Mental well-being in the religious and the non-religious: evidence for a curvilinear relationship

Abstract

Previous studies demonstrating a positive relationship between religiosity and mental health have sampled from a highly religious general population with little differentiation between weak religiosity and non-religiosity. Church members are typically compared with non-religious unaffiliated individuals, thus confounding belief with group effects (e.g. social support). The present study examined mental well-being, utilising the full range of certainty of belief or non-belief in God. In the first study, we compared church and secular group members on measures of life satisfaction and emotional stability. The second study used a large survey of the non-religious. A curvilinear relationship was found such that those with higher belief certainty (both confidently religious and atheists) have greater wellbeing relative to those with low certainty (unsure and agnostics). Multiple regressions controlling for social and demographic variables reduced, but did not eliminate this curvilinear relationship. Mechanisms of well-being may involve a confident worldview rather than religious beliefs themselves.

Forms, Frequency, and Correlates of Perceived Anti-Atheist Discrimination

“…There is a substantial body of evidence suggesting that R/S is associated with better physical and mental health (Hill & Pargament, 2008), though the relationship is typically quite small (Koenig, 2009). While recent research has demonstrated the presence of a curvilinear relationship between belief and health (i.e., confidently religious and atheist individuals report higher well-being than religiously uncertain and agnostic individuals; see Galen & Kloet, 2011a, for a review), other research contends that atheists tend to experience more psychological problems and are generally less happy than religious people (Altemeyer, 2010;Reed, 1991;Schumaker, 1992;Steinitz, 1980;see Zuckerman, 2009, for a review). While these findings have been attributed to "constructing a moral system from scratch" or "a lack of accountability to God or a wider community" (Hall, Koenig, & Meador, 2008, p. 371), the possible effects of social marginalization (perceived and/or actual) have not yet been considered.…”

Believe it or not: Exploring the relationship between dogmatism and openness within non-religious samples

“…These findings are reinforced by Galen and Kloet (2011a) who showed differences in wellbeing between strongly associated atheists and less consistent non-believers. Specifically, people who were certain that God does not exist exhibited greater emotional stability then people who were unsure (Galen & Kloet, 2011a). It appears that certainty in the lack of belief in God may separate atheists from other non-religious people.…”

“…Research studying dogmatism in non-religious individuals have been limited in scope (see Crowson, 2009;Hunsberger & Altemeyer, 2006) and there has been no focus on whether group identity serves as a predictor for dogmatism in non-religious individuals, where social identity strength can vary (Galen & Kloet, 2011a). Rokeach (1960) originally described dogmatism as a 'closed mindedness', which can be prevalent in any sample of people, regardless of religious belief.…”

Spiritual Struggles among Atheists: Links to Psychological Distress and Well-Being

“…However, analyses of a subset of the samples analyzed in the present study indicated that doubt struggles predict higher life satisfaction and lower levels of depression after controlling for other types of R/S struggles (with theists and atheists pooled as one sample; Exline et al 2014). Some research has supported the idea that certainty in one's worldview-whether a religious or non-religious worldview-predicts better mental health (Galen and Kloet 2011). Given the nuanced conclusions in this area, the association between doubt struggles and well-being among atheists needs to be examined to develop a better understanding of this relationship.…”