The Impact of Religious Self-Identification on Happiness and Well-Being: A Case Study of Kazakhstan

  • Sholpan Jamanbalayeva Institute for Philosophy, Political Science and Religion Studies of Committee Science of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty, Kazakhstan http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0310-529X
  • Elena Burova Institute for Philosophy, Political Science and Religion Studies of Committee Science of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty, Kazakhstan http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9404-6066
  • Shyryn Tlenchiyeva Аl-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8760-6352
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15826/csp.2024.8.3.290

Abstract

Faith helps religious people persevere, hold back, refrain from fighting as much as possible, bear through life tribulations, and keep their loved ones in good spirits. Therefore, it can be hypothesized that people who identify as believers are happier than those who do not. The purpose of this study is to determine the influence of religiosity on self-assessed well-being and satisfaction with various material and immaterial aspects of life from the perspective of religious and nonreligious people and to determine the strength of the effect of religion on subjective well-being in contrast to other socioeconomic factors. In the present study, 1,500 respondents from Kazakhstan took a survey that touched upon their perceptions of social well-being and self-assessed religious status. The survey results were subjected to quantitative analysis via descriptive statistics and correlation analysis via Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient and the Mann‒Whitney U test. The results indicate that people in Kazakhstan demonstrate a fairly high level of self-assessed happiness. There is a statistically significant, albeit weak, correlation between self-assessed happiness and being religious. Research shows that regardless of religiosity, happiness is likely to be experienced by people if they are healthy.

Author Biographies

Sholpan Jamanbalayeva, Institute for Philosophy, Political Science and Religion Studies of Committee Science of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Sholpan Jamanbalayeva, Dr. Sci. (Sociology), Deputy Director General of the Institute of Philosophy, Political Science and Religious Studies; Professor at the Department of Sociology and Social Work, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. Her research focuses on issues of socio-political modernization in Kazakhstan, subjective well-being, and deviant behavior. She has completed significant academic work in this area, contributing to both theoretical and practical understandings of the subject. Her main publications are: "Teoriia i praktika deviantnogo povedeniia podrostkov” [The Theory and Practice of Deviant Behavior in Adolescents] (2016); “Religioznaia situatsiia v sovremennom Kazakhstane (opyt sotsiologicheskoi rekonstruktsii)” [Religious Situation in Modern Kazakhstan: Experience of Sociological Reconstruction] (2023, coauthored).

Elena Burova, Institute for Philosophy, Political Science and Religion Studies of Committee Science of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Elena Burova is a researcher specializing in religious studies, cultural values, and sociological processes in modern Kazakhstan. She has explored how religious and secular values interact in the evolving social landscape of Kazakhstan. Burova’s contributions also delve into the choice of traditions in a multicultural society and the epistemological foundations of religious studies in Kazakhstan. Her recent publications are: “Religioznye tsennosti v sovremennom mire” [Religious Values in Contemporary World] (2022, coauthored); “Religioznaia situatsiia v sovremennom Kazakhstane (opyt sotsiologicheskoi rekonstruktsii)” [Religious Situation in Modern Kazakhstan: Experience of Sociological Reconstruction] (2023, coauthored).

Shyryn Tlenchiyeva, Аl-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Shyryn Tlenchiyeva is a PhD candidate at the Department of Sociology and Social Work of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. Her thesis is focused on the problem of happiness in Kazakhstan society.

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Published
2024-10-21
How to Cite
Jamanbalayeva, S., Burova, E., & Tlenchiyeva, S. (2024). The Impact of Religious Self-Identification on Happiness and Well-Being: A Case Study of Kazakhstan. Changing Societies & Personalities, 8(3), 592–610. doi:10.15826/csp.2024.8.3.290
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Vol. 8, No. 3 (2024)
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Articles