Religion may be good for life satisfaction of Australians

Attending religious services, complete with all their traditions and ceremony, may be good for the life satisfaction of Australians, according to research from Southern Cross University.

Dr Michael Kortt, of the Southern Cross Business School, was the lead author of a research project with Professor Brian Dollery and Dr Bligh Grant from the UNE Business School, that investigated the association between religious involvement and life satisfaction using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. The article – ‘Religion and Life Satisfaction Down Under’ – was recently published in the Journal of Happiness Studies.

“A wide range of factors can affect subjective wellbeing, including age, income, gender, education, genetics, number of children, marriage, employment unemployment, self-reported health status, personality, social relationships and major life events,” Dr Kortt said.

“In addition, a number of studies have also found that various aspects of religious behaviour are positively associated with subjective wellbeing. However, there is some debate on how religious behaviour influences wellbeing.

“One theory emphasises the importance of social networks and social support. This is explained in that religious institutions, such as churches, synagogues, and mosques, enhance subjective wellbeing by providing individuals with access to social networks and support structures. We chose to explore this theory.”

The HILDA survey contains information on religion and life satisfaction as well as comprehensive data on demographic, social and the economic characteristics of its participants.

“We asked if attendance at religious services is positively related to life satisfaction and whether attendance has an independent influence on life satisfaction after controlling for social resources – that is the number of friends and level of social interaction,” Dr Kortt said.

“Our research found that there was a statistically significant positive association between attendance and life satisfaction even after controlling for social resources. This finding was robust to a range of alternative econometric specifications and the inclusion of an extensive range of socio-economic factors.

“We also found that self-reported health status and marital status have the most substantial positive influence on life satisfaction, while unemployment status and the number of negative life events have the most substantial negative influence on life satisfaction.

“To further explore the association between religious involvement and life satisfaction, we believe that there is a need to disentangle and separately assess what influence ‘religious social resources’ and ‘secular social resources’ may have on life satisfaction in contemporary Australian society. We view this as an important area for future research.”

Photo: Dr Michael Kortt.