Belonging to religious communities–a source of stress or satisfaction? Analysis of gender differences

Introduction: Dialogue is an inseparable element of the functioning of social groups, including religious communities. The article shows how being in dialogue with God and people by belonging to religious communities among young Catholics corresponds with the perceived stress in its various areas (e.g. related to health, interpersonal relations, socioeconomic conditions or religiosity) and with life satisfaction, both in the group of boys and men, as well as in the group of girls and women. Method: The gender differences in the identified 18 areas of experienced stress and life satisfaction were analyzed. The study was conducted using the author’s questionnaire and the SWLS scale in the paper-and-pencil version on a group of 407 young Catholics belonging and not belonging to religious communities. Results: The results indicate that belonging to a religious community differentiates the level of experienced stress only in the area of religiosity (no differences were noted in terms of stress as a whole) and differentiated the level of life satisfaction. It turns out that gender differentiates the level of experienced stress both in the group of people belonging and not belonging to the religious community and in the entire studied sample. Women in all groups are characterized by a higher level of experienced stress. Selected areas of experienced stress, which are differentiated by gender and which concern interpersonal relations and the political situation, have been described. Gender also differentiates the level of life satisfaction. In the entire group of respondents, men indicate a higher level of life satisfaction than women. Life satisfaction, on the other hand, negatively correlates with the assessment of experienced stress, which is confirmed by the already existing reports on this subject. Conclusions: Persons belonging to religious communities, treating religiosity as an important value in their lives, feel a higher level of stress in this area. In addition, they experience stress on a very similar level to that of their non-religious peers, but at the same time they are characterized by a higher level of life satisfaction. The results of the study indicate the potential of religious communities and suggest a special sensitivity towards girls and women whose psychological situation is more difficult in the area of experienced stress and life satisfaction than the assessment of these aspects by boys and men.