Health outcomes associated with attending church, praying, and religiosity are moderated by religious, spriritual, and atheist identities

Speed, David (2015) Health outcomes associated with attending church, praying, and religiosity are moderated by religious, spriritual, and atheist identities. Doctoral (PhD) thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

Research investigating Religion/Spirituality and health often notes that Religious/Spiritual constructs (i.e., attending church, praying/meditating, and religiosity) are associated with salutary outcomes. However, there is a consistent failure to investigate whether being non-religious, non-spiritual, or atheist affects the experience of Religious/Spiritual constructs. Using large, representative datasets from Canadian and American sources, it was investigated whether the relationships between Religious/Spiritual constructs and health outcomes, were moderated by Religious/Spiritual identities. This series of four interrelated studies converged on three findings. First, the non-religious, non-spiritual, and atheists tended to experience Religious/Spiritual constructs less positively than the religious, spiritual, or non-atheists. Second, when the non-religious, non-spiritual, and atheists reported higher levels of Religious/Spiritual constructs, these groups reported poorer health than the religious, spiritual, or non-atheists. Third, when considering subsets of the non-religious, non-spiritual, or atheists, Religious/Spiritual constructs were never associated with salutary outcomes. The discussion focused on the role of Religious/Spiritual identities affecting the experience of Religious/Spiritual constructs, and the advantages of not treating atheism as a Religious Identity.

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