Religion, spirituality, and well‐being: A systematic literature review and futuristic agenda

Abstract

Informed by religion and psychology literature, this study reviews the literature on religiosity, spirituality, and psychology to support existing theory development in the current emergence of "Management, Spirituality, and Religion" field of study, encourage new contextual thinking and develop a framework to guide businesses on the integration of spirituality and religiosity at work given their documented benefits in relation to personal well-being and productivity. Using the Web of Science (WoS) database, the paper reviews and synthesizes recent research in a systematic, transparent, and reproducible manner. In addition, to verify and include the state-of-the-art of high-quality scientific articles, we refer to the Chartered Association of Business Schools list leading to the adoption of the following criteria: (a) journals listed in the ABS ranking as 3-and 4-star class, (b) indexed under the field of ethics (i.e., ETHICS-CSR-MAN), (c) articles published between 2000 and 2021, and (d) topical relevance. The review extends the existing literature by developing a framework for organizations that helps in identifying possible linkages between religiosity, spirituality, and employee well-being. This was done by (1) extending the six indicators of Ryff's well-being framework, (2) highlighting potential spiritual practices for individuals and organizations and their implications, and (3) presenting a framework that is contextualized to the extent possible and that can serve as a useful guide for organizations. Insights from our review yield in turn two key propositions: (1) workplace spirituality and individual spirituality are both important for employees' well-being, and (2) individual religiosity is an important factor for personal well-being. This offers in turn reinvigorated awareness and new insights into the topic under study. The study highlights in closing an array of future possible research directions.

Does religiosity matter for entrepreneurs’ psychological well-being in conflict areas? Insights from Palestine and Libya

“…This finding is viewed in light of several studies that highlight the positive implications of religiosity and spirituality for well-being and happiness (e.g. Hammer and Cragun, 2019; Koburtay and Syed, 2021; Koburtay et al. , 2022a, b).…”

“…tranquility, supplication, remembrances, reading the Quran, charities, helping others, forgiveness, honesty, tolerance). In addition, by treating Islamic religiosity as a predictor of entrepreneurs’ PWB in conflict areas, this study advances the theory application of understanding entrepreneurs’ well-being in conflict areas that has been neglected in the literature and responds to Koburtay et al. ’s (2022a, b) call for investigating Islamic well-being in a different context.…”

“…This study used a qualitative design. Many researchers promote this design as it facilitates the exploration of factors for which little has been explored (Koburtay et al. , 2022a, b; D’andria et al.…”

“…This model was generated based on previous studies and in-depth interviews with Muslim participants who are aware of Islamic practices, pillars of Islam and well-being in Islam. First, in contrast to the mainstream (and Western) view of well-being, which is more attached to materialism, religions in general, and Islam in specific, stress on the key role of worship and religious rituals for people’s well-being and flourishing (Joshanloo, 2013; Joshanloo and Weijers, 2019) as “the ultimate well-being can be achieved through the absolute submission to the will of Allah in all aspects of life” (Koburtay et al. , 2022a, b, p. 2477).…”

“…In light of Koburtay et al. ’s (2022a, b) view of well-being in Islam, previous studies also suggest that religiosity (and spirituality) is an important factor for people’s mental health and well-being (e.g.…”