Religiosity as a Predictor of Self-Concept and Happiness

The purpose of this study was to examine whether people who are more intrinsically religious have a better self-concept and perceive themselves to be happier than people who are either extrinsically religious or non-religious. One hundred eleven Bridgewater College students voluntarily participated by completing the Gladding, Lewis , and Adkins Scale of Religiosity (GLASR), the Allport-Ross Religious Orientation Scale (ROS), the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale (TSCS:2) and the Happiness Measures during an introductory psychology class meeting. Marginal support for the hypothesis was obtained. Participants with a more intrinsic religious orientation were slightly more likely to have higher total scores on the TSCS:2 as well as higher scores on the Moral Self-Concept Scale and the supplementary Behavior measure of the TSCS:2. A similar relationship was found between each of these measures and the GLASR. However, scores on neither the ROS nor the GLASR were predictive of greater happiness, despite the significant correlation between TSCS:2 and Happiness Measures scores