A Case study about the Effects of Religion in a person’s life

Prepared by:

Barata, Celila D.

A Research project submitted to the School of Addition Hills Integrated School of Partial

Fulfillment requirements for Grade 11

Approved:

________________________________________________________

Teacher: Baby Xyza F. Dela Cruz

________________________________________________________

Adviser: Baby Xyza F. Dela Cruz

Project Committee:

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Barata, Ceila D.
The Effects of Faith on Personality Characteristics

Julie Taylor

Abstract

The effects of faith on the personality characteristics of locus of control, optimism, and self-
esteem was researched through the use of a survey administered to 54 students and faculty
from a small, private Illinois college and 35 students from a small community college in Illinois.
Each participant completed a survey indicating demographic data, a shortened version of
Rotter’s Locus of Control, Alport’s Life Orientation Scale, Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale, and a
faith based scale. The hypothesis that people who rate a high personal relationship with God
will be happier was supported with a .001 level of significance. These findings are important
because they give insight into a person’s faith and how that relates to their personality
characteristics.

“Faith is holding on to God’s promises and finding your own fulfilled.” In this one
statement there is much truth for those with a religious orientation. For Christians, having faith
in God’s promises allows one to find fulfillment in life. Faith is defined as an unquestioning
belief that does not require proof or evidence. In our society today, we find people have faith
in several things from employers to spouses to ideals. The word faith carries a totally different
meaning for most people. It could pertain to a person, place, thing, or ideal. For a Christian,
what is faith? And how does that play a part in things like locus of control, self-esteem, and
optimism?
 All people experience difficulties of one type or another. Some people have financial
burdens and others deal with family problems. There are three durations of stress: life events,
chronic strains, and daily hassles and uplifts. Life events include the birth of a child, divorce,
and death; anything requiring adaptation during a short period of time. Chronic strains, such as
illness and injury, occur over a long period of time. Daily hassles and uplifts are the common
everyday stressors of life, including studying and family (Thoits 1995). No matter what gender,
racial, or economic background a person is born into, there will always be stressors in life.

How people handle stressors is significant. What people turn to in times of trouble is relevant.
Similar to procrastination, some people strive under pressure and some cannot handle the
heat. Likewise, with life’s difficulties, some people turn to methods of coping like smoking or
drinking. Others seem to strive in the midst of trouble. Something seems to separate the two
responses. In orthodox Christianity, one’s faith can help them through the stressors of life. It
allows them to see a different perspective and continue to have faith in something greater than
they are. Still others, including those who claim a strong religious orientation, choose other
ways of coping.

Locus of Control, optimism, and self-esteem are good indicators of well being. Using the
Likert Scale to measure these degrees different psychologists have developed questionnaires
that test for each of these categories. From some previous knowledge such as questionnaires
and literature reviews, we see that a person with a high internal locus of control, optimism, and
self-esteem tends to be happier and is able to deal with life difficulties in a healthier way.

Locus of Control

Rotter described his concept of locus of control with two extremes of orientation, internal and
external. For people with internal orientation they share a belief that things happen that have
been caused by their own actions, and they have control of their lives. Persons with external
locus of control believe that the situations they face are largely in the hands of fate, or chance,
or the actions of others (Bee 123).
In research done by Pransky, lower levels of thought recognition led to lower levels of well
being, while higher levels of thought recognition led to a higher well being. He offered three
possible explanations for this relationship, namely that greater thought recognition may lead to
(1) a heightened sense of control, as people have more control over their thinking process than
over their external environment; (2) a heightened sense of understanding of life experiences
that, previously, may have been confusing or frightening; and (3) a heightened capacity to view
things in a balanced fashion, leading to a more philosophical outlook on life (1997). Thought
recognition is the key factor that leads people back to their natural potential for healthy mental
functioning. In current research, our findings on locus of control should be a little different than
past studies using locus of control. It is anticipated that there will be a heightened sense of
external control, being from God, for individuals who have a strong faith and belief in God.

Optimism

Optimism provides a sense of hope despite the circumstances. One text describes an optimist
as one who “believes that setbacks are temporary and usually caused by circumstances. He is
convinced that there is always some solution and that he will be able to work things out.
Confronted by defeat, he sees it as a challenge and tries harder to work things out” (Bee 124).
It is this Optimism allows us to see how a person gets through everyday stressors and difficult
life events.

Optimism has been linked to physical well-being and good health. There is something more
behind optimism than just seeing a glass half full. According to research done by Chemers, Hu,
and Garcia optimistic students report lower levels of psychological stress and loneliness. Even
when faced with difficulty and stress people with positive tendencies and optimism are able to
cope better (Aspinwall & Taylor, 1992). Current research will hopefully model this as we show a
positive correlation between optimism and faith.

Self-esteem

Self-esteem provides insight to the belief a person holds about him or herself. High self-esteem
is thinking that you are a worthwhile person. This is generally viewed as a healthy
characteristic. However, there is a downside to high self-esteem. Sometimes people with high
self-esteem try to prove how much they can do or they take on tasks that cannot be finished.
Such things lead to self-defeating behaviors. In many cases those with high self-esteem
become aggressive in trying to defend themselves and then actually become susceptible to
narcissism, which is an unhealthy self-focus and self-admiration (Cloninger 172).

High self-esteem correlates with happiness. A recent study on college students provides some
background information on self-esteem. Bower describes the study done on 360 college
students who were paired into five person teams to work on a group decision making task and
then ranked the contributions of everyone in their group. Most self-enhancers reported feeling
much happier after the task and also scored much higher than their peers on self-importance,
hostility, and condescension. The results showed that self-enhancing students tend to have
declining self-esteem when their academics did not meet their expectations (Bower 148).

Faith

Our studies will now shift to examine research on faith, or religion. Since the time of
Freud, psychologists have considered the psychological aspect of religion. Connections have
been made and are continuously being made between the two. Freud proposed that people
seek security in God that they once received as a child from their parents (Gross 1959). People
are seeking something that the world and individuals cannot offer. Since the time of Freud,
more research has been made in this direction. In the book, Your Child’s Faith, Dr. Larry D.
Stephens explains that: “Adult perceptions of the character of God are impacted by early
experiences with parents” (1996). Stephens believed a bonding-nurturing type of relationship
with parents builds a positive view of God’s character. Similarly a harsh, overbearing,
judgmental relationship with parents creates a negative view of God. He goes on to state that
the individual sense of religion found in the home has a lasting effect of one’s self-esteem and
behavior as an adult.

Darlene Leatherwood investigated this relation between early parental interaction and
perceptions of God. Her research indicated that “a person with positive experiences would be
more inclined to view failures as setbacks and have a ‘try it again’ attitude and view God as
helpful, allowing him/her to experience life in a more positive way” (1999). Some
characteristics that would be demonstrated in their portrayal of God would be a less
judgmental and more forgiving person. Leatherwood also found these people to be less likely
to battle feelings of unworthiness and low self-esteem. This research allows us to see themes
of optimism and self-esteem begin to rise in relation to faith.

Maslow also discussed religion and science in his book Religions, Values, and Peak-Experiences
(1970). He described how science and religion were two separate entities but that they were
beginning to merge. Maslow began to see the role they play within each other as he said “we
shall have to redefine both science and religion” (Maslow 1970)

Gordon Allport (1960) takes us to the root of the research we are seeking. He describes three
main stages in developing a belief system: 1)the raw creudulity stage-belief in the evidence of
ones senses, imagination, and what others say; 2)doubts-in which a person questions what
they have been told and search for answers; and 3)mature belief-which develop through
affirmations and productive thinking.

Beliefs can be made on any level and kept on any level. However something between the
second and the third stage causes us to question whether beliefs and faith are the same thing.
Many times the words are used interchangeably, but do they mean the same thing? Allport
suggests that after reaching the third stage, it is easy to see that faith is psychologically more
complex than a simple belief (1960, 139-141). So if faith is more than a simple belief, what
exactly is faith?

Faith has been viewed in several different ways. People have faith in ideals, people, places, and
even medicine. William E. Brock had faith in the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and in his products.
In the 1900’s, during the Great Depression, Brock faced the challenges of whether his company
would survive and if they could even pay their employees. Because of Brock’s faith the
company survived though many businesses surrounding it were crumbling. (1994).

Brock had dedication and devotion, but the faith we are examining is of a different source. We
will be examining the faith Freud said people looked for as adults. (Gross 1959) Hebrews 11:1
tells us that “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”
(Tyndale 1983). The Bible is filled with countless stories of people of faith who trusted in God
with every aspect of their life. This faith has allowed several people to persevere through hard
times and to stay optimistic about the future. It is this definition of faith that is of interest to
this study.

Results from a study on personal faith and religious state advocacy show a positive correlation
between the two. Yamane (1999) did research hypothesizing that legislators with a high sense
of faith will tend to support religious groups more than others. He created a survey with
question about prayer, church attendance, and generosity to religious groups. The connection
between state legislatures showed the strongest connection among conservative religious
groups. Some other interesting findings were that 51.2% of legislators reported praying at least
once per day and 88.8% reported placing some importance on religion in their own lives
(Yamane 1999).

At the University of Texas, 112 undergraduates participated in a study to examine the

According to the results of a study at the University of Western Ontario (Gail & Hewitt 1994),
students who belong to Christian faith groups are healthier and happier and handle stress
better than students with no faith group affiliation. A study on 299 college students was done.
They were separated into two distinct groups one in which students were part of a Christian
club or faith group and the other group compiled of students in sociology classes. A
questionnaire was administered containing questions based on demographics, stress, mastery,
self-esteem, psychological and physical health, use of health care resources, friendship
patterns, beliefs and values, and religious practice. Each of these items were measured for
relevance (1994).

This research opened the door for more studies and provided a starting point for subsequent
research. However, before moving to methodology and discussion, it is important for us to
realize that even if a person believes in God there are various concepts or levels in which we
view faith. For Christians, the most familiar part of the Bible that shows us this faith is John
3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whosoever believeth in him
shall not perish, but have everlasting life” (Tyndale 1997). After researching locus of control,
optimism, self-esteem, and faith we can now begin to understand and make positive
correlations among the four.

Conclusion

Each of these variables have been researched. However, there is not a huge source of
information including all three of these topics and their correlation to faith and each other. In
order to understand more of the psychological benefits of religion this study is very important
to those with a religious orientation. The researcher feels that theses three variables have a
positive correlation to faith. The researcher hypothesizes that people with a strong sense of
faith will have higher optimism, external control, and self-esteem.

Operationally, there are nine hypotheses to be tested. 1)People who have a higher faith will
have a higher optimism total (encompassing all optimistic responses on the survey). 2)Self-
esteem totals (encompassing all self-esteem responses on the survey) will be higher for people
who respond with a strong belief in God. 3)Locus of Control will be more external if a person
has a very high score on question 28, “I see myself as a part of God’s world, rather than God a
part of mine.” 4)Optimistic people will also have high self esteem. 5)A person with a high
sense of faith will rank items of importance in question 37 with faith in one of the top three
spots. 6)A person will have more of a commitment to church if they score higher on the total
faith based section of the survey. 7.)How a person currently views their relationship with God
will be positively correlated to how happy that person is. 8)Students will have a higher sense of
faith than faculty. 9)Students from the Methodist college will have stronger faith overall than
those at the community college.
Background of study

Religion may be defined as a cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, worldviews,
texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that relates humanity to
supernatural, transcendental, or spiritual elements. However, there is no scholarly consensus
over what precisely constitutes a religion.[1][2]

Different religions may or may not contain various elements ranging from the divine[3], sacred
things[4], faith,[5] a supernatural being or supernatural beings[6] or "some sort of ultimacy and
transcendence that will provide norms and power for the rest of life".[7] Religious practices
may include rituals, sermons, commemoration or veneration (of deities), sacrifices, festivals,
feasts, trances, initiations, funerary services, matrimonial services, meditation, prayer, music,
art, dance, public service, or other aspects of human culture. Religions have sacred histories
and narratives, which may be preserved in sacred scriptures, and symbols and holy places, that
aim mostly to give a meaning to life. Religions may contain symbolic stories, which are
sometimes said by followers to be true, that have the side purpose of explaining the origin of
life, the universe, and other things. Traditionally, faith, in addition to reason, has been
considered a source of religious beliefs.[8]

There are an estimated 10,000 distinct religions worldwide,[9] but about 84% of the world's
population is affiliated with one of the five largest religion groups, namely Christianity, Islam,
Hinduism, Buddhism or forms of folk religion.[10] The religiously unaffiliated demographic
includes those who do not identify with any particular religion, atheists and agnostics. While
the religiously unaffiliated have grown globally, many of the religiously unaffiliated still have
various religious beliefs.[11]

The study of religion encompasses a wide variety of academic disciplines, including theology,
comparative religion and social scientific studies. Theories of religion offer various explanations
for the origins and workings of religion, including the ontological foundations of religious being
and belief.[