Perfect believer concepts and well-being among Buddhists, Christians, and Muslims in China

ABSTRACT

This study investigated how Chinese Buddhists, Christians, and Muslims perceive an ideal believer and its correlation with mental well-being. Participants (N=868) included 304 Buddhists, 332 Christians, and 232 Muslims. The research had two components. Firstly, a thematic analysis of responses to the question “What does an ideal believer look like from the lens of your religion?” yielded ten themes across four domains—commitment to self, commitment to others, commitment to God/faith, and commitment to the world. Examples of themes were: one's adherence to teachings, moral practices/virtues, and a believer's influence/leadership. Themes emerged within each religious group and a comparison of themes across religious groups were discussed. Secondly, we conducted bivariate correlation analyses examining the relationship between themes and mental well-being (e.g., happiness, life satisfaction, anxiety, somatization). Findings suggested connections between perceptions of religious perfection and well-being, providing insights into the interplay between religious ideals and mental well-being.

KEYWORDS:

• Perfect believer
• religion
• well-being
• culture
• perfection

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from corresponding authors, [CL, ET, KTW], upon reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).