and Protestants), especially, by 16.2 percentage points among those regarding religion as being very important in their lives. Meanwhile, ATEs of religion on reporting being very happy is 17.0 among Protestants and 13.4 among those regarding religion with high importance and 11.3 among those with “regular religious attendance”.

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“…They demonstrate that happiness is measured by the individual's valuing of his/her emotive, mental and intellectual life which is driven by two factors: subjective ones, including religion, and objective ones, involving physical matters: "Thus, religion influences religious peoples' subjective responses to objective factors" (Zhang et al, 2019, p. 3). Zhang et al (2019) maintain that "religious belief" increases individuals' happiness due to the meaningful interpretations it provides religious people with, which enable them to understand life events and the purposefulness of life (p. 3). Sami, at this stage of his life, lacks religiosity; yet, Muntaha's adequate understanding of Islam and her connection to God lead Sami to better understand life.…”

Section: The Spiritual Samimentioning

confidence: 99%

Religious Belief and Diaspora in Coetzee’s Youth and Yassin-Kassab’s The Road from Damascus

Aldojan

Awad

2021

tpls

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This study focuses on the role that faith plays in immigrants’ lives in the South African novelist John Maxwell Coetzee’s Youth (2002) and the Arab British author Robin Yassin-Kassab’s The Road from Damascus (2008). Specifically, the study analyzes and scrutinizes the faith (lessness)-informed attitudes of the two protagonists toward the various challenges they encounter as diasporic subjects in a society that instills alienation and displacement. Each protagonist goes through an identity crisis triggered by his inability to reach his objectives and goals as Coetzee’s John fails to be the poet he has aspired to be and Sami finds it hard to finish a PhD on Arabic poetry that his late father has encouraged him to pursue. While faith helps Yassin-Kassab’s protagonist to eventually overcome the challenges he faces, faithlessness in Coetzee’s novel deepens the protagonist’s sense of alienation and dislocation as the novel ends on a gloomy note. The study adopts an approach of textual analysis and comparison between the two novels. It also touches upon other fields including religion, history, identity, culture, diaspora, politics, and mental health. It examines the protagonists’ cultural, national, and religious identities based on settling in diasporic communities in relation to the historical backgrounds and the socio-cultural conditions in the homeland and the host country.

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One Religion, Two Tales: Religion and Happiness in Urban and Rural Areas of China

Cited by 10 publications

References 62 publications

Rural–Urban Differences in the Factors Affecting Depressive Symptoms among Older Adults of Two Regions in Myanmar

Rural–Urban Differences in the Factors Affecting Depressive Symptoms among Older Adults of Two Regions in Myanmar

Association between Religion and Health in China: Using Propensity Score Matching Method

Religious Belief and Diaspora in Coetzee’s Youth and Yassin-Kassab’s The Road from Damascus

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