Religion, meaning and purpose, and mental health.

Galek, Kathleen; Flannelly, Kevin J.; Ellison, Christopher G.; Silton, Nava R.; Jankowski, Katherine R. B.

doi:10.1037/a0037887

Cited by 92 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 90 publications

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“…One fundamental function of religion is to fulfill a yearning for a sense of purpose among individuals (Kirkpatrick and Hood 1990;Galek et al 2015). Religion is uniquely associated with the sense of life purpose in that doctrine and texts tend to reinforce the idea of a divine purpose.…”

Section: Religion and Life Purposementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, insecure attachment can erode positive affect which may foster feelings of vulnerability and doubts that are barriers to the sense of purpose. Therefore, just as general attachment literature asserts secure attachment bodes well for individuals' cognitive framework, so might attachment to God provide a religious framework that enhances the sense of direction and meaning, so long as individuals perceive God as benevolent and actively involved in their lives (Kirkpatrick 1992;Kelley and Chan 2012;Ellison et al 2014;Galek et al 2015).…”

Section: Religion and Attachment Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Religious Attachment and the Sense of Life Purpose among Emerging Adults

Culver

Denton

2017

Religions

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Abstract:The salubrious association between religious involvement and well-being is evident among the general population of religious individuals. In particular, the sense of attachment to a deity is linked to promoting healthy behavior and positive well-being. The link between religious attachment and well-being is particularly salient for emerging adults during a life stage where they are developing their own sense of self while also renegotiating religious commitments. The current study uses OLS regression and a lagged dependent variable model to analyze how perceived closeness to God is linked to the sense of life purpose among a diverse, national sample of emerging adults. We find that relative to those perceiving closeness to God, those who reported feeling neutral or did not believe in God experienced lower levels of life purpose. Respondents who reported feeling distant from God had the lowest scores on the Life Purpose Index. The findings are examined within the framework of religion and attachment theory literature. The study encourages researchers to consider attachment to a deity as an important link in explaining well-being outcomes, especially among religious individuals.

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Section: Religion and Life Purposementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Religion and Attachment Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Religious Attachment and the Sense of Life Purpose among Emerging Adults

Culver

Denton

2017

Religions

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“…An underlying assumption in this literature, stretching back at least to Durkheim (Durkheim 2006) and Berger (1967), is that religion provides people with transcendent frameworks of meaning by which to positively reinterpret their sufferings (Krause 2011;Galek et al 2015;Levin 2017). In the words of Pargament: "Religion generally helps people appreciate what they themselves cannot control.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kept in His Care: The Role of Perceived Divine Control in Positive Reappraisal Coping

DeAngelis

Ellison

2017

Religions

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A formidable body of literature suggests that numerous dimensions of religious involvement can facilitate productive coping. One common assumption in this field is that religious worldviews provide overarching frameworks of meaning by which to positively reinterpret stressors. The current study explicitly tests this assumption by examining whether perceived divine control-i.e., the notion that God controls the course and direction of one's life-buffers the adverse effects of recent traumatic life events on one's capacity for positive reappraisal coping. We analyze cross-sectional survey data from Vanderbilt University's Nashville Stress and Health Study (2011)(2012)(2013)(2014), a probability sample of non-Hispanic black and white adults aged 22 to 69 living in Davidson County, Tennessee (n = 1252). Findings from multivariate regression models confirm: (1) there was an inverse association between past-year traumatic life events and positive reappraisals; but (2) perceived divine control significantly attenuated this inverse association. Substantively, our findings suggest that people who believe God controls their life outcomes are better suited for positively reinterpreting traumatic experiences. Implications, limitations, and avenues for future research are discussed.

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“…What is quite interesting is that although church activity does operate indirectly through positive social support, negative emotionality, and health behaviors to impact mortality, the main effects of church activity are direct which weakens the claim that church activity operates primarily through support mechanisms (Maselko, Hughes, & Cheney, 2011; Maselko et al, 2007) or primarily through emotional mechanisms that may relate to meaning (Galek, Flannelly, Ellison, Silton, & Jankowski, 2015). Church activity instead may operate directly on biological mechanisms relating to stress reactivity (T.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathways from religion to health: Mediation by psychosocial and lifestyle mechanisms.

Morton¹,

Lee²,

Martin³

2017

Psychology of Religion and Spirituality

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Religiosity, often measured as attendance at religious services, is linked to better physical health and longevity though the mechanisms linking the two are debated. Potential explanations include: a healthier lifestyle, increased social support from congregational members, and/or more positive emotions. Thus far, these mechanisms have not been tested simultaneously in a single model though they likely operate synergistically. We test this model predicting all-cause mortality in Seventh-day Adventists, a denomination that explicitly promotes a healthy lifestyle. This allows the more explicit health behaviors linked to the religious doctrine (e.g., healthy diet) to be compared with other mechanisms not specific to religious doctrine (e.g., social support and positive emotions). Finally, this study examines both Church Activity (including worship attendance and church responsibilities) and Religious Engagement (coping, importance, and intrinsic beliefs). Religious Engagement is more is more inner-process focused (vs. activity-based) and less likely to be confounded with age and its associated functional status limitations, although it should be noted that age is controlled in the present study. The findings suggest that Religious Engagement and Church Activity operate through the mediators of health behavior, emotion, and social support to decrease mortality risk. All links between Religious Engagement and mortality are positive but indirect through positive Religious Support, Emotionality, and lifestyle mediators. However, Church Activity has a direct positive effect on mortality as well as indirect effects through, Religious Support, Emotionality, and lifestyle mediators (diet and exercise). The models were invariant by gender and for both Blacks and Whites.

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Religion, meaning and purpose, and mental health.

Cited by 92 publications

References 90 publications

Religious Attachment and the Sense of Life Purpose among Emerging Adults

Religious Attachment and the Sense of Life Purpose among Emerging Adults

Kept in His Care: The Role of Perceived Divine Control in Positive Reappraisal Coping

Pathways from religion to health: Mediation by psychosocial and lifestyle mechanisms.

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