The Relationships Between Religion and Mental Health

This article reviews the relationships between the means, end, and quest religious orientations as measures of religion (Batson & Ventis, 1982) and measures of mental health. Mental health is defined by seven criteria gleaned from the previous literature: (a) absence of mental illness, (b) appro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of social issues 1995-07, Vol.51 (2), p.33-48
Main Author: Ventis, W. Larry
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Measures
Mental Health
Relationship
Religion
Religiosity
Religious Beliefs
Religious orientation
Religious Orientations
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Summary:This article reviews the relationships between the means, end, and quest religious orientations as measures of religion (Batson & Ventis, 1982) and measures of mental health. Mental health is defined by seven criteria gleaned from the previous literature: (a) absence of mental illness, (b) appropriate social behavior, (c) freedom from worry and guilt, (d) personal competence and control, (e) self‐acceptance and self‐actualization, (f) unification and organization of personality, and (g) open‐mindedness and flexibility (Batson, Schoenrade, & Ventis, 1993). The literature approached in this way reveals that the relationship depends on both the measure of religion and the measure of mental health. The means dimension shows predominantly negative relationships with mental health indices; the end dimension shows predominantly positive relationships; and the quest dimension (though less thoroughly researched) reveals mixed results. Applications to mental health of these religious orientations and the research findings are discussed.
ISSN:0022-4537
1540-4560
DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1995.tb01322.x