Religious Orientation, Spirituality, and Life Satisfaction: A Gendered Perspective
In recent times, religiosity and spirituality have received much attention towards mental health, but very few investigations worked on their role on life satisfaction within the gender perspective. The present study, however, investigates the relationships between religiosity, spirituality, and life satisfaction among individuals residing in Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Pakistan, with special reference to gender. For this purpose, a sample of 150 adults (71 men and 79 women) were selected by convenient sampling technique and was evaluated using validated versions of three scales: Religious Orientation Scale (ROS), Spirituality Scale (SS), and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SLS). Results indicate that religiosity and spirituality have a significant positive correlation with life satisfaction. Results of linear regression showed that religiosity and spirituality significantly predict life satisfaction. Women reported more religious orientation and spirituality as compared to men in the sample studied. The study is useful for both men and women, highlighting the importance of one's orientation towards religion.
-
Religiosity, Spirituality, Religious Orientation, Life Satisfaction, Gender, Pakistan
-
(1) Sajid Mehmood Alvi
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social & Administrative Sciences, The University of Haripur, KP, Pakistan.
(2) Muhammad Tahir
Assistant Professor/Head, Department of Islamic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences & Humanities (FSSH), Riphah International University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
(3) Saira Bano
Lecturer, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social & Administrative Sciences, The University of Haripur, KP, Pakistan.
- Abbas, S., Saeed, S., & Abbas, S. (2018). Impact of Religion on Quality of Life among Young Female Students in Pakistan: A Case Study of Sialkot. Orient Research Journal of Social Sciences, 3, 2, 291-303.
- Abdel-Khalek, A. M. (2010). Quality of life, subjective well-being, and religiosity in Muslim college students. Quality of Life Research, 19, 8, 1133-1143
- Abidi, S. A., & Majeed, M. T. (2019). Happiness and Spirituality: An empirical analysis using divine perspectives in Pakistan. Empirical Economic Review, 2, 1, 117-151
- Aghababaei, N. (2014). God, the good life, and HEXACO: The relations among religion, subjective well-being and personality. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 17, 284-290.
- Aghababaei, N., & BÅ‚achnio, A. (2014). Purpose in life mediates the relationship between religiosity and happiness: Evidence from Poland. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 17, 8, 827-831.
- Bergan, A., & McConatha, J. T. (2000). Religiosity and Life Satisfaction. Activities, Adaptation & Aging, 24, l 3, 23-34.
- Bierman, A. (2006). Does Religion Buffer the Effects of Discrimination on Mental Health? Differing Effects by Race. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 45, 551-565
- Buchko, K. J. (2004). Religious beliefs and practices of college women as compared to college men. Journal of College Student Development, 45, 89-98.
- Bukhari, F. K., Saad, Z. M., & Mahamood, Y. (2017). Impact of religiosity on depression among elderly people of Punjab, Pakistan. Journal of Advanced Research in Social and Behavioural Sciences, 6, 1, 1-6.
- Canda, E. R., & Furman, L. D. (2010).
- Choen, A. B. (2002). The importance of spirituality in the well-being of Jews and Christians. Journal of happiness studies, 3, 287-310.
- Christopher, E. G., Gay, D. A., & Glass, T. A. (1989). Does religious commitment contribute to individual life satisfaction? Social Forces, 1, 100-123.
- Clark, A. E. & O. Lelkes (2009). Let us pray: religious interactions in life satisfaction. Accessed on September 15, 2019. Tech.rep.
- Cragun, R. T., Hammer, J. H., & Nielsen, M. (2015). The nonreligious-nonspiritual scale (NRNSS): Measuring everyone from atheists to Zionists. Science, Religion and Culture, 2, 3, 36-53
- DeLaune, S. C., & Ladner, P. K. (2006). Fundamentals of nursing: Standards and practice (3rd ed). Clifton Park, NY: Thomson Delmar Learning.
- Delener, N. (1990). The effects of religious factors on perceived risk in durable goods purchase decisions. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 7, 3, 27-38.
- Diener, E., Emmons, R.A., Larson, R.J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction with Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71- 75.
- Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L. (1985). Subjective Well-being: Three Decades of Progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 276-302.
- Dierendonck, D. V. (2012). Spirituality as an Essential Determinant for the Good Life, its Importance Relative to Self-Determinant Psychological Needs. Journal of Happiness Studies, 13, 685-700.
- Egan, R., MacLeod, R., Jaye, C., McGee, R., Baxter, J., & Herbison, P. (2011). What is spirituality? Evidence from a New Zealand hospice study. Mortality, 16, 4, 307-324.
- Elkins, D. N. (1988). Spiritual Orientation Inventory. Available at D. N. Elkins, Ph.D., Pepperdine University Center, Irvine, CA, 92715.
- Francis. (1997). The Psychology of Gender Differences in Religion: A Review of Empirical Research,
- Freeman, L. (2004).
- Ghorbani, N., Watson, P. J., Zarehi, J., & Shamohammadi, K. (2010). Muslim extrinsic cultural religious orientation and identity: Relationships with social and personal adjustment in Iran. Journal of Beliefs and Values, 31, 1, 15-28.
- Gorsuch, R. L., & McPherson, S. E. (1989). Intrinsic/Extrinsic Measurement: I/E-Revised & Single-Item Scales. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 28, 348- 354.
- Gull, F., & Dawood S. (2013). Religiosity and Subjective Well-Being amongst Institutionalized Elderly in Pakistan. Health Promot Perspect, 3, 1, 124-128
- Harris, J. S. (2002).
- Hill P. C., Pargament K. I., Hood R. W., McCullough M. E., Swyers J. P., Larson D. B., & Zinnbauer B. J. (2000). Conceptualizing Religion and Spirituality: Points of Commonality, Points of Departure. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 30, 1, 51-77.
- Hill, P. C., & Pargament, K. I. (2003). Advances in the conceptualization and measurement of religion and spirituality: Implications for physical and mental health research. American Psychologist, 58, 64-74.
- Hill, P., & Pargament, K. (2008). Advances in the conceptualization and measurement of religion and spirituality: Implications for physical and mental health research. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 1, 3-17.
- James, W. (1902/1961).
- Kaiser (2000). Definitions and discussion of spirituality and religion. Acessed on November 3, 2019, http://nccc.georgetown.edu/body_mind_s pirit/definitions_spirituality_religion
- Keller, K. H. (2016). Development of a Spiritual Abuse Questionnaire. PhD dissertation: Texas Woman's University.
- Khanna, S. & Greyson, B. (2014). Daily Spiritual Experiences Before and After Near-Death Experiences. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 6 (4): 302-309. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0037258
- Koenig, H. G. (2009).
- Koenig, H. G. (2009). Research on Religion, Spirituality, and Mental Health: A Review, The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 54, 5, 283-291.
- Koenig, H. G., George, K., Blazer, G., & Meador, K. (1993). Religion and anxiety disorder: and examination and comparison of associations in young, middle-aged, and elderly adults. Journal of Anxiety Disorder, no 7: 321-342.
- Kor, A., Pirutinsky, S., Mikulincer, M., Shoshani, A., & Miller, L. (2019). A Longitudinal Study of Spirituality, Character Strengths, Subjective Well-Being, and Prosociality in Middle School Adolescents. Front. Psychol. 10, 377, 1-15.
- Krause, N. (2008). 'Aging in the Church: How Social Relationships affect Health'. West Conshohocken, PA: Templeton Foundation Press.
- Leszczyńska, K. (2016). Płeć w instytucje uwikłana. Wydawnictwo Naukowe Scholar Sp. z oo.
- Mahmood, S., Amin, R., & Zahra, A. (2017). Impact of Religious Commitment on Life Satisfaction among Adults. Pakistan Journal of Islamic Research, 18, 1, 53-61.
- Ngamaba, K. H., and Soni, D. (2017). Are Happiness and Life Satisfaction Different Across Religious groups? Exploring Determinants of Happiness and Life Satisfaction. J Relig Health, 1-22.
- Okulicz-Kozaryn, A. (2010). Religiosity and life satisfaction across nations. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 13, 2, 155-169.
- Pargament, K. I. (1999). The Psychology of Religion and Spirituality? Yes and No. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 9, 1, 3-16.
- Pickthall, M. M. (1999). The Holy Quran. Laurier Books Ltd.: UK.
- Piedmont, R. (1999). Does spirituality represent the sixth factor of personality? Spiritual transcendence and the Five-Factor Model. Journal of Personality, 67, 6, 985-1013.
- Pollack, D. (2003). Religiousness Inside and Outside the Church in Selected PostCommunist Countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Social Compass, 50, 321- 334.
- Rambo, L., & Haar Farris, M. (2012). Psychology of religion: Toward a multidisciplinary paradigm. Pastoral Psychology, 61, 711- 720.
- Rowold, J. (2011). Effects of spiritual well-being on subsequent happiness, psychological well-being, and stress. Journal of Religion and Health, 50, 4, 950-963.
- Rulindo, R., & Mardhatillah, A. (2011). Spirituality, religiosity and economic performances of Muslim microentrepreneurs. In paper presented at the 8th international conference on Islamic economics and finance, held in Doha, Qatar, on December 19-21, 2011.
- Salsman, J. M., & Carlson, C. R. (2005). Religious Orientation, Mature Faith, and Psychological Distress: Elements of Positive and Negative Associations. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 44, 201-209.
- Shin, D. C., & Johnson, D. M. (1978). Avowed happiness as an overall assessment of the quality of life. Social Indicators Research, 5, 1-4, 475-492.
- Sillick, W. J., & Cathcart, S. (2013). The relationship between religious orientation and happiness: The mediating role of purpose in life. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 17, 5, 494-507.
- Spilka, B. (1993). 'Spirituality: Problems and directions in operationalizing a fuzzy concept'. Paper presented at the meeting of American Psychological Association. Toronto, Ontario.
- Suhail, K., and Rashid, Ch. (2004). Predictors of Subjective Well-being in an Eastern Muslim Culture. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23, 359-376.
- Tahir, M. & Zubairi, S. (2019). Exploring Qur'anic Stance on Mental Health: An Analytical Review. University of Wah Journal of Social Sciences (UWJSS), 2, 2, 46-71.
- Telfer, E. (1980).
- Underwood, L. G. (2006). Ordinary spiritual experience: Qualitative research,interpretive guidelines, and population distribution for the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale. Archive for the Psychology of Religion/Archiv für Religionpsychologie, 28, 181-218.
- Yeniaras, V., & Akarsu, T. N. (2016). Religiosity and Life Satisfaction: A Multi-dimensional Approach. J Happiness Stud. DOI 10.1007/s10902-016-9803-4
- Younas, S. & Kamal, A. (2020). Influence of Socio-Demographic Features on PiriMuridi: An Experiential Study. Foundation University Journal of Psychology, 4 (1), 1-33
- Younas, S., Kamal, A., Sabih, F., & Mushtaq, A. (2020). Socio-Psychological study of PiriMuridi. Trames: A Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences, 24 (2) 145-160.
- Younas, S., Muqtadir, R., & Khan, M. (2018). Religious orientation and optimism: a quantitative consideration within Pakistani context. Foundation University Journal of Psychology, 3 (1), 29-66.
- Zinnbauer, B. J. & Pargament, K. I. (2000). Capturing the Meaning of Religiousness and Spirituality: One Way Down from a Definitional Tower of Babel. Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, 12, 23- 54
- Zinnbauer, B. J., Pargament, K. I., & Scott, A. B. (1999). The emerging meanings of religiousness and spirituality: Problems and prospects. Journal of Personality, 67, 6, 889-919.
- Zinnbauer, B., Pargament, J., Cole, B., Rye, M., Butter, E., Belavich, K., Hipp, K., Scott, A., & Kadar, J. (1997). Religion and Spirituality: Unfuzzying the fuzzy. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 36, 549-564.
Cite this article
-
APA : Alvi, S. M., Tahir, M., & Bano, S. (2021). Religious Orientation, Spirituality, and Life Satisfaction: A Gendered Perspective. Global Social Sciences Review, VI(I), 120-129. https://doi.org/10.31703/gssr.2021(VI-I).13
-
CHICAGO : Alvi, Sajid Mehmood, Muhammad Tahir, and Saira Bano. 2021. "Religious Orientation, Spirituality, and Life Satisfaction: A Gendered Perspective." Global Social Sciences Review, VI (I): 120-129 doi: 10.31703/gssr.2021(VI-I).13
-
HARVARD : ALVI, S. M., TAHIR, M. & BANO, S. 2021. Religious Orientation, Spirituality, and Life Satisfaction: A Gendered Perspective. Global Social Sciences Review, VI, 120-129.
-
MHRA : Alvi, Sajid Mehmood, Muhammad Tahir, and Saira Bano. 2021. "Religious Orientation, Spirituality, and Life Satisfaction: A Gendered Perspective." Global Social Sciences Review, VI: 120-129
-
MLA : Alvi, Sajid Mehmood, Muhammad Tahir, and Saira Bano. "Religious Orientation, Spirituality, and Life Satisfaction: A Gendered Perspective." Global Social Sciences Review, VI.I (2021): 120-129 Print.
-
OXFORD : Alvi, Sajid Mehmood, Tahir, Muhammad, and Bano, Saira (2021), "Religious Orientation, Spirituality, and Life Satisfaction: A Gendered Perspective", Global Social Sciences Review, VI (I), 120-129
-
TURABIAN : Alvi, Sajid Mehmood, Muhammad Tahir, and Saira Bano. "Religious Orientation, Spirituality, and Life Satisfaction: A Gendered Perspective." Global Social Sciences Review VI, no. I (2021): 120-129. https://doi.org/10.31703/gssr.2021(VI-I).13