Religion and human flourishing

Abstract

Can religion promote human flourishing? Existing research says yes. However, this work has largely been done within ‘WEIRD’ and Christian contexts. Might the reasons why or the answer be different elsewhere? Here, we outline how religion can contribute to flourishing among individuals and cultures using a cross-cultural approach. In five sections, we cover how religion and culture shape meaning in life, character/virtue, positive emotion, social relationships, and physical/mental health. We emphasize how little these relationships have been studied around the world and why the relationship between religion and flourishing, especially, would be aided by a cross-cultural look. We close with future directions in the study of religion and flourishing, with special attention to how and why this relationship may vary across cultural and religious groups.

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