TY - JOUR

T1 - Cultural Evolution Shifts the Source of Happiness from Religion to Subjective Freedom

AU - Minkov, Michael

AU - Welzel, Christian

AU - Schachner, Michael

PY - 2020/12/1

Y1 - 2020/12/1

N2 - Numerous studies have reported a positive individual-level association between happiness and two psychologically distinct states of mind: religious faith and subjective freedom (a feeling of life control). Although the strength of these relationships varies across countries, no general pattern driving this variation has been shown so far. After surveying 40,534 randomly selected respondents from 43 nations, we find that in countries where happiness is more closely related to religious faith, it is less strongly associated with subjective freedom, and vice versa. We have also identified the driving force behind this inverse relationship. Rising individualism and emancipative values, as an outcome of modernization, diminish the importance of religious faith for people’s happiness, while increasing the importance of subjective freedom. We conclude that the dominant emancipatory direction of cultural evolution favors freedom over religion.

AB - Numerous studies have reported a positive individual-level association between happiness and two psychologically distinct states of mind: religious faith and subjective freedom (a feeling of life control). Although the strength of these relationships varies across countries, no general pattern driving this variation has been shown so far. After surveying 40,534 randomly selected respondents from 43 nations, we find that in countries where happiness is more closely related to religious faith, it is less strongly associated with subjective freedom, and vice versa. We have also identified the driving force behind this inverse relationship. Rising individualism and emancipative values, as an outcome of modernization, diminish the importance of religious faith for people’s happiness, while increasing the importance of subjective freedom. We conclude that the dominant emancipatory direction of cultural evolution favors freedom over religion.

KW - Happiness

KW - Individualism

KW - Religion

KW - Subjective freedom

KW - Subjective well-being

KW - Politics

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85078603583&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/s10902-019-00203-w

DO - 10.1007/s10902-019-00203-w

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85078603583

VL - 21

SP - 2873

EP - 2888

JO - Journal of Happiness Studies

JF - Journal of Happiness Studies

SN - 1389-4978

IS - 8

ER -