My research methods paper
Examining Correlations between Possesing Religious & Spiritual Beliefs and Their Influence on Degrees of happiness
By Dr. Deenis
Abstract:
This paper was an attempt to find relationships between having a religious or spiritual belief system and the happiness of an individual. Information has been gathered using covert participatory observation, interviews, and surveys. These methods have provided insight at the levels of superficial and in-depth. The comparison and cohesion of these two levels of data has revealed that it is not a question of happy or unhappy but rather two types of happiness: internal and external. An internal happiness is constant and deals with concepts of the abstract. External happiness is based off concrete things like capital and varies from time to time in its degrees of happiness.
Introduction:
Happiness is a curious thing; it cannot be clearly defined nor rated on a scale because it varies in degrees for each individual and each degree brings different levels of happiness (if there is such a thing). Our culture has put labels and price tags on the concept of happiness and is destroying an abstract idea by turning it into a cookie cutter image. Turning happiness into a concrete, measurable substance means that happiness can be earned through finical means. The day could be upon us when money can buy happiness because happiness is security and security is physical capital (e.g. money, cloths, cars).
Researching beliefs and their influence on happiness became an interest of mine after observing an increased frequency of young adults practicing religion in traditional and nontraditional ways. These pre-adults, ages 16-22, are friendly, cheerful, genuinely carefree, and undeterred by the lack of morals of our modern society. This “high on life” attitude is foreboding to troubled college students and their un-preachiness was uncharacteristic of the zealous practitioners of religion that have come before them. To get pure results, it is necessary for the research to see beyond the clichés, rumors, and myths that our modern society has placed on people who believe in supernatural-beings. Getting to the concrete logic of their happiness requires examining happiness from the perspectives of the spiritual and the non-spiritual. This will allow for a ranking system of happiness, not in the sense that one is happier than the other but in that there is such a thing as a “purer” form of happiness. Although it was pre-adults that sparked the interest, the research is designed to encompass all those that are happy.
Materials and Methods:
Survey Questions
Three survey questions are being used that were part of a 54 question survey with unrelated questions to this report. It was distributed to 6 freshman, 13 sophomores, 42 juniors, 39 seniors, and 1 grad students of Rutgers University. The results from two of the survey questions (I consider myself a strongly religious individual; I consider myself a strongly spiritual person) are going to be compared to the third survey question (Overall, how happy or unhappy would you describe yourself as being?). The questions are being used to recognize a superficial correlation between individual’s religious and spiritual beliefs, and how they relate to their happiness.
Interview/ Covert Participatory Observation
These methods are being incorporated to gather more in-depth information about the practices that correspond with the beliefs. Covert participatory observation is specifically being used because happiness is impossible to describe using words so one must experience the methods of happiness to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion. Combining both interview and covert observation was the best way to gauge the “truthfulness” of an individual’s happiness because I was able to judge if they “practiced what they preached” or if they were even aware of the effects of their beliefs on their daily lives.
Results:
Survey
52e. (I consider myself a strongly religious individual) VS 53 (Overall, how happy or unhappy would you describe yourself as being?)
A) Strongly Agree B) Agree C) N/A Not Sure D) Disagree E) Strongly Disagree
A)Very Happy 0 8 5 8 4
B)Happy 2 13 10 21 11
C)Neutral * 0 3 1 5 2
D)Unhappy 0 2 2 2 1
E)Very Unhappy 0 0 0 0 0
52f. (I consider myself a strongly spiritual person) VS 53 (Overall, how happy or unhappy would you describe yourself as being?)
A) Strongly Agree B) Agree C) N/A Not Sure D) Disagree E) Strongly Disagree
A)Very Happy 5 12 3 5 0
B)Happy 12 24 9 13 1
C)Neutral * 1 5 2 3 0
D)Unhappy 1 2 1 2 1
E)Very Unhappy 0 0 0 0 0
*Full answer in survey was stated as “neither particularly happy nor unhappy
These charts are used to best represent any trends that might exist. It appears that religion has a negative correlation, in that the less religious a person is, the happier they will be. Spirituality shows a more promising trend in that the people that agree with being spiritual are the happiest.
Interview/ Covert Participatory Observation
Interviews were conducted with individuals of many ages ranging from 17-70, usually one on one, and in a variety of social situations and states of mind. Using the assistance of an acquaintance unaware of my research, I was able to attend multiple sermons at a local parish and immerse myself in the social circle. Specifically, after one sermon an in-depth interview was conducted with the pastor. After each sermon I joined a group of youths common to the parish and observed them in social situations. The social settings were identical to those were I participated in covert observed with non-spiritual/non-religious youths. The mannerisms and dialogue of both groups were similar when interacting with members of their social networks but a difference was noted when interacting with members outside the network. Those with religious beliefs remained in a constant physical and emotional state, while the non-religious group’s mannerisms became timid and insecure.
Analysis:
The survey data illustrates the negative connotation that religious practices have developed during our generation. I myself strongly disagreed with question 53 e. because I answered the question with the idea that religion referred to the media idea of evangelical extremist. This is best showed in the fact that more people answered that they are spiritual than they did religious. If someone is religious, they are by definition spiritual but someone spiritual is not necessarily religious. The survey data showed some trend in spiritual individuals and happiness but does not tell us why this correlation might exist. A curious phenomenon to note is that a majority of the people surveyed did not strongly agree nor disagree to the questions asked. This could show people’s insecurities in how well they trust their feelings, if someone is happy why wouldn’t they be very happy? Potential errors in survey data include: no pretest of survey questions; the survey is superficial and impersonal in contrast to the subject matter which is in-depth and complex; happiness is a very difficult concept to quantify; and the survey was answered by a limited population (only college students, 70.8 percent a whom were from Cook College).
The interviews revealed that a general consensus existed for those with religious/spiritual (r&s) beliefs. It seems as though that their happiness was an indirect result of r&s practices. Having faith in a higher power as well as in a consistent community and family provided security in everyday life that makes living more stress-free and more enjoyable. Non- r&s individual’s happiness came from the same concepts as r&s individuals but different mechanisms. The relieving of stress and presence of a consistent community provided security and happiness for non-r&s individuals but they were the products of capital and friends as opposed to family oriented.
The effects of the differences in the sources of happiness were best seen in the covert observation. R&S individuals were able to interact comfortably with individuals outside of their social network, while non-r&s individuals required social lubrication to function comfortably. This result is most likely from the belief systems. R&S tend to have beliefs that encompass everyone as being in the community and faith in a power that is encompasses all systems . Non-r&s belief systems are based on tangible circumstances (e.g. life experiences) and capital. When encountering foreign systems their system as well as the new system needs to be re-evaluated.
Conclusion:
The progress of man is widening the gap between the abstract and concrete. This gap is created through science’s demands for tangible explanations and technology’s reverse engineering of solutions, creating a solution and making a problem out of not having that solution. The battle between abstract and concrete is best represented in the search for happiness. It is impossible to truly state whether those with religious and spiritual beliefs are happier than those without. However, it is evident that R&S happiness is a constant, in contrast to non-r&s happiness which varies because it is based off a ranking system. R&S does not provide happiness but rather provides a standard, an absolute zero, for individual happiness. For an R&S person, happiness is up to the individual; while a non-r&s person bases their happiness off of external sources of happiness.
By Dr. Deenis
Abstract:
This paper was an attempt to find relationships between having a religious or spiritual belief system and the happiness of an individual. Information has been gathered using covert participatory observation, interviews, and surveys. These methods have provided insight at the levels of superficial and in-depth. The comparison and cohesion of these two levels of data has revealed that it is not a question of happy or unhappy but rather two types of happiness: internal and external. An internal happiness is constant and deals with concepts of the abstract. External happiness is based off concrete things like capital and varies from time to time in its degrees of happiness.
Introduction:
Happiness is a curious thing; it cannot be clearly defined nor rated on a scale because it varies in degrees for each individual and each degree brings different levels of happiness (if there is such a thing). Our culture has put labels and price tags on the concept of happiness and is destroying an abstract idea by turning it into a cookie cutter image. Turning happiness into a concrete, measurable substance means that happiness can be earned through finical means. The day could be upon us when money can buy happiness because happiness is security and security is physical capital (e.g. money, cloths, cars).
Researching beliefs and their influence on happiness became an interest of mine after observing an increased frequency of young adults practicing religion in traditional and nontraditional ways. These pre-adults, ages 16-22, are friendly, cheerful, genuinely carefree, and undeterred by the lack of morals of our modern society. This “high on life” attitude is foreboding to troubled college students and their un-preachiness was uncharacteristic of the zealous practitioners of religion that have come before them. To get pure results, it is necessary for the research to see beyond the clichés, rumors, and myths that our modern society has placed on people who believe in supernatural-beings. Getting to the concrete logic of their happiness requires examining happiness from the perspectives of the spiritual and the non-spiritual. This will allow for a ranking system of happiness, not in the sense that one is happier than the other but in that there is such a thing as a “purer” form of happiness. Although it was pre-adults that sparked the interest, the research is designed to encompass all those that are happy.
Materials and Methods:
Survey Questions
Three survey questions are being used that were part of a 54 question survey with unrelated questions to this report. It was distributed to 6 freshman, 13 sophomores, 42 juniors, 39 seniors, and 1 grad students of Rutgers University. The results from two of the survey questions (I consider myself a strongly religious individual; I consider myself a strongly spiritual person) are going to be compared to the third survey question (Overall, how happy or unhappy would you describe yourself as being?). The questions are being used to recognize a superficial correlation between individual’s religious and spiritual beliefs, and how they relate to their happiness.
Interview/ Covert Participatory Observation
These methods are being incorporated to gather more in-depth information about the practices that correspond with the beliefs. Covert participatory observation is specifically being used because happiness is impossible to describe using words so one must experience the methods of happiness to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion. Combining both interview and covert observation was the best way to gauge the “truthfulness” of an individual’s happiness because I was able to judge if they “practiced what they preached” or if they were even aware of the effects of their beliefs on their daily lives.
Results:
Survey
52e. (I consider myself a strongly religious individual) VS 53 (Overall, how happy or unhappy would you describe yourself as being?)
A) Strongly Agree B) Agree C) N/A Not Sure D) Disagree E) Strongly Disagree
A)Very Happy 0 8 5 8 4
B)Happy 2 13 10 21 11
C)Neutral * 0 3 1 5 2
D)Unhappy 0 2 2 2 1
E)Very Unhappy 0 0 0 0 0
52f. (I consider myself a strongly spiritual person) VS 53 (Overall, how happy or unhappy would you describe yourself as being?)
A) Strongly Agree B) Agree C) N/A Not Sure D) Disagree E) Strongly Disagree
A)Very Happy 5 12 3 5 0
B)Happy 12 24 9 13 1
C)Neutral * 1 5 2 3 0
D)Unhappy 1 2 1 2 1
E)Very Unhappy 0 0 0 0 0
*Full answer in survey was stated as “neither particularly happy nor unhappy
These charts are used to best represent any trends that might exist. It appears that religion has a negative correlation, in that the less religious a person is, the happier they will be. Spirituality shows a more promising trend in that the people that agree with being spiritual are the happiest.
Interview/ Covert Participatory Observation
Interviews were conducted with individuals of many ages ranging from 17-70, usually one on one, and in a variety of social situations and states of mind. Using the assistance of an acquaintance unaware of my research, I was able to attend multiple sermons at a local parish and immerse myself in the social circle. Specifically, after one sermon an in-depth interview was conducted with the pastor. After each sermon I joined a group of youths common to the parish and observed them in social situations. The social settings were identical to those were I participated in covert observed with non-spiritual/non-religious youths. The mannerisms and dialogue of both groups were similar when interacting with members of their social networks but a difference was noted when interacting with members outside the network. Those with religious beliefs remained in a constant physical and emotional state, while the non-religious group’s mannerisms became timid and insecure.
Analysis:
The survey data illustrates the negative connotation that religious practices have developed during our generation. I myself strongly disagreed with question 53 e. because I answered the question with the idea that religion referred to the media idea of evangelical extremist. This is best showed in the fact that more people answered that they are spiritual than they did religious. If someone is religious, they are by definition spiritual but someone spiritual is not necessarily religious. The survey data showed some trend in spiritual individuals and happiness but does not tell us why this correlation might exist. A curious phenomenon to note is that a majority of the people surveyed did not strongly agree nor disagree to the questions asked. This could show people’s insecurities in how well they trust their feelings, if someone is happy why wouldn’t they be very happy? Potential errors in survey data include: no pretest of survey questions; the survey is superficial and impersonal in contrast to the subject matter which is in-depth and complex; happiness is a very difficult concept to quantify; and the survey was answered by a limited population (only college students, 70.8 percent a whom were from Cook College).
The interviews revealed that a general consensus existed for those with religious/spiritual (r&s) beliefs. It seems as though that their happiness was an indirect result of r&s practices. Having faith in a higher power as well as in a consistent community and family provided security in everyday life that makes living more stress-free and more enjoyable. Non- r&s individual’s happiness came from the same concepts as r&s individuals but different mechanisms. The relieving of stress and presence of a consistent community provided security and happiness for non-r&s individuals but they were the products of capital and friends as opposed to family oriented.
The effects of the differences in the sources of happiness were best seen in the covert observation. R&S individuals were able to interact comfortably with individuals outside of their social network, while non-r&s individuals required social lubrication to function comfortably. This result is most likely from the belief systems. R&S tend to have beliefs that encompass everyone as being in the community and faith in a power that is encompasses all systems . Non-r&s belief systems are based on tangible circumstances (e.g. life experiences) and capital. When encountering foreign systems their system as well as the new system needs to be re-evaluated.
Conclusion:
The progress of man is widening the gap between the abstract and concrete. This gap is created through science’s demands for tangible explanations and technology’s reverse engineering of solutions, creating a solution and making a problem out of not having that solution. The battle between abstract and concrete is best represented in the search for happiness. It is impossible to truly state whether those with religious and spiritual beliefs are happier than those without. However, it is evident that R&S happiness is a constant, in contrast to non-r&s happiness which varies because it is based off a ranking system. R&S does not provide happiness but rather provides a standard, an absolute zero, for individual happiness. For an R&S person, happiness is up to the individual; while a non-r&s person bases their happiness off of external sources of happiness.