Religious/Spiritual Connection and Subjective Well-Being Across Religious and Nonreligious Individuals in 121 Countries

Prior research suggests a positive association between some religious/spiritual variables and well-being. However, many measures of religious/spiritual constructs are often within explicitly religious contexts, limiting the conceptualization of links between spiritual connection and well-being among nonreligious individuals. The present study employs a novel, versatile measure assessing how frequently individuals feel connected to a religion or form of spirituality. Using nationally representative 2021 Gallup World Poll data from 121 countries (N = 125,843), we describe the distribution of religious/spiritual connection and examine its associations with subjective well-being among religious and nonreligious individuals. A majority of individuals worldwide—including many who are nonreligious—reported “often/always” feeling religious/spiritual connection. Adjusting for relevant covariates, religious/spiritual connection associated positively with subjective well-being in the global sample of religious individuals and, in some countries, nonreligious individuals (effect sizes were mostly small). Cross-national variation points to the complex role of religious/spiritual connection in shaping subjective well-being globally.