Untangling the mechanisms underlying the links between religiousness, spirituality, and better health

Abstract

Religion and spirituality are major forces in the lives of Americans. A large and growing body of research indicates that specific aspects of religiousness and spirituality are associated with better physical and mental health. In this article, we differentiate some hypothesized mechanisms involving social, behavioral, psychological, and biological processes, and summarize some of the evidence pertaining to these pathways. This endeavor generates testable hypotheses for future research. Interdisciplinary research is especially well suited to examining these potential pathways, and social psychology can play a pivotal role in this future research agenda.

The Independent and Interdependent Self-affirmations in Action: Understanding their dynamics in India during COVID-19

“…Religiousness denotes beliefs, practices and experiences linked with organized traditions (Cheadle & Dunkel Schetter, 2017) which also include spirituality (Harris et al, 2018). Hindu religion is one of the oldest religions and its present form has been evolved from a long assimilation process.…”

Religious Attendance, Religious Importance, and the Pathways to Depressive Symptoms in Men and Women Aged 50 and Over Living in Ireland

“…Levin, 2010). Broadly, the literature has identified a number of interconnected pathways through which religiosity, defined as the extent to which individuals practice and value their religion, could have an effect on mental health (Cheadle & Dunkel Schetter, 2017; George, Ellison, & Larson, 2002). Psychological explanations of the links between religiosity and mental health suggest that religiosity provides resources that enable increased coping and stress-buffering effects when encountering stressful life events (Smith et al, 2003).…”

Religious Beliefs, Self-Esteem, Anxiety, and Depression Among Greek Orthodox Elders

“…More specifically, although spirituality and religiousness are increasingly gaining attention as old age research variables, especially related to physical health and health problems/diseases (Cheadle and Dunkel Schetter, 2017;Miller and Thoresen, 2003), there are no extensive research attempts regarding the connection that there may exist between psychological variables and religiousness-spirituality when concurrently examined (Underwood, 2006) not in older individuals with diagnosed chronic health problems and their caregivers (Giannoulis and Giannouli, in press, 2020; Lucette et al, 2016), but in physically healthy older adults. Additionally, different features not only of national, but also of cultural contexts may strengthen or attenuate the relationship of religion and spirituality with subjective well-being (Bond, Lun and Li, 2012; Diener, Tay and Myers, 2011; Giannouli, 2017a; Giannouli, 2017b), but also with other psychological variables and the relationship between them (Stoyanova, Giannouli and Gergov, 2017).…”