What is the meaning of believe in life?

 The Real Meaning of Life

The chapter presents evidence from convenience samples of mainly Christian students in the U.S. and U.K. that various facets of religion have a positive association with believing that life has meaning and purpose, and in turn, that believing life has meaning is associated with psychological well-being. A large national study of U.S. Christians supports these findings. Some psychologists have suggested that the need to believe one’s life has meaning and purpose is so universal that it must be an evolutionary adaptation. ETAS Theory proposes that believing life has meaning and purpose may partly bolster mental health by fostering the belief, especially among religious people, that one’s life is part of a plan, which reduces concerns about life’s vicissitudes and uncertainties, particularly uncertainty, which elicits fear from the amygdala. Belief in meaning and purpose in life is also theoretically and empirically linked to the beliefs that one is a worthy (vis-a-vis self-esteem) and capable (vis-a-vis self-efficacy) person, which provides a sense of safety. According to ETAS Theory, the sense of safety provided by self-esteem and self-efficacy counter the ability of threats of harm to produce psychiatric symptoms.

Keywords

ETAS Theory Meaning in life Purpose Psychiatric symptoms Psychological well-being Threat 

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

References

1. 1.
   Clark, W. H. (1958). The psychology of religion. New York: McMillan.Google Scholar
2. 2.
   Pargament, K. I. (1997). The psychology of religion and coping: Theory, research, practice. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
3. 3.
   Park, C. L., & Edmondson, D. (2012). Religion as a source of meaning. In P. R. Shaver, & M. Mikulincer (Eds.), Meaning, mortality, and choice: The social psychology of existential concerns (pp. 145–162). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4. 4.
   Wong, P. T. P. (Ed.). (2012). The human quest for meaning: Theories, research, and application (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar
5. 5.
   Frankl, V. E. (1946/1992). Man’s search for meaning. Boston: Beacon Press.Google Scholar
6. 6.
   Baumeister, R. F. (1991). Meaning of life. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
7. 7.
   Wong, P. T. P. (1998). Spirituality, meaning, and successful aging. In: Wong, PTP (Ed.), The human quest for meaning: A handbook of psychological research and clinical applications. (2nd ed., 359–394). Mahwah: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
8. 8.
   Wong, P. T. P. (2012). From logotherapy to meaning-centered counseling. In: P. T. P. Wong (Ed.), The human quest for meaning: Theories, research, and application (2nd ed., pp. 619–647). New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar
9. 9.
   Park, C. L. (2005). Religion as a meaning-making framework in coping with life stress. Journal of Social Issues, 61(4), 707–729.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10. 10.
    Flannelly, K. J., Galek, K., Ellison, C. G., & Silton, N. R. (2012). Belief in life-after-death, beliefs about the world, and psychiatric symptoms. Journal of Religion and Health, 51(3), 651–662.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11. 11.
    King, L. A., & Hicks, J. A. (2012). Positive affect and meaning in life. The intersection of hedonism and eudiamonia. In P. T. P. Wong (Ed.), The human quest for meaning: Theories, research, and application (2nd ed., pp. 125–142). New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar
12. 12.
    Klinger, E. ( 2012). The search for meaning in evolutionary goal-theory perspective and its clinical implications. In P. T. P. Wong (Ed.), The human quest for meaning: Theories, research, and application (2nd ed., pp. 23–56). New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar
13. 13.
    Sommer, K. L., Baumeister, R. F., & Stillman, T. F. (2012). The construction of meaning from life events: Empirical studies of personal narratives. In P. T. P. Wong (Ed.), The human quest for meaning: Theories, research, and application (2nd ed., pp. 297–314) New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar
14. 14.
    Silton, N. R., Flannelly, L. T., Flannelly, K. J., & Galek, K. (2011). Toward a theory of holistic needs and the brain. Holistic Nursing Practice, 25(5), 258–265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15. 15.
    Panksepp, J. (1998). Affective neuroscience: The foundations of human and animal emotions. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
16. 16.
    Panksepp, J. (2005). Affective consciousness: Core emotional feelings in animals and humans. Consciousness and Cognition, 14(1), 30–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17. 17.
    Shrira, A., Palgi, Y., Ben-Ezra, M., & Shmotkin, D. (2011). How subjective well-being and meaning in life interact in the hostile world? The Journal of Positive Psychology, 6(4), 273–285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18. 18.
    Shmotkin, D., & Shrira, A. (2012). On the distinction between subjective well-being and meaning in life. In P. T. P. Wong (Ed.), The human quest for meaning: Theories, research, and application (2nd ed., pp. 143–163). New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar
19. 19.
    Robbins, M., & Francis, L. J. (2000). Religion, personality, and well-being: The relationship between church attendance and purpose in life. Journal of Research on Christian Education, 9(2), 223–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20. 20.
    Francis, L. J. (2000). The relationship between bible reading and purpose in life among 13–15-year-olds. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 3(1), 27–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
21. 21.
    Francis, L. J., & Burton, L. (1994). The influence of personal prayer on purpose in life among Catholic adolescents. Journal of Beliefs & Values, 15(2), 6–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22. 22.
    Francis, L. J., & Evans, T. E. (1996). The relationship between personal prayer and purpose in life among churchgoing and non-churchgoing twelve-to-fifteen year-olds in the UK. Religious Education, 91(1), 9–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
23. 23.
    Francis, L. J., Jewell, A., & Robbins, M. (2010). The relationship between religious orientation, personality, and purpose in life among an older Methodist sample. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 13(7–8), 777–791.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
24. 24.
    Francis, L. J., & Robbins, M. (2009). Prayer, purpose in life, and attitudes toward substances: A study among 13- to 15-year-olds in England and Wales. Counselling and Spirituality/Counseling et Spiritualité, 28(2), 83–104.Google Scholar
25. 25.
    Crandall, J. E., & Rasmussen, R. D. (1975). Purpose in life as related to specific values. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 31(3), 483–485.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
26. 26.
    Soderstrom, D., & Wright, E. W. (1977). Religious orientation and meaning in life. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 33, 65–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
27. 27.
    Weinstein, L., & Cleanthous, C. C. (1996). A comparison of protestant ministers and parishioners on expressed purpose in life and intrinsic religious motivation. Psychology: A Journal of Human Behavior, 33(1), 26–29.Google Scholar
28. 28.
    Steger, M. F., & Frazier, P. (2005). Meaning in life: one link in the chain from religiousness to well-being. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52(4), 574–582.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
29. 29.
    Holmes, J. D., & Hardin, S. I. (2009). Religiosity, meaning in life, and clinical symptomology: A comparison of African-American and European-American college students. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 23(2), 103–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
30. 30.
    Cranney, S. (2013). Do people who believe in God report more meaning in their lives? The existential effects of belief Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 52(3), 638–646.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
31. 31.
    Stroope, S., Draper, S., & Whitehead, A. L. (2013). Images of a loving God and sense of meaning in life. Social Indicators Research, 111(1), 25–44.Google Scholar
32. 32.
    Steger, M. F. (2012). Making meaning in life. Psychological Inquiry, 23(4), 381–385.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
33. 33.
    Mascaro, N., & Rosen, D. H. (2008). Assessment of existential meaning of and its longitudinal relations with depressive symptoms. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 27(6), 576–599.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
34. 34.
    Mascaro, N. D. H. (2005). Existential meaning’s role in the enhancement of hope and prevention of depressive symptoms. Journal of Personality, 73(4), 985–1014.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
35. 35.
    Ryff, C. D., & Keyes, C. L. M. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(4), 719–727.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
36. 36.
    Hicks, J. A., Cicero, D. C., Trent, J., Burton, C. M., & King, L. A. (2010). Positive affect, intuition, and feelings of meaning. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(6), 967–979.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
37. 37.
    King, L. A., Hicks, J. A., Krull, J. L., & Del Gaiso, A. K. (2006). Positive affect and the experience of meaning in life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90(1), 179–196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
38. 38.
    Hicks, J. A., Trent, J., Davis, W. E., & King, L. A. (2012). Positive affect, meaning in life, and future time perspective: An application of socioemotional selectivity theory. Psychology and Aging, 27(1), 181–189.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
39. 39.
    Krause, N. (2007). Evaluating the stress-buffering function of meaning in life among older people. Journal of Aging and Health, 19(5), 792–812.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
40. 40.
    Krause, N. (2003). Religious meaning and subjective well-being in late life. Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 58(3), S160–S170.Google Scholar
41. 41.
    Krok, D. (2014). The religious meaning system and subjective well-being. Archive for the Psychology of Religion, 36(2), 253–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer International Publishing AG 2017

About this chapter

Cite this chapter as:

Flannelly K.J. (2017) Belief in Meaning in Life and Mental Health. In: Religious Beliefs, Evolutionary Psychiatry, and Mental Health in America. Religion, Spirituality and Health: A Social Scientific Approach, vol 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52488-7_22

• First Online13 April 2017
 
• DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52488-7_22
 
• Publisher NameSpringer, Cham
 
• Print ISBN978-3-319-52487-0
 
• Online ISBN978-3-319-52488-7
 
• eBook PackagesSocial SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

• Buy this book on publisher's site
• Reprints and Permissions