Religiosity and a Sense of Community Crucial To People’s Happiness
Faith and religiosity play a particularly important role in the run-up to Christmas. This is also reflected in the fact that over 80 percent of people in Germany celebrate Christmas, even though only half of Germans still belong to a Christian denomination. A new study by the University of Mannheim now provides new perspectives on the connection between religiosity and personal happiness – and not just at Christmas. The study, published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, shows: The more your personal religiosity matches the perceived religiosity of your country, the greater your mental and physical well-being. The sense of belonging to a community plays a decisive role here.
For their study, the authors surveyed more than 10,000 people in 24 countries worldwide. In addition to objective questions on personal religiosity – such as belief in God, frequency of prayer or church attendance – the participants were also asked about the perceived religiosity of their country as well as their psychological, social, and physical well-being – parameters that determine personal happiness.