title: Religion and Subjective Well-Being: Western and Eastern Religious Groups Achieved Subjective Well-Being in Different Ways.
abstract: Culture can moderate which variables most influence subjective well-being (SWB). Because religion can be conceptualized as culture, religious differences can be considered cultural differences. However, there have been few studies comparing how different religious groups evaluate SWB at any given time. This study is among the first to investigate this issue. The present study compared Buddhists, Taoists, Christians, and atheists. In addition to demographic items, 451 Chinese adults completed Chinese version of the Socially Oriented Cultural Conception of SWB Scale. Religious belief was distributed as follows: 10 % Christian, 20 % Buddhist, 25 % Taoist, and 43 % atheists. As predicted, the socially oriented cultural conception of SWB was found to be highest among Buddhists, followed in order by Taoists, atheists, and Christians. It was concluded that the various religious groups achieved SWB in different ways.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Counseling Psychology and Rehabilitation Counseling, National Kaohsiung Normal University, No. 116, Heping 1st Road, Kaohsiung, 802, Taiwan. shiah@nknu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Yung-Jong
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Shiah
authors.affiliation: Applied Foreign Languages, Chienkuo Technology University, Changhua City, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Frances
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Clinical and Counseling Psychology Department, National Dong Hwa University, Shoufeng, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shih-Kuang
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Chiang
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, Chung Yuan Christian University, Jhongli, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wai-Cheong Carl
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Tam
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002016:Buddhism; D002835:Christianity; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012067:Religion; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Buddhism; Christianity; Religion; Subjective well-being; Taoism