Religion's Role in Restoring Purpose Amid Social Isolation

Author: University of Michigan
Published: 2021/06/13 - Updated: 2025/05/23
Publication Details: Peer-Reviewed, Research, Study, Analysis
Category Topic: Disability and Religion - Academic Publications

Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Insights, Updates

Synopsis: This peer-reviewed research paper, authored by University of Michigan scholars, examines how religious beliefs can provide purpose and social comfort to individuals who feel socially disconnected, such as those with disabilities or seniors who may lack strong social networks. The study, which analyzed responses from nearly 20,000 participants, found that while most people derive a sense of purpose from human relationships, those who are isolated often turn to God as a substitute for social support, helping to restore some sense of meaning in life. However, this compensatory effect does not fully match the sense of purpose experienced by those with quality human connections, and the study emphasizes that religion does not make socially disconnected people more likely to become religious if they were not already.

The findings are particularly useful for people who, due to physical, social, or situational barriers, cannot easily improve their social contacts; for example, individuals with disabilities or seniors who may be homebound can find solace and a sense of belonging through their faith. The authority of this information is reinforced by its publication in a peer-reviewed journal and its basis in large-scale, rigorous analysis, making it both reliable and relevant for those seeking to understand the psychological role of religion in coping with social isolation - Disabled World (DW).

Introduction

Study results suggest that although people primarily derive purpose from social relationships, socially disconnected individuals may leverage their religious beliefs for purpose and social comfort until they can reconnect. However, the findings do not suggest that people who are socially disconnected are more likely to become religious if they were not already.

Main Content

Belonging Related to Sense of Purpose

When people feel like they do not belong or are unsupported by their relationships, they consistently have a lower sense of purpose and direction in life, says lead author Todd Chan, a doctoral student in the U-M Department of Psychology.

Chan and colleagues say that having a belief system that adequately "substitutes" for some of the functions of human relationships, like having a God that values and supports them, may allow socially disconnected people to restore some of this purpose.

"For the socially disconnected, God may serve as a substitutive relationship that compensates for some of the purposes that human relationships would normally provide," Chan said.

In three separate studies, the U-M researchers analyzed the responses from 19,775 people who described their purpose in life, loneliness levels, friendship quality, and religious beliefs.

These beliefs generally provide social comfort. The research shows that seeing God as your friend when you are already socially connected provides minimal additional benefit for purpose in life.

"In other words, people mostly benefit from leveraging religion and turning to God as a friend only when they lack supportive social connections," Chan said.

This research also informs how people can cope with disconnection when others are unavailable or unappealing. People would ideally "get out there" and improve their social contacts to feel less disconnected. However, this is not always feasible, given that the researchers say that an inherent part of social disconnection is that people have poor relationships or are rejected.

The new U-M study continues previous research showing that people who are socially disconnected are more likely to see human-like qualities in things like pets, imaginary beings, and God.

"Our research suggests, given two people who feel equally disconnected, the individual who feels more connected to God will have a better sense of purpose in life," said co-author Nicholas Michalak, a psychology graduate student.

Although the results suggest that religion and God compensate for lost purpose in the socially disconnected, it did not restore purpose to a level comparable to that of people who are socially connected.

"These results certainly do not suggest that people can or should rely on God over people for a purpose," said co-author Oscar Ybarra, professor of psychology and faculty associate at the U-M Institute for Social Research. "Quality human connections remain a primary and enduring source of purpose in life."

In addition, the findings do not suggest that people who are socially disconnected are more likely to become religious if they were not already.

Consistent with our hypotheses, religious beliefs had minimal influence on purpose in life for socially connected individuals, who already held higher levels of purpose than socially disconnected individuals. However, for socially disconnected individuals, being highly religious predicted higher levels of purpose in life. This study appeared in the Journal of Personality.

Related Information

• The Delusional World of Man-Made Deities: Paper examines the delusional world of artificial Gods, the uselessness of prayer, and the primitive legends in the bible.
• Conflict Between Science and Religion is All in Our Mind: Researchers discover the conflict between science and religion may have its origins in the structure of our brains. To believe in a supernatural god or universal spirit, people appear to suppress the brain network used for analytical thinking and engage the empathetic network.
• Psychological Bias Connects Good Deeds to Belief in God: EResearchers find that people who perform good deeds are far more likely to be thought of as religious believers than atheists.
• People Believing They Were Born that Way Inclined to Blame God for Bad Behavior: Study on evaluating how anger at God may be related to how people view the cause of their own moral transgressions.

Insights, Analysis, and Developments

Attribution/Source(s): This peer reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World (DW) due to its relevance to the disability community. Originally authored by University of Michigan and published on 2021/06/13, this content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity.