The relationship between (in)congruent congregational policies, personal views on social issues, and well-being

• In Event: 41069 - Religion, Health, and Well-Being

Abstract

At a population level, religion is positively related to health; it provides a community, shared values, and an improved self-concept to those who can attend regularly and identify strongly with their religious group (Ellison and Hummer 2010). However, we know this relationship can be more complex; for example, when women are systemically excluded from power and status within structurally sexist congregations, they don’t receive the health benefits that would otherwise be associated with religious service attendance (Homan and Burdette 2021). Little research has examined the effect of mismatch between one’s personal beliefs and their congregation’s organizational orientations on well-being, especially concerning gay marriage, queer clergy, abortion, and gender equality. In this study, I use a novel dataset created by linking the General Social Survey to the National Congregations Study, two nationally representative surveys, to study how (in)congruence between individual social attitudes and congregational social activity and policy impacts individual health, happiness, and mental health. Preliminary results identify a slight positive correlation between congruence on social issues and health, happiness, and well-being, and further research will examine the differences in well-being between congruent and incongruent groups and groups are not religiously active.

Author

• Johannah Elisabeth Palomo, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill