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...
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…
