Assess The Impact Of Religion On Psychological Well-Being

For more than 20 years, psychological well-being has been the focus of intense research attention. Psychological well-being dwells within the experience of the individual. Psychologists define psychological well-being as the state of feeling healthy and happy, having satisfaction, relaxation, pleasure, and peace of mind. This principle deals with people’s feelings towards everyday experiences in different life activities.These feelings can range from negative mental states or psychological strains, such as depression, distress, and anxiety, to a state which has been identified as positive mental health.
According to a study done by the Pew Research Center in 2012, some 80 percent of Americans say they practice some sort of religion. Due to
This research review, reviews the evidence from psychological studies to find out the impact of religion on psychological well-being of the person, concluding that the influence of religion is largely beneficial. It had been well-accepted that religious beliefs can shape a person’s psychological perception of pain or even disability as religion creates a mindset that enables the person to relax and allows healing on its own. When it comes to articulating the basic structure of psychological well-being, discussions almost always center on the distinction between the positive and negative affects and life-satisfaction (Andrews,1976). While there are some individuals who are open to other ideas, an individual usually defends his or her religion. Such actions reflect a person’s attitude and behavior, and indicate the influence of religion on his or her way of thinking. Given the
Gorsuch again argued that this distinction between two different orientations to religion has been most useful to research on relationship between religiosity and psychological well-being. Individuals having an intrinsic orientation to religion have been described as living their religious beliefs, the influence of which is evident in every aspect of life. Intrinsic religiosity has been related to several positive outcomes including better self-reported health, decreased anger, hostility and social isolation along with increased self-esteem (Donahue, 1985). On the other hand, those who demonstrate an extrinsic orientation to religion have been described as using religion to provide an ego defense as well as using religion as protection (Genia & Shaw, 1991). Extrinsic orientation has been related to neutral and negative health indexes such as depression, anxiety, identity diffusion, irrational thought, and failure to volunteer to help (Baston, 1989). Religious orientations can offer not only a sense of ultimate destinations in living, but also different possible pathways for reaching these destinations, such as the effort to sustain themselves and their spirituality in stressful situations. Those with stronger religious frameworks