Differences in Life Evaluation among Czech Young Adult Christians and their Non-Religious Peers

Bc. Michal Res

Master's thesis

Abstract:

Goal of the present thesis was to inquire the relationship between religiosity and life evaluation. Series of short pilot interviews as well as analysis of European Values Study and World Values Survey were first conducted. In the following phase, original data were collected using electronically based questionnaire containing adopted and original measuring tools of closed as well as open-ended nature. The final working sample contained 66 Czech participants of age ranging from 20 to 35, 39 of them being Christians and 27 Atheists or Agnostics. Three components of the subjective life evaluation happiness, life satisfaction, and well-being, were adapted from the field of positive psychology and worked into the sociological theory. The ambiguous nature of subjective life evaluation is discussed in length using positivistic as well as social constructivist frameworks. Religiosity showed to have varying intensity among Christians. The Faith Influence on Life (FIL) index was developed for the purpose of this study enabled distinction of those who consider their faith to have high influence (HighFIL) on their life and the rest (LowFIL). Both quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis of meaning were conducted on each religious group separately. Results had shown HighFIL Christians scoring higher than the other two groups consistently across all measurements of life evaluation. Qualitative analysis has shown differences in meaning making processes between LowFIL and HighFIL groups. While the sample size might not be sufficient for trouble-free generalization to the whole population, patterns revealed by the present study would be hard to discredit completely.

Abstract:

Goal of the present thesis was to inquire the relationship between religiosity and life evaluation. Series of short pilot interviews as well as analysis of European Values Study and World Values Survey were first conducted. In the following phase, original data were collected using electronically based questionnaire containing adopted and original measuring tools of closed as well as open-ended nature. The final working sample contained 66 Czech participants of age ranging from 20 to 35, 39 of them being Christians and 27 Atheists or Agnostics. Three components of the subjective life evaluation happiness, life satisfaction, and well-being, were adapted from the field of positive psychology and worked into the sociological theory. The ambiguous nature of subjective life evaluation is discussed in length using positivistic as well as social constructivist frameworks. Religiosity showed to have varying intensity among Christians. The Faith Influence on Life (FIL) index was developed for the purpose of this study enabled distinction of those who consider their faith to have high influence (HighFIL) on their life and the rest (LowFIL). Both quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis of meaning were conducted on each religious group separately. Results had shown HighFIL Christians scoring higher than the other two groups consistently across all measurements of life evaluation. Qualitative analysis has shown differences in meaning making processes between LowFIL and HighFIL groups. While the sample size might not be sufficient for trouble-free generalization to the whole population, patterns revealed by the present study would be hard to discredit completely.

Keywords

religion, life evaluation, happiness, Christianity

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 23. 5. 2016

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 14. 6. 2016
• Supervisor: doc. Bernadette Nadya Jaworsky, Ph.D.
• Reader: Dr. Werner Binder

Masaryk University

Faculty of Social Studies

Master programme / field:
Sociology / Sociology (Eng.)