Losing My Religion: Exploring the Relationship Between a Decline in Faith and a Positive Affect

Research indicates the people who have experienced a decline in their faith tend to have a diminished positive affect. However, it is not clear how the effects of decline in faith arise. The purpose of the current study is to examine the effects of four potentially important mediators: religious practices, compassion, providing support to others, and meaning in life. These mediators were woven into a conceptual model that tests the following hypotheses: (1) people who experience a decline in their faith will be less likely to engage in basic religious practices (i.e., attendance at worship services, reading the Bible, and praying); (2) when religious practices are discontinued people will be less likely to adopt core religious virtues that promote sociality (i.e., compassion); (3) losing the impetus for forming close social relationships makes it less likely that people will help individuals who are in need; (4) people who do not help others will find that it is more difficult developing a strong sense of meaning in life; and (5) people who are unable to find a sense of meaning in life will have a diminished positive affect. Findings from a recent nationwide survey (n = 2798) provide support for each of these hypotheses.