Interacting religious orientations and personal well-being among Australian Church leaders

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between religious orientation and personal well-being (PWB) among 1289 Australian church leaders. The study is of interest because although religion and religiousness in general have been found to be positive contributors to important variables (such as well-being and satisfaction with life), particular orientations towards religion, and their interaction, may moderate the positive effects of religion on these variables. In light of this observation, the paper examined the Quest and Intrinsic religious orientations in relation to PWB, with the aim of clarifying the interactive effect of these two orientations. Specifically, the study hypothesised that there would be a negative relationship between questing and satisfaction with life, but that this negative relationship would be moderated by Intrinsic religious orientation. Using Structural Equation Modelling to test this hypothesis with a large data set and robust measures, results of the study indicated that intrinsic orientation did indeed moderate a negative relationship between questing and satisfaction with life (from –.44 to –.34). However, the negative relationship between questing and PWB remained statistically significant suggesting that Intrinsic Orientation may not be a strong moderator of the negative effects of questing. The study makes a substantial empirical, and nuanced theoretical, contribution to the literature concerning the effects of religious orientations.

Keywords:

• well-being
• religious orientation
• quest
• intrinsic religiosity
• satisfaction with life