Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Religiosity Moderates the Relationship between Income Inequality and Life Satisfaction across the Globe

  • Published:
Social Indicators Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper reports two studies that sought to examine whether religiosity moderates the relationship between income inequality and life satisfaction. Practice-based and belief-based aspects of religion were both included in the analyses. Using multi-level analyses on 85 nations across the world (N = 217,591) and 27 European nations (N = 49,763), we found evidence in support of our hypothesis that religiosity mitigates the negative influence of income inequality on life satisfaction. Our results also indicate that it is religious belief, not religious practice, that functions as a buffer in the relationship between income inequality and life satisfaction. The importance and implications of the results are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alesina, A., & La Ferrara, E. (2005). Preferences for redistribution in the land of opportunities. Journal of Public Economics, 89(5), 897–931.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alesina, A., Di Tella, R., & MacCulloch, R. (2004). Inequality and happiness: Are Europeans and Americans different? Journal of Public Economics, 88, 2009–2042.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Association of Religion Data Archives (2011). Cross-National Socio-Economic and Religion Data. http://www.thearda.com/Archive/Files/Descriptions/ECON11.asp.

  • Atkinson, T., & Piketty, T. (2007). Top incomes over the twentieth century: A contrast between continental european and english-speaking countries. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barro, R., & Mitchell, J. (2004). Religious faith and economic growth: What matters most—Belief or belonging? [Lecture]. Retrieved from http://www.heritage.org/Research/Lecture/Religious-Faith-andEconomic-Growth-What-Matters-Most-Belief-or-Belonging.

  • Ben-Nun Bloom, P., & Arikan, G. (2012). A two-edged sword: The differential effect of religious belief and religious social context on attitudes towards democracy. Political Behavior, 34(2), 249–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ben-Nun Bloom, P., & Arikan, G. (2013). Religion and support for democracy: A cross-national test of the mediating mechanisms. British Journal of Political Science, 43(02), 375–397.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berg, M. C., & Veenhoven, R. (2010). Income inequality and happiness in 119 nations. In Bent Greve (Ed.), Social policy and happiness in Europe (pp. 174–194). Cheltenham, UK: Edgar Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bergan, A., & McConatha, J. T. (2001). Religiosity and life satisfaction. Activities, Adaptation and Aging, 24(3), 23–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blanchflower, D. G., & Oswald, A. J. (2004). Well-being over time in Britain and the USA. Journal of Public Economics, 88, 1359–1386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Di Tella, R., MacCulloch, R., & Oswald, A. (2003). The macroeconomics of happiness. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 85(4), 809–827.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Tay, L., & Myers, D. G. (2011). The religion paradox: If religion makes people happy, why are so many dropping out? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(6), 1278–1290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dolan, P., Peasgood, T., & White, M. (2008). Do we really know what makes us happy? A review of the economic literature on the factors associated with subjective well-being. Journal of Economic Psychology, 29(1), 94–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellison, C. G. (1994). Religion, the life stress paradigm, and the study of depression. In Jeffrey S. Levin & Thousand Oaks (Eds.), Religion in aging and health: Theoretical foundations and methodological frontiers (pp. 78–121). CA: Sage Publications.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • European Social Survey Round 6 Data (2012). Data file edition 2.1. Norwegian Social Science Data Services, Norway—Data Archive and distributor of ESS data.

  • EVS (2011). European Values Study 19812008, Longitudinal Data File. GESIS Data Archive, Cologne, Germany, ZA4804 Data File Version 2.0.0 (2011-12-30).

  • Gebauer, J. E., Nehrlich, A. D., Sedikides, C., & Neberich, W. (2012). The psychological benefits of income are contingent on individual-level and culture-level religiosity. Social Psychological and Personality Science. Retrieved from http://spp.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/12/20/1948550612469819.full.pdf+html.

  • Greenberg, J., Pyszczynski, T., & Solomon, S. (1986). The causes and consequences of a need for self-esteem: A terror management theory. In R. F. Baumeister (Ed.), Public self and private self (pp. 189–212). The Netherlands: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Greene, K. V., & Yoon, B. J. (2004). Religiosity, economics and life satisfaction. Review of Social Economy, 62(2), 245–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hackney, C. H., & Sanders, G. S. (2003). Religiosity and mental health: A meta-analysis of recent studies. Journal for the scientific study of religion, 42(1), 43–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helliwell, J. F. (2003). How’s life? combining individual and national variables to explain subjective well-being. Economic Modelling, 20, 331–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hox, J. (2010). Multilevel analysis: Techniques and applications (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Inglehart, R. (2010). Faith and freedom: Traditional and modern ways to happiness. In E. Diener, J. F. Helliwell, & D. Kahneman (Eds.), International differences in well-being (pp. 351–397). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Joshanloo, M. & Weijers, D. (2015). Religiosity reduces the negative influence of injustice on subjective well-being: A Study in 121 Nations. Applied Research in Quality of Life. Online first. Retrieved March 31, 2015 from: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11482-014-9384-5.

  • Lazarus, R. S. (1993). Coping theory and research: Past, present, and future. Psychosomatic Medicine, 55(3), 234–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Legatum Institute (2012). The 2012 Legatum prosperity index: Methodology and technical appendix. Retrieved from: http://www.prosperity.com/.

  • Louis, V. V., & Zhao, S. (2002). Effects of family structure, family SES, and adulthood experiences on life satisfaction. Journal of Family Issues, 23, 986–1005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Napier, J. L., & Jost, J. T. (2008). Why are conservatives happier than liberals? Psychological Science, 19, 565–572.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norris, P., & Inglehart, R. (2011). Sacred and secular: Religion and politics worldwide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Oishi, S., Kesebir, S., & Diener, E. (2011). Income inequality and happiness. Psychological Science, 22, 1095–1100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peugh, J. L., & Enders, C. K. (2005). Using the SPSS mixed procedure to fit cross-sectional and longitudinal multilevel models. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 65(5), 717–741.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life (2007). U.S. Religious Landscape Survey. Retrieved from http://religions.pewforum.org/reports.

  • Pickett, K. E., & Wilkinson, R. G. (2010). Inequality: An underacknowledged source of mental illness and distress. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 197(6), 426–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rözer, J., & Kraaykamp, G. (2012). Income inequality and subjective well-being: A cross-national study on the conditional effects of individual and national characteristics. Social Indicators Research, 113(3), 1009–1023.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D., Singer, B. H., & Palmersheim, K. A. (2004). Social inequalities in health and well-being: The role of relational and religious protective factors. In O. G. Brim, C. D. Ryff, & R. C. Kessler (Eds.), How healthy are we? A national study of well-being at midlife (pp. 90–123). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saroglou, V. (2011). Believing, bonding, behaving, and belonging: The big four religious dimensions and cultural variation. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 42(8), 1320–1340.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Savani, K., & Rattan, A. (2012). A choice mind-set increases the acceptance and maintenance of wealth inequality. Psychological Science, 23(7), 796–804.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schnittker, J. (2001). When is Faith Enough? The Effects of Religious Involvement on Depression. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 40(3), 393–411.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. K. (1997). From income inequality to economic inequality. Southern Economic Journal, 64(2), 384–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Senik, C. (2009). Income distribution and subjective happiness: A survey (No. 96). Paris: OECD Publishing.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, T. B., McCullough, M. E., & Poll, J. (2003). Religiousness and depression: Evidence for a main effect and the moderating influence of stressful life events. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 614–636.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soper, D. S. (2013). Interaction (version 1.7.22.11) [Computer Program]. Fullerton: California State University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, B., & Wolfers, J. (2009). The paradox of declining female happiness. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 1(2), 190–225.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Development Programme. (2013). Human development report: The rise of the south: Human progress in a diverse world. New York: UNDP.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verme, P. (2011). Life satisfaction and income inequality. Review of Income and Wealth, 57(1), 111–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, D. R., Larson, D. B., Buckler, R. E., Heckmann, R. C., & Pyle, C. M. (1991). Religion and psychological distress in a community sample. Social Science and Medicine, 32(11), 1257–1262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Witter, R. A., Okun, M. A., Stock, W. A., & Haring, M. J. (1984). Education and subjective well-Being: A meta-analysis. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 6(2), 165–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • WVS (2009). World Value Survey 1981–2008 official aggregate v. 20090902, 2009. World Values Survey Association (www.worldvaluessurvey.org). Aggregate File Producer: ASEP/JDS Data Archive, Madrid, Spain.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mohsen Joshanloo.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Joshanloo, M., Weijers, D. Religiosity Moderates the Relationship between Income Inequality and Life Satisfaction across the Globe. Soc Indic Res 128, 731–750 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-015-1054-y

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-015-1054-y

Keywords

Navigation