Citation Suggestion
Please use the following Persistent Identifier (PID) to cite this document:
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0085251
Exports for your reference manager
The Emotional Toll of Hell: Cross-National and Experimental Evidence for the Negative Well-Being Effects of Hell Beliefs
[journal article]
Abstract Though beliefs in Heaven and Hell are related, they are associated with different personality characteristics and social phenomena. Here we present three studies measuring Heaven and Hell beliefs' associations with and impact on subjective well-being. We find that a belief in Heaven is consistently ... view more
Though beliefs in Heaven and Hell are related, they are associated with different personality characteristics and social phenomena. Here we present three studies measuring Heaven and Hell beliefs' associations with and impact on subjective well-being. We find that a belief in Heaven is consistently associated with greater happiness and life satisfaction while a belief in Hell is associated with lower happiness and life satisfaction at the national (Study 1) and individual (Study 2) level. An experimental priming study (Study 3) suggests that these differences are mainly driven by the negative emotional impact of Hell beliefs. Possible cultural evolutionary explanations for the persistence of such a distressing religious concept are discussed.... view less
Keywords
well-being; happiness; satisfaction with life; faith; emotionality; psychological factors; religiousness; measurement; international comparison; social inequality; prosperity; unemployment; inflation; civil rights; political stability; social stability
Classification
Sociology of Religion
Document language
English
Publication Year
2014
Page/Pages
8 p.
Journal
PLOS ONE, 9 (2014) 1
ISSN
1932-6203
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed