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Faith and Happiness in China: Roles of Religious Identity, Beliefs, and Practice

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  • Jun Lu

    (Purdue University)

  • Qin Gao

    (Columbia University School of Social Work)

Abstract

Using the 2007 Spiritual Life Study of Chinese Residents data, this article examines the association between religious faith and happiness in China. We treat religious faith as a multidimensional construct and explore the possible effects of religious identity, belief, and practice on happiness among Chinese citizens. We find that having a religious identity in general was not significantly associated with happiness, while religious belief and practice—in particular attending religious services—was negatively associated with happiness. Different denominations were found to have different associations with happiness. The most consistent and robust results show that Daoist beliefs or practices and all dimensions of Christianity were negatively associated with happiness. While having a Buddhist identity and high frequency of Buddhist practices were associated with increased happiness, Buddhist beliefs or practices were found to be unrelated to happiness. We offer the social contextual perspective and the religious oligopoly theory as possible explanations of these findings. As religion expands constantly to play a more important role in China and as the government strives to build a happier society, the findings from this study offer timely implications and help lead to more rigorous research on this understudied topic.

Suggested Citation

  • Jun Lu & Qin Gao, 2017. "Faith and Happiness in China: Roles of Religious Identity, Beliefs, and Practice," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 132(1), pages 273-290, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:132:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1007_s11205-016-1372-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-016-1372-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Shoko Yamane & Hiroyasu Yoneda & Yoshiro Tsutsui, 2019. "Is irrational thinking associated with lower earnings and happiness?," Mind & Society: Cognitive Studies in Economics and Social Sciences, Springer;Fondazione Rosselli, vol. 18(1), pages 87-104, June.
    2. Niu, Geng & Zhao, Guochang, 2018. "Religion and trust in strangers among China's rural-urban migrants," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 265-272.
    3. Yingying Sun & Yue Zhang, 2019. "Who Is Happier in China? Exploring Determinant Factors Using Religion as a Moderator," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-17, November.

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