INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION (IJRSI)
ISSN No. 2321-2705 | DOI: 10.51244/IJRSI |Volume XII Issue IX September 2025
Page 2889
A Study of Religiosity and Psychological Well-Being
Dr. Kiran D. Ahirrao
Head, Department of Psychology New Arts, commerce and Science Colege, A’nagar, India
DOI: https://doi.org/10.51244/IJRSI.2025.120800255
Received: 24 Sep 2025; Accepted: 30 Sep 2025; Published: 03 October 2025
ABSTRACT
The present study was designed to investigate the relationship between religiosity and psychological well-
being of college going students. Earlier researches have revealed that personal devotion, participation in
religious activities, and religious salience are positively associated with different aspects of psychological
well- being. A sample of 60 male and 60 Female of age range of 19 to 25 years participated in the study. These
were skewed with respect to nowadays interest in religion and education level. Here are all kinds of religion
attendance, frequency of prayer, obligatory prayers, religious service, and most vital is importance of religious
were selected as independent variables as well as measures of religiosity while psychological wellbeing were
selected as dependent. On psychological well-being there is no gender differences and in religiosity gender
was significantly associated with all kinds of religious activities. Males are more religious than female and a
strong positive relationship was revealed between religiosity and psychological well-being.
Keywords: Religiosity, Life satisfaction, psychological wellbeing
INTRODUCTION
Religion is the part of the human make up its also part of our culture and intellectual history, religion was our
first attempt at literature, the text, our first attempt at cosmology, making sense of where we are in the inverse,
our first attempt at health care believing in the faith healing, our first attempt at philosophy “
Religion is as old as mankind. Primitive man had primitive religions and he worshiped the elements of nature
like sun, earth, air, cloud, water, etc., Advances in civilization led to institutionalized religions. The basic
characteristics of all religions are similar. There is a firm belief in a higher, unseen controlling power. Religion
appears to be a psychological necessity for mankind. Religion which evolved due to basic psychological need
of mankind later metamorphosed. Gradually religious practices developed into dogmas and superstitions.
Though most religions continued changing with time many became completely fossilized. From mental health
perspective religion provides much -needed guidelines, which can help individuals to devise a course for their
lives. Stresses and strains as well as uncertainties of life can be tolerated more easily by the believers.
However, many outmoded rituals and belief systems might inhibit positive growth and may lead to mental ill-
health.[1] In studying the relationship of spirituality with health, it is not necessary to assume any position
about the ontological reality of God or the spiritual realm. We can test whether measures of religious beliefs or
behaviors are associated with health outcomes, regardless if we believe in the beliefs under investigation. India
is a country which is associated with spiritual traditions for thousands of years; which has been home of some
of the greatest religions of the world like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism.
It is a land where spirituality is almost a way of life; where an even illiterate farmer or housewife will surprise
one with their philosophical issues of life.
The definitions of religiosity and spirituality have been a perennial source of controversy. These are not
interchangeable words. According to Betson and Ventisas early as 1912, the psychologist James Leuba
detected 48 distinct definitions of religion. We will adopt the definitions given by Koenig et.
Religion is an organized system of beliefs, practices, rituals, and symbols designed to facilitate closeness to the
sacred or transcendent (God, higher power, or ultimate truth/reality)? Religion usually refers to socially based
beliefs and traditions, often associated with ritual and ceremony, whereas spirituality generally refers to a deep-
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION (IJRSI)
ISSN No. 2321-2705 | DOI: 10.51244/IJRSI |Volume XII Issue IX September 2025
Page 2890
seated individual sense of connection through which each person's life is experienced as contributing to a
valued and greater “whole,” together with a sense of belonging and acceptance. Spirituality is expressed
through art, poetry and myth, as well as religious practice. Both religion and spirituality typically emphasize
the depth of meaning and purpose in life. One does not, of course, have to be religious for life to be deeply
meaningful, as atheists will avow. However, although some atheists might not consider themselves spiritual,
many do. Spirituality is thus a more inclusive concept than religion.
It must be clarified at the outset that there is a wide diversity of cultures and philosophical systems in India and
a historical mix with western modes of thinking in recent years has made it difficult to identify a uniform
Indian paradigm of mind and mental illness.
There are obvious differences between Jewish-Christian-Islamic religion and religious traditions as evolved in
Indian subcontinent. In Indian languages, there is no equivalent term to convey the meaning of the word
Religion. The nearest term is dharma is not an equivalent of religion. It is a mixture of cosmic order, sacred
law, and religious duty. In India's philosophy and mythology play an important role in religious teaching. In
India, particularly in Hindu religion God also has a different meaning. In other religion God is the creator and
he resides outside the world he has created. However, in Hinduism, God lies within you and within everyone
and not outside. This is beautifully expressed in opening invocation of the famous Upanishad “That is whole.
This is whole. From the whole emerges the whole. The whole is taken from the whole but the whole remains.”
In other words, the ultimate reality or Brahman as we say in India is both transcendent and immanent. The
creation of the universe does not in any manner affect the integrity of Brahman.
Psychological well-being refers to positive mental health. Research has shown that psychological well-being is
a diverse multidimensional concept (MacLeod & Moore, 2000; Ryff, 1989; Wissing & Van Eeden, 2002)
which develops through a combination of emotional regulation, personality characteristics; identity and life
experience. Psychological well-being can increase with age, education, extraversion, and consciousness and
decreases with neuroticism. Previous researches pertaining to the subject area of religiosity and psychological
well-being, eloquently speak volumes of, and provide sound evidence to support the positive association
between religiosity and psychological well-being. A wide range of different researches have been carried out in
this context (Dyson, Cobb & Foreman, 1997; George, Ellison, & Larson, 2002; George, Larson, Koenig, &
McCullough, 2000; Mickley, Carson, & Soecken, 1995). The consistent findings have been that aspects of
religious involvement are associated with positive mental health outcomes (Ellison & Levin, 1998; Swinton,
2001). Evidence supporting these findings emerge from both cross sectional and longitudinal studies, as well
as from studies based on both clinical and community samples.
Objectives:
1) To measure Psychological Wellbeing and Religiosity among students.
2) To study gender differences on Psychological Wellbeing.
3) To study gender differences on Religiosity.
4) To find out correlation between Psychological Wellbeing and Religiosity.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000): Psychological well-being is a broad and multifaceted construct that
refers to an individual's overall experience of positive emotions, satisfaction with life, and sense of purpose.
The study of psychological well-being has been an active area of research in psychology for several decades,
with the goal of gaining a deeper understanding of the factors that contribute to its development and
maintenance.
Lancaster & Strath, 2013: One of the earliest and most influential models of psychological well-being who
defined it as the result of two dimensions: positive emotion and engagement in meaningful activities.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION (IJRSI)
ISSN No. 2321-2705 | DOI: 10.51244/IJRSI |Volume XII Issue IX September 2025
Page 2891
According to this model, individuals who experience frequent positive emotions and are actively engaged in
activities that are meaningful to them are likely to have higher levels of psychological well-being.
A meta-analysis involving 34 studies was conducted to investigate the association between life satisfaction,
self-actualization as reflections of psychological well-being and religiousness revealed positive lower
association in institutional religion and higher positive association in personal devotion and prayers and
(Hackney & Sanders, 2003).
Oishi & Diener, 2001 These dimensions are considered to be critical to the development and maintenance of
psychological well-being and are often taken into account in studies on this topic. Studies have found that both
individual and environmental factors can impact psychological well-being. For example, research has shown
that personality traits, such as openness and conscientiousness, are associated with higher levels of well-being
Hypothesis:
1. There will be significant gender difference on Psychological Wellbeing of students.
2. There will be significant gender difference on Religiosity of students.
3. There will be positive correlation between psychological wellbeing and Religiosity.
Selection of the participants:
1. the scale was 0.90.
A study was designed in which 120 sample where (60 Males and 60 Females) of age from 20 to 25 from the
college of Agriculture Babhulgoan Tal. Yeola Dist. Nashik.
Sample:
The sampling was done by purposive random sampling method. All samples were college going student, for
the comparative study of Religiosity and Psychological Well-being with 60 Males and 60 Females.
Variables:
1) Psychological Wellbeing: -
Independent Variables: boys and girls of PG.
Dependent Variables: Score on psychological well-being, Religiosity
Research Tool Used:
1) Psychological Well-being: -
Test: -Psychological Well-being Scale of (Dr. Devendra Singh Sisodia and Ms. Pooja Chaudhari, Udaipur)
Reliability: - This indicates that the test-retest reliability was found to be 0.87 and the overall consistency
value of the scale was 0.90.
2) Religiosity Scale
Test: - Religiosity Scale of (L. I. Bhsan {Munger} Agra).
Reliability: - From the manual of this test indicates that the test-retest reliability was found to be 0.86 and the
overall consistency value of the scale was 0.90.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION (IJRSI)
ISSN No. 2321-2705 | DOI: 10.51244/IJRSI |Volume XII Issue IX September 2025
Page 2892
Validity: - Religiosity has been changed by the sex difference but the psychologically the well-being by the
age and sex are getting stable.
RESULTS
Table showing gender difference on Psychological Wellbeing and Religiosity among students.
Gender
N
Mean
df
t
PWBS
Male
60
184.10
118
.274
Female
60
183.27
Religiosity
Male
60
120.67
118
3.788
Female
60
111.30
HO.1.: There will be significant gender difference on Psychological Well-being Scale.
The result reveals that N for the female is 60 and the N for the Male is also 60, mean score of the male in
psychological well-being scale is 184.10 and the mean of the female is 183.27 which means that there is no
gender difference shown in psychological well-being scale. The Standard deviation of Psychological Well-
being scale in male is 16.31 and in female it’s about 17.00. The obtained results from table 4.1 shows that
difference between male and female Religiosity. And calculated t-test value found in Psychological Well-being
is about 0.274 The obtained results shows that there no difference between male and female psychological
well-being.
HO.2.: There will be significant gender difference on Religiosity.
The result reveals that N for the Female is 60 and the N for the Male is also 60, mean score of the male in
Religiosity Scale is 14.22 and the mean of the female is 12.83 which show the significant difference between
the male and female among religiosity. The Standard deviation of Religiosity Scale in male is 14.22 and in
female is about 12.83. Whereas df value was 118.And calculated t-test value found in Religiosity is about
3.788. The obtained results shows that there is significant difference between male and female on religiosity
level.
Table showing correlation between Psychological Wellbeing and Religiosity among students.
PWBS
Religiosity
PWBS
Pearson Correlation
1
.286
**
Sig. (2-tailed)
.002
N
120
120
Religiosity
Pearson Correlation
.286
**
1
Sig. (2-tailed)
.002
N
120
120
HO 3: There is positive correlation between psychological well-being and Religiosity.
As per Table of correlation between Psychological Wellbeing and Religiosity is .286** Which is significant at
0.01 level its means there is positive correlation between Psychological Wellbeing and Religiosity.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION (IJRSI)
ISSN No. 2321-2705 | DOI: 10.51244/IJRSI |Volume XII Issue IX September 2025
Page 2893
CONCLUSION
There is no gender difference in psychological well-being. There is significant gender difference in religiosity
and there is positive correlation between psychological wellbeing and religiosity among college going
students.
Limitations
The sample of size was limited (120: - where Male 60 and female 60) of the age of college going student.
Suggestion for the future researcher:
1. Extensive research can be done on the present subject by taking a large sample.
2. Along with religiosity factors like spirituality, personal & moral values can be corelate.
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