Intrinsic Religiosity Research Paper

"Men pray to the gods for health and they ignore that it is in their power to have it."

Depression anxiety and even just sadness are seen as the work of the devil or personal weakness. For teens and young adults, peers play a big role in how they express themselves emotionally.Especially of young black men, openly showing emotions is seen as a sign of weakness. Sharing and talking about emotions is not something that is encouraged and so those suffering don't often get that support from friends.Often religious figures or family members place the blame for abnormal mental behaviors on a disconnect with god or the devil trying to come into a person's life( something that can only be solved by going to church and reconnecting with god.) Those suffering are encouraged to pray, read the bible, go to church, repent etc in hopes that God will cure them or take the

It is only human and natural to feel hopelessness and despair as one gets closer to the grave. Religion is an important part of coping with this desperateness. Incorporating a deeper understanding and practicing religion helps with understanding life and death. Spirituality may be one of the most important components mental, spiritual and social health as one crawls towards end of life (Dose, (2007). A study by Dose, (2007) looked at experiences of spirituality in older adults at the end of their life, especially those receiving hospice care. Participants were asked about their “spiritual journey”. The study concluded that spirituality is important to most of the participants of the study and shaped their views in terms of correctness and moving on. A view of life in terms of religion and spirituality was important to them as they neared the end (Dose, 2007). They also found that spirituality helped with coping with their pain and reduced the stress of being

with matters of life, death, meaning and virtue, it is not shocking that, for countless people,

Furthermore, religion and spirituality positively affect psychological aspects of health. George et al. (2000) declared that religious involvement is associated with positive mental health outcomes such as a lower prevalence of anxiety and depression. Other research similarly presents religion as a protective factor against depression, anxiety, and suicide (Chiswick & Mirtcheva, 2013; Koenig, 2009; Lee & Newberg, 2005). In addition to deterring mental health issues, religion and spirituality facilitate positive mental orientations such as happiness, increased self-esteem, and improved life satisfaction (Lee & Newberg, 2005; Marks, 2005). There are many benefits of religion and spirituality for psychological health.

Spirituality and religion are often seen as significantly positive resources for individuals dealing with hardship and adversity throughout the life course. Spiritual coping is often effective and most often employed when in unfathomable situations or faced with "problems of human insufficiency" (Pargament, 1998). However, spirituality may also be diminished when it becomes associated with demoralization or negativity, such as when one feels abandoned by faith or condemned by the world (Van Hook, 2013) in their current situation or experience. Higher powers and spiritual connection then begin to appear either irrelevant or beyond reach, and viewpoints become fatalistic as individuals resign to the belief that their faith has not helped them.

For this paper I decided to sit down with my childhood friend from my St. Thomas More Catholic School days. Katarina and I have known each other since we were 5 years old. I remember attending church with her family on Sunday morning, spending the night at her house, occasionally attending her family's BBQ's on Easter Sunday, and inviting her to all my birthday parties at Chuck E Cheese. Though we lost touch after high school we found each other again thanks to social media. We are both from Hispanic Catholic families so it was always assumed that we would grow up to be Catholic too. To my surprise I found that on Katie's social media page under religious views it did not say Catholic as I expected but rather Wicca. Turns out Katie decided that the Catholic faith wasn't for her and opted instead to convert to Wicca.

Parker, M., Lee Roff, L., Klemmack, D. L., Koenig, H. G., Baker, P., & Allman, R. M. (2003). Religiosity and mental health in southern, community-dwelling older adults. Aging & Mental Health, 7(5), 390-397.

The topic of religion and spirituality can make people joyful, or even terrified. As we all grow older we begin to question why we are here, and what is the meaning of our life is. Although, we all believe in different things we can all agree that our lives are a complete mystery that leave us with many questions. After researching religion and spirituality of older adults, I have discovered that there are many positive benefits of practicing religious beliefs. When older adults practice religion it brings meaning to their life, helps them to cope with the stresses of life, and helps them become a part of the community.

Finally, faith plays a huge role in my family’s health and structure. While my family may not openly relay every mental or physical aspect of their lives, faith is still the backbone that ties everyone together. Through every struggle God has been the center piece of the family. 4 out of 5 of my interviewee’s mentioned that any struggle they ever encountered they always looked to God for support and direction whether that included disease, hard times, or divorce. In Plante and Sherman’s book “Research on Faith and Health” they discussed how the strength in religion reduces morbidity and morality (Plante & Sherman, 2001). This accurately portrays my family because no one in my family has struggled with any addiction aside from tobacco products.

Religion can be defined as a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance. It contains a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices that allow its followers to live their life a certain way. The world consists of 19 major religions, which are further subdivided into 270 larger groups. According to David Barrett et al, editor of the “World Christian Encyclopedia,” there are 34,000 separate Christian groups around the world. Just from those numbers alone, we can conclude that religion has a prevalent effect on people and society. Religion is viewed as a positive influence on an individual both psychologically and physically. Throughout history we can study the various effects that religion has on society. Studies generally provide great evidence in favor of religion having a positive effect on individuals and society as a whole.

The concept of what happens after someone dies is a controversial topic between many religions, cultures, races, etc. When a person within Muslim culture passes on, their death is deemed as an act of moving from one world to another. Death within Hinduism has a strong spiritual aspect behind it. They whole heartily trust that souls are rebirthed and reincarnated. Similarly, people have existing views about life after death.

A 10-year study from the Journal of Family Practice, “found that 83% of the studies done on spirituality found a positive effect on physical health, 92% showed mental health benefits, 4% showed neither a positive nor negative effect and 4% showed harm” ("Spirituality and prayer," 2012), and in these studies spirituality was measured by participation in a religious ceremony, social support, prayer and belief in a higher power. Research among women diagnosed with breast cancer show that “prayer was associated with improved psychological well-being” ("Spirituality and prayer," 2012) and that high religiosity was linked to much lower levels of depression.

There are many religions that have different beliefs about dying. Buddhist?s do not believe in life after death meaning heaven. Buddhist?s believe that when one dies he is reborn again and this continues until the person reaches Nirvana. Nirvana is

Many different religions around the world see the importance in life after death but these beliefs do vary a lot and each religion will believe completely different things. Two core religions in this essay that will be looked into are Islamic and Catholic. What do they believe will happen when someone dies? Is there another life after they die? Heaven? Hell? Or Paradise? Through this you will the importance in the belief of life after death, and the practices, rituals, and prayers that provide evidence and physical proof of how they show this belief. Then to go onto to discuss the wider implications holding onto these beliefs can have.