Date of Award

6-2014

Document Type

Open Access

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Kenneth DeBono

Language

English

Keywords

happiness, religiousness, gender, women, giving

Abstract

The current research intended to extend upon previous research on the relationship between happiness and religiosity by looking at the role gender plays in this relationship. It was hypothesized that while there would be a positive correlation between religiosity and happiness in both genders, the correlation would be stronger for women. The study also aimed to test if different aspects of religion mediate this relationship for men and women. It was hypothesized that for women, the aspects of religion that would be most closely related to increased happiness and decreased anxiety would be aspects that allow for a sense of community, helping others, and a release from death anxiety, as these are factors that have been shown to increase happiness for women outside of religion. Participants were given a series of surveys to determine various aspects of religiousness, as well as levels of happiness and anxiety. The results indicated no correlation between religiousness and happiness for either gender, but for women, increased religiousness was actually associated with increased anxiety. The results also indicated that positive attitudes toward charitable giving were associated with increased anxiety in women. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

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