RELEVANCE OF EDUCATION AND ENVIRONMENT ON RELIGIOSITY, QUALITY OF LIFE AND HAPPINESS

"Religiosity is an inclination to find meaning and purpose of life in order to live an integrated life. Religiosity provides goals and value system, which shapes different aspects of life and enhances mental health and happiness. The objective of this paper is to review the relevance of education for mental health, happiness and religiosity in different Indian environmental context. Four hundred subjects from rural and urban population residing in various location of India were administered Oxford Happiness inventory test, WHO-QOL questionnaires and Religious orientation questionnaire. Multivariate ANOVA performed on differentiation scores revealed significant effects. Findings reveal that significant differences emerged in QOL, Happiness and Religiosity as a function of education, where less educated have higher degree of happiness and religiosity than highly educated participants. Education effect was statistically significant on Religiosity, Quality of Life and Happiness. The data suggests a strong trend in the expected direction. The findings have been discussed in terms of the characteristic education patterns of Indian subcontinent."