Stairway to heaven? (Ir)religious identity moderates the effects of immersion in religious spaces on self-esteem and self-perceived physical health

Abstract

The present research explored how immersion in religious spaces influenced self-perceived psychological and physical health among Christians and Atheists. Study 1 (N=97) provided preliminary evidence in that self-identified Christians reported higher self-esteem when they focused on their external environment outside a cathedral (versus a castle or shopping district), whereas Atheists reported higher self-esteem when they focused away from this religious environment. Study 2 (N=124) followed up on these findings by immersing Christian and Atheist participants in virtual environments. Christians reported better physical health when immersed in a cathedral (versus a mosque or museum) compared to Atheists immersed in the cathedral, who reported the greatest health while disengaging from this religious place. These results suggest that immersion in spaces that reflect one's own religious beliefs and identity has positive consequences for health and well-being.

Neighbourhood identification and mental health: How social identification moderates the relationship between socioeconomic disadvantage and health

“…Additionally, the researchers found that residents who were strongly identified with their neighbourhood had higher self-esteem,a finding which accords with previous studies that have examined the relationship between place-related identities and self-esteem (Knez, 2005;Fleury-Bahi & Marcouyeux, 2010;Twigger Ross & Uzzell, 1996). Along similar lines, other research informed by the social identity approach has shown that psychological wellbeing associated with restorative (Morton, van der Bles & Haslam, 2017), spiritual (Ysseldyk, Haslam, & Morton, 2016) and festive (Schmitt, Davies, Hung, & Wright, 2010) environments are shaped by social group identification.…”

Seeing our self reflected in the world around us: The role of identity in making (natural) environments restorative

“…The present studies join a number of recent works that have extended these insights to the experience of physical environments, for example by showing that social identities determine the psychological consequences of being in specific spaces (e.g., Cheryan et al, 2009;Knight & Haslam, 2010a & b;Schmitt et al, 2010;Ysseldyk, Haslam & Morton, 2016) and help to explain when and why objectively M A N U S C R I P T…”

“…Indeed, there was some evidence in our own data that individual differences in nature-based self-definition (i.e., connectedness to nature) guided cognitive responses to natural and urban images in a similar way to our identity manipulation (see Footnote 7). Other studies that have explored identity-based responses to other environmental features have made use of enduring categorical identities, for example, those based on religion (Shankar et al, 2013;Schmitt et al, 2010;Ysseldyk et al, 2016) and gender (Cheryan et al, 2009). …”

Focusing on the nonreligious reveals secular mechanisms underlying well-being and prosociality.

“…In regards to the elicitation of awe, one study found that reported physical health was improved when Christians were immersed in a cathedral (versus a mosque or museum). By contrast, atheists reported the greatest health while disengaging from this religious setting (Ysseldyk, Haslam, & Morton, 2016). What may be labelled as "spiritual" experiences for the nonreligious tend to be elicited via different sources than for the religious (e.g., nature, science, secular versions of yoga or meditation; see Figure 1), although these may ultimately function via shared common pathway with R/S versions of experiences (Preston & Shin, 2017).…”