The interpersonal relationship between religiosity and life satisfaction: a 20-year study

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.110933

Commentary

Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have documented a positive association between religiosity and happiness.

This study utilized a random intercept cross-lagged panel model that divides variance into between- and within-person components, and re-examined the relationship between religiosity and life satisfaction over time.

The analyzed data were drawn from a nationally representative survey of American adults. (N = 4167)

The data were collected three times over a period of approximately 20 years.

Consistent with previous cross-sectional studies, a positive, but weak, association was found between religiosity and life satisfaction at the individual level.

However, the within-individual estimates are not significant, suggesting that there is no (Granger) causal relationship between religiosity and life satisfaction in the sample.