The relationships between religion and mental health

This article reviews the relationships between the means, end, and quest religious orientations as measures of religion (Batson & Ventis, 1982) and measures of mental health. Mental health is defined by seven criteria gleaned from the previous literature: (a) absence of mental illness, (b) appropriate social behavior, (c) freedom from worry and guilt, (d) personal competence and control, (e) self-acceptance and self-actualization, (f) unification and organization of personality, and (g) open-mindedness and flexibility (Batson, Schoenrade, & Ventis, 1993). The literature approached in this way reveals that the relationship depends on both the measure of religion and the measure of mental health. The means dimension shows predominantly negative relationships with mental health indices; the end dimension shows predominantly positive relationships; and the questdimension (though less thoroughly researched) reveals mixed results. Applications to mental health of these religious orientations and the research findings are discussed.