TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaluating the relationships among religion, social virtues, and meaning in life
AU - Krause, Neal
AU - Hill, Peter C.
AU - Ironson, Gail
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was support by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation (40077).
PY - 2019/3/1
Y1 - 2019/3/1
N2 - There is growing evidence that a sense of meaning in life may emerge, in part, from the social relationships that people maintain. But it is not clear how the relationship between social ties and a sense of meaning might arise. The purpose of this study is to see if meaning in life is associated with three socially focused virtues: compassion, forgiveness of others, and providing social support to others. In the process, an effort is made to see if these social virtues arise from social relationships in religious institutions. Two main findings emerge from a recent nationwide survey. First, people who are more compassionate, more forgiving, and who help others more often have a stronger sense of meaning in life. Second, individuals who receive more spiritual support from fellow church members are more likely to adopt these social virtues. The theoretical basis of these relationships is discussed.
AB - There is growing evidence that a sense of meaning in life may emerge, in part, from the social relationships that people maintain. But it is not clear how the relationship between social ties and a sense of meaning might arise. The purpose of this study is to see if meaning in life is associated with three socially focused virtues: compassion, forgiveness of others, and providing social support to others. In the process, an effort is made to see if these social virtues arise from social relationships in religious institutions. Two main findings emerge from a recent nationwide survey. First, people who are more compassionate, more forgiving, and who help others more often have a stronger sense of meaning in life. Second, individuals who receive more spiritual support from fellow church members are more likely to adopt these social virtues. The theoretical basis of these relationships is discussed.
KW - Altruism
KW - compassion
KW - forgiveness
KW - meaning
KW - religion
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85074422628&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1177/0084672419839797
DO - 10.1177/0084672419839797
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85074422628
VL - 41
SP - 53
EP - 70
JO - Archive for the Psychology of Religion
JF - Archive for the Psychology of Religion
SN - 0084-6724
IS - 1
ER -