Religion, meaning and purpose, and mental health

The present study was specifically designed to examine the associations among religious commitment, belief in meaning and purpose in life, and psychiatric symptoms among the general public using data from the 2010 Baylor Religion Survey (BRS). The BRS obtained data from a nationwide sample of 1,714 U.S. adults, 1,450 of which are included in the current analyses. The central hypothesis of the study, based on identity theory, was that religious commitment would interact with belief in meaning and purpose in their net associations on psychiatric symptoms: general anxiety, social anxiety, paranoia, obsession, and compulsion. Specifically, it was hypothesized that believing life lacks meaning and purpose will have a more pernicious association among highly religious individuals, than it will among individuals who are less religious. Other hypotheses derived from previous research were also tested. The results confirm the central hypothesis of the study for 4 of the 5 classes of psychiatric symptoms. The results are discussed with respect to identity theory, evolutionary threat assessment systems (ETAS) theory, and the hostile world scenario.