Well-being and the circumplex religious orientation in Iran

The Commitment-Reflexivity Circumplex (CRC) model is a new structural model of religious orientation. The CRC model predicts the structure of the Circumplex Religious Orientation Inventory (CROI) by identifying two dimensions on which previously existing and new religious orientations vary: commitment (i.e., the importance and centrality of religious faith) and reflectivity (i.e., the degree to which belief systems are analyzable and open to questioning). Evidence garnered so far has demonstrated the CRC model and the CROI scales to be theoretically and psychometrically sound, with cross-cultural reliability and validity. Given that CROI scales were designed for use with both religious and non-religious populations, the present study examined this new model and inventory in relation to measures of well-being among two independent samples: Iranian Islamic seminary students and Iranian general university students. Well-being measures consisted of life satisfaction, self-esteem, and happiness, as well as six dimensions of psychological well-being (i.e., autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with others, purpose in life, and self-acceptance). Findings revealed that in both Iranian university students and seminarians, committed orientations were generally positively correlated with subjective and psychological well-being, while uncommitted orientations were generally negatively related to these facets of well-being. Given the relative recency of this model and inventory, prior assessment of the CROI in relation to well-being is quite limited. The present work adds to this body of literature by examining how religious orientations, across the dimensions of commitment and reflectivity, relate to measures of well-being in a new cultural and religious context.