Self Esteem and Religion in Studies

Religion is linked to self-esteem for two main reasons. The first reason why religion is related to self-esteem in empirical studies is that personal religiosity may increase what is known as locus of control: the sense that God and practices like prayer facilitate control over life events and personal psychological issues. Laoire (1997) conducted a randomized, controlled, double-blind study in which 90 "agents" prayed for 406 subjects. The results showed that both subjects and agents of distant intercessory prayer improved on self-esteem self-assessments (O'Laoire, 1997). Agents, those who prayed, revealed the most significant improvements on self-esteem measures, indicating that locus of control may be a reason for the link between religiosity and self-esteem. The act of praying for other people may confer the sense of empowerment and social connection that are more important for raising self-esteem than the prayer itself or any supernatural element. The results of the O'Laoire (1997) study substantiate prior research showing that religion is linked to locus of control, which is itself connected to the definition of self-esteem (Benson & Spika, 1973). A sample of 128 Catholic subjects whose religious beliefs and cultural backgrounds varied little showed that those who held "loving-accepting God-images" scored higher on self-esteem measures versus those who held "rejecting images" of God (Benson & Spika, 1973). Self-esteem may determine one's image or concept of God, and vice-versa.

In addition to locus of control being related to personal religious beliefs, perhaps the most important connection between religion and self-esteem is psycho-social. Believers have higher social self-esteem in prior literature, something that has been proven true across cultures (Gebauer, Sedikides & Neberich, 2011). Gebauer, Sedikides & Neberich (2011) postulate that religion is linked to self-esteem because in many societies, religion has relatively high social value and because of the high social value placed on religion, religious believers feel themselves to be more highly valued members of the society. Therefore, in cultures that do not value religion, the effect will be weaker. In strongly secular communities, it is possible that religion could be negatively associated with self-esteem but there is as of yet no research to support this claim. Participation in a community is the key and requisite factor in raising self-esteem. Moreover, religion does provide a stable sense of self and a stable ego concept -- factors that can provide high self-esteem as it is measured on psychological surveys (Biazek & Besta, 2012). Because religion provides a sense of belonging in a community much as ethnic or national identity does, self-esteem would measure higher in a believer.

Most existing research does, however, substantiate the hypothesis that religion is linked to self-esteem because religion ensures membership into a community and that membership -- not belief in God -- enhances self-esteem. For example, Hughes & Demo (1989) surveyed a large sample of African-Americans and found "personal self-esteem is most strongly influenced by microsocial relations with family, friends, and community," (p. 132). In other words, self-esteem is not related to belief in God necessarily but to the fact that participation in religious events and community boosts self-esteem. Similarly, religion does not have a bearing on personal efficacy, which is different from self-esteem. Whereas self-esteem is best defined as self-regard, self-efficacy is more related to locus of control and the belief that a person can achieve one's concrete material goals. "While personal efficacy is generated through experiences in social statuses embedded in macrosocial systems of social inequality ... black self-esteem is insulated from systems of racial inequality," (Hughes & Demo, 1989, p. 132). Religion provides the means by which to feel a part of a community, but not necessarily to feel empowered. These results seem to contradict those found by locus of control studies like that of Benson & Spika (1973) or O'Laoire (1997).

It is not just personal religious identity but also factors like acculturation, discrimination experiences, and the diversity of the surrounding community that impact self-esteem (Rumbaut, 1994). A survey of over 5000 children of immigrants from San Diego and Miami in the eighth and ninth grades revealed major differences that were not attributable to religiosity but to discrimination and other sociological variables (Rumbaut, 1994). Self-esteem clearly cannot be uniquely attributed to personal religious beliefs. A large body of research does suggest that personal religious activity (such as private prayer or personal theological beliefs) is less important than public religious activity (such as church attendance) to self-esteem. For example, Commerford & Reznikoff (1995) found that among nursing home residents, "intrinsic religiosity and the resident's perceived social support from friends were not significantly related to depression or self-esteem," (p. 35). In the Commerford & Reznikoff (1995) study, 83 nursing home residents were surveyed regarding factors like self-esteem, length of stay in the home, and religiosity and the researchers found that while public religious activity helped reduce depression and improve self-esteem, personal religious beliefs and practices were not related to either self-esteem or depression.

Likewise, Sherkat & Reed (1992) found that participation in religious organizations like attending church services is important for improving self-esteem but not necessarily for reducing depression (social self-esteem versus personal). The research was conducted retroactively on a population of recently bereaved. Church attendance and other public religious participation was the key to improving self-esteem, not a belief in God. Therefore, religious people raise their self-esteem by being members of an active and cohesive community. Their membership in that community confers a sense of usefulness, which in turn raises their self-esteem and even related factors like locus of control. Non-religious people can likewise experience higher self-esteem by participating actively in purposeful communities and cultivating a sense of usefulness. In disenfranchised and underclass communities, self-esteem needs to be distinguished from self-efficacy as strain theory suggests that frustration in goal attainment may lead to widespread frustration that is not connected at all with self-esteem (Hughes & Demo, 1989). Success is dependent on multiple factors like access to social and cultural, as well as economic capital. While the self-esteem that derives from participation in a religious organization can be helpful to social success and social self-esteem, it will not at all be relevant to the individual's ability to achieve upward social mobility (Hughes & Demo, 1989).