Scientists have found a connection between spirituality and psychological well-being

At the end of March, the results of two large-scale studies were published, which should help determine how people achieve mental well-being and prosperity. And despite some vagueness of the terms, scientists have come to surprisingly similar conclusions: spirituality and religiosity make people happier.

British scientists, together with the American public opinion institute Gallup, asked respondents from 21 countries questions about their assessment of their own well-being over the course of five years. As a result, they came to an unexpected conclusion: those who attend church, synagogue or mosque more often feel happier.

First results “Global Study of Human Flourishing” were published on March 28. A few days earlier, the American Sapien Labs, led by neuroscientist Tara Thiagarajan, released its own short report.

Both groups of researchers came to surprisingly similar conclusions: spiritual practices help achieve mental well-being.

However, despite the loud headlines, everything is not so simple. “Spirituality and active religious practice appear to improve your mental well-being by increasing the love you feel for others. And while a person can come to love and care for the well-being of others in various ways, active religious practice is a relatively reliable way to achieve this, says Dr. Thiagarazhan herself. But it in no way guarantees anything.”

Sapien Lab came to other interesting conclusions. For example, those who don’t believe in God have a harder time loving someone. This probability among atheists, according to the scientists who conducted this survey, is five times lower than among believers. And the people who are the worst at loving their neighbors live in Germany and Great Britain.

As for the measurement of human flourishing by British scientists and Gallup, this is a rather complex and complex parameter, which is calculated based on user responses to 12 questions. They were asked to independently assess their level of happiness and life satisfaction, their physical and mental health, financial stability, and also answer questions about the meaning of life and virtue. Finally, users were asked about spiritual practices and the place of religion in their lives.

The survey found that prosperity scores were, on average, higher among those who considered themselves spiritual or religious. The average well-being score is 0.23 higher for those who consider religion an important part of everyday life.

However, the authors of the study note that this indicator, in isolation from other factors, has little in common with the real state of affairs. For example, people’s financial well-being is much more important to them than constant trips to church or mosque. Those who have a job are on average 0.22 better off than those who are unemployed. And those who consider their current financial income to be sufficient for a comfortable life end up scoring on average 2.02 points higher in the prosperity index than those who do not have enough money in their lives.

And the authors of the report summarize: these survey results are just a set of people’s associations, and scientists will be able to establish real cause-and-effect relationships only after conducting several waves of such surveys. This was only the first wave, which lasted about five years.

Kirill Sarkhanyants