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Financial Hardship, Religious Experience, and Health

  • Research Note
  • Published:
Review of Religious Research

Abstract

Background

Previous research has shown that religion mitigates the deleterious association between financial hardship and health. Although religion is a multidimensional construct, this strand of research has primarily focused on religious behavior or belief.

Purpose

The current study aims to extend previous findings by examining a neglected aspect of religious involvement—religious experience—and how it buffers the association between financial hardship and self-rated health.

Methods

The current study analyzes two waves of data from the Portraits of American Life Study (2006–2012) (N = 1020), a nationally representative sampling of American adults. It uses lagged dependent variable regression models.

Results

The analyses reveal that financial hardship measured at W2 is negatively associated with self-rated health at W2, net of W1 self-rated health and control measures. Religious experience of receiving direct help from angels in time of a need does not moderate this association. By contrast, the negative association between financial hardship and self-rated health is weakened among individuals who strongly agree that they experienced a supernatural miracle.

Conclusions and Implications

The findings in the study dovetail with the stress process model, indicating that religious experience serves as a personal resource that helps individuals deal with financial hardship. By highlighting the stress-buffering effects of religious experience, the current study rounds out our understanding of the complex linkages among stress, religion, and health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Sungkyunkwan University, Faculty Hall 40507, 25-2 Sungkyunkwan-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea

    Jong Hyun Jung

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Correspondence to Jong Hyun Jung.

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Jung, J.H. Financial Hardship, Religious Experience, and Health. Rev Relig Res 64, 521–537 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-022-00503-3

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