Beyond Religious Practice: Spirituality, Karma and Subjective Well-Being

As the interest in research on happiness and well-being gains traction, the influence of religiosity and spirituality is generating interest. In this study, drawing on data from three rounds of the Gross National Happiness survey, we find higher religiosity is strongly linked to greater happiness and higher life satisfaction. We estimate a 1 SD increase in religiosity is associated with a 0.142 SD increase in happiness and a 0.121 SD increase in life satisfaction. We find the overall positive relationship is largely driven by individuals' intrinsic religiosity, encompassing self-reported spirituality and the consideration of karma in everyday life. We examine mental health, emotional health, and social support as potential mechanisms. We find intrinsic religiosity is positively related to individual's mental health, positive emotions and social support. We find individuals with higher religiosity tend to report lower levels of anger, selfishness, and jealousy, but higher levels of fear, worry and sadness.