New study shows close relationships with God positively affects psychological well-being
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Having the belief that God is intimately involved in an individual's ventures positively affects his/her psychological well-being, according to newly published research. The researchers add that the positive relationship between the two was only observed in Christians, due to fundamental elements on religious affinities. As humans are deeply concerned with relationships, the study proves that having connections with the divine proves to be healthy.
Highlights
Catholic Online (https://www.catholic.org)
6/24/2015 (1 decade ago)
Published in Living Faith
Keywords: Social, Human, Relationship, God, Divine, Psychological Well-being, Beliefs, Positive, Meaning
MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - Jong Hyun Jung used the 2007 data gathered from Baylor's survey, asking 1,648 adults how they respond to the statements including "My life has a real purpose," "God is concerned with my personal well-being," and "God is directly involved in my affairs."
They were also asked "Based on your personal understanding, what do you think God is like?"
In his paper titled, "Sense of Divine Involvement and Sense of Meaning in Life: Religious Tradition as a Contingency," Jung explored the answers and came up with such conclusions.
According to Jung, because humans are essentially social creatures, close relationships bring a sense of meaning into their lives, which extends between the human being and God. He explained that belief in the divine possibly promotes psychological well-being, believing that God is actually involved in our daily life.
"The positive association between sense of divine involvement and the odds of having a sense of meaning in life is observed only among Christians - evangelical Protestants, mainline Protestants, and Catholics - but not among other religionists and those without religious affiliation," wrote Jung.
Although somehow "speculative," Jung said that this conclusion is because of Christianity's focus on the tenet that God has involvement in the life of his followers. He suggests that this should lead into more research.
The study was published at the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.
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