Title

Region, Religious Commitment, And Life Satisfaction Among Black Americans

Abstract

Using data from the National Survey of Black Americans (NSBA), this research examines three sets of hypotheses regarding the effects of religious commitment on life satisfaction. Further, given evidence of historical geographical differences in black culture and social structure, this study explores the regional specificity of religious influences on life satisfaction. Religious participation contributes to subjective well‐being only among non‐southern blacks, while private religiosity is unrelated to well‐being in any analysis. There are also denominational effects: non‐southern members of traditional black denominations (i.e., Baptists and Methodists) and southern Catholics report particularly high levels of life satisfaction. In addition, the effects of religion on life satisfaction are contingent upon age for non‐southerners only. This study concludes with a discussion of directions for future research on religion and mental health. Copyright © 1990, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved

Publication Date

1-1-1990

Publication Title

Sociological Quarterly

Volume

31

Issue

1

Number of Pages

123-147

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1533-8525.1990.tb00321.x

Socpus ID

84984077903 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84984077903

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