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Religion and Life Satisfaction: Evidence from Germany

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Abstract

We examined the association between religious involvement and life satisfaction using data drawn from the 2003, 2007, and 2011 waves of the German Socio-Economic Panel. Our study provides evidence of an association between attendance at religious services and life satisfaction for respondents residing in West Germany. While social networks partially mediate this relationship for West Germany, there appears to be a remaining direct impact of attendance on life satisfaction. On the contrary, we find no evidence of an association between attendance at religious services and life satisfaction for respondents residing in East Germany.

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Notes

  1. . While the research questions posed in our study examines a relationship that runs from religious participation to social networks to life satisfaction, it needs to be stressed that many of these associations have been shown to be bi-directional (see, e.g., Adams 1988; Lyubomirsky et al. 2005a, b).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Southern Cross Business School, Southern Cross University, Coolangatta, QLD, Australia

    Elisabeth Sinnewe & Michael A. Kortt

  2. UNE Business School, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia

    Brian Dollery

Authors
  1. Elisabeth Sinnewe
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  2. Michael A. Kortt
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  3. Brian Dollery
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Correspondence to Michael A. Kortt.

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Sinnewe, E., Kortt, M.A. & Dollery, B. Religion and Life Satisfaction: Evidence from Germany. Soc Indic Res 123, 837–855 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-014-0763-y

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