中華心理衛生協會

Purpose: In Western societies, people with a religious affiliation tend to be happier than those without, suggesting that religious involvement has positive psychological functions. In Taiwan, the association between religiosity and happiness is seldom found, perhaps because the positive psychological function of religion is often suppressed by the effect of self-selection in religion. That is, although religiosity may enhance happiness, the utilitarian purpose of religious affiliation may cause those who face difficulties or distress more likely to choose to associate with a religion. If their baseline level of happiness is lower than those who do not believe in a religion, the psychological benefits of religiosity may be hidden. This research empirically tests this self-selection hypothesis. Methods: Using 2011 and 2014 longitudinal survey data from the Taiwan Youth Project, I regarded psychological distress as a risk factor for religious self-selection and employed multiple regression analyses to examine whether the positive influence of religiosity on happiness is suppressed by religious self-selection among Taiwanese young adults. Results: Controlling for psychological distress and sociodemographic variables, the positive association between religious group activities and happiness became significant. Conclusions: The positive function of religious involvement on happiness is hidden by religious self-selection.