title: Unbelievable?! Theistic/Epistemological Viewpoint Affects Religion-Health Relationship.
abstract: Research suggests that Religion/Spirituality promotes a variety of positive health outcomes. However, despite reporting lower levels of Religion/Spirituality, non-believers report comparable levels of health to believers. The current study tested the hypothesis that Religion/Spirituality does not have a uniform effect on health for all persons, and tested theological/epistemological categories as moderators. Using the 2012 and 2014 General Social Survey (N = 2670), the relationship between Religion/Spirituality and happiness and self-rated health was investigated. Results indicated that Gnostic Theists experienced Religion/Spirituality more positively than their peers did; Agnostic Theists experienced Religion/Spirituality less positively than their peers did; and Negative Atheists experienced Religion/Spirituality less positively than their peers did. These findings suggested that Religion/Spirituality is not associated with salutary effects for all persons, and that whether a person believes in god(s) and how confident he/she was in god(s)' existence, influenced his/her experience with Religion/Spirituality.
authors.affiliation: Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Applied Health Research, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 300-95 Bonaventure Avenue, St. John's, NL, A1B 2X5, Canada. d.t.a.speed@mun.ca.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Speed
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012067:Religion
keywords: Agnosticism; Atheism; General Social Survey; Gnosticism; Happiness; Health; Statistical moderation; Theism