Subjective well‐being in the new China: religion, social capital, and social status

Abstract

We present the first nationally representative evidence on the relationship between religion and subjective well-being for the case of China. Research on Western societies tends to find a positive association between being religious and level of well-being. China provides an interesting critical case as the religious population is growing rapidly and the religious and socioeconomic environments are profoundly different from Western societies, implying different mechanisms might be at work. We hypothesize to find a positive association between religion and well-being in China too, but argue social capital, for which strong evidence is often found in Western societies, is unlikely to be an important mechanism because religion in China is generally non-congregational. Instead, we argue that the private and subjective dimension of religion matters for well-being in China by helping adherents have an improved sense of social status relative to the non-religious in the context of rapid social change and growing inequality. Our results generally support these predictions.

Associations between perceived environmental pollution and health-related quality of life in a Chinese adult population

“…Considering the role of religion, Chen and Williams (2016) argued that the private and subjective dimension of religion mattered for well-being in China [55]. A growing body of peer-reviewed articles found that religious involvement was associated with QoL in old age [56], amongst older Ethiopians [57], and in patients with schizophrenia in Latin America [58].…”

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

“…Religion may impact an individual's happiness through various mechanisms such as social capital (Chen and Williams 2016), social networks (Lim and Putnam 2010), lifestyle or health-related behaviors (Diener and Seligman 2002), and positive psychological status (e.g., faith, inner peace) (Myers 2000;Stark and Maier 2008). Some studies also reveal that being a member of a religious community helps an individual develop longstanding close relationships with other members.…”

“…A lot of studies have determined a long list of factors relating to the how and why of happiness. Factors such as health, marital status, income, social status, psychological status, social networks, and social capital can influence the happiness of an individual (Chen and Williams 2016;Cheung 2016). Among these factors, religion has been one of the unique factors found to produce the benefits of mental health, physical well-being, social support, and internal peace that ultimately lead to an individual's happiness (Rizvi and Hossain 2017).…”

“…However, China has a long history of religion, and there has been a religious awakening in China during the past decades (Chau 2010;Liu et al 2011;Wei and Liu 2013;Ying et al 2017). Existing studies on the relationship between religion and happiness in mainland China have presented some mixed results (Deng et al 2019;Liu and Koenig 2013;Chen and Williams 2016;He et al 2016;Lu and Zhang 2016;Zhang et al 2016).…”

“…In urban areas of China, the motivation for religious conversion may largely be due to the psychological response to social anomies, inequality (Chen and Williams 2016;Lu 2012), or living stresses (Graham et al 2017). By emphasizing non-material aspects of life, religion may help to improve happiness by providing stress coping skills, as well as by providing a strong sense of purpose and acceptance over and above one's economic conditions or social status (Chen and Williams 2016).…”