Religiosity and Human Flourishing: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Well-Being, Mental Health, and Meaning

Dear Colleagues,

Questions about human flourishing lie at the heart of religious traditions, philosophy and psychology. Across the centuries, religions have offered a comprehensive vision of a meaningful life, incorporating elements of communal practice, individual spiritual formation and moral commitment. Similarly, philosophers from early Greeks to modern times have articulated a model of the Good Life—from the stoics to the utilitarians and on and on. In recent decades, empiric psychological research has also evaluated the essential elements of well-being, life satisfaction and purpose.

These streams of thought—religiosity, philosophy and psychology—have converged to investigate how religiosity is associated with human flourishing. Multiple studies have demonstrated that increased religious involvement is associated with higher life satisfaction, social support, moral commitment and meaning in life. However, some aspects of religion can foment exclusionary practices, moral distress and increased anxiety. Religion is a complex construct that is deeply shaped by cultural, institutional, theological and psychological forces.

Despite the richness of the existing scholarship, the field remains fragmented. Empirical studies, theological reflections and sociocultural analyses often proceed in parallel rather than in dialogue. This Special Issue seeks to address this gap by bringing together interdisciplinary contributions that critically and constructively examine the relationship between religiosity and human flourishing.

The aim of this Special Issue is to advance an interdisciplinary understanding of how religiosity is associated with human flourishing. It seeks to:

1. Integrate empirical and theoretical approaches from psychology, sociology, theology, philosophy and public health.
2. Clarify conceptual frameworks of both religiosity (e.g., belief, practice, spirituality, institutional affiliation) and flourishing (e.g., well-being, meaning, virtue, relational health).
3. Examine mechanisms and pathways through which religiosity influences flourishing, including social support, moral formation, identity development, ritual practice and existential meaning-making.
4. Attend to diversity and context, including cross-cultural, interreligious and secular-religious comparative perspectives.
5. Critically engage tensions and paradoxes, such as the potential for both well-being and harm within religious systems and communities.

The Special Issue welcomes both original empirical research and high-quality review or theoretical papers that contribute to a more nuanced and globally informed understanding of these themes.

Research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Psychological dimensions of well-being and meaning-making—this may include data driven studies, randomized controlled trials or qualitative projects.
• Theological models of human-flourishing—this is especially true given the shifting demographics of religious practice and diversity of religious belief.
• Philosophical explorations of religiosity and flourishing—new models are needed to reconcile religious belief and psychology; a philosophical approach may reconcile the two.
• Cross-cultural and comparative studies of religiosity and flourishing—we live in an ever-changing world; perspectives from the Global South, indigenous traditions and inter-religious contexts may offer fresh perspectives.
• Negative or ambivalence associations with religiosity and well-being—studies with positive associations are most often published in the peer-reviewed literature; this Special Issue welcomes studies that recognize the complexity and nuance of religiosity and well-being.
• Clinical, pastoral, public health or community interventions—faith-based groups play an important role in both individual and communal well-being; empiric or qualitative studies that measure efficacy of these interventions are welcome.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editor or to the Assistant Editor Ms. Chelsey Chen (chelsey.chen@mdpi.com) of Religions. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editor for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo a double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Benjamin R. Doolittle
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• religiosity
• human flourishing
• well-being
• meaning in life
• psychology of religion
• spirituality
• moral formation