Exploring Social Belonging and Meaning in Religious Groups

Abstract

Participation in religious groups may help religious individuals experience higher levels of belonging and meaning. The current study explored how the makeup of religious groups as either ideologically homogeneous or diverse influences belonging and meaning, and also tested religious intellectual humility as a possible moderator of this relationship. Participants (N = 229) were randomly assigned to imagine themselves participating in an ideologically homogeneous or diverse group, and then completed a series of questionnaires. Participants in the ideologically diverse condition reported lower levels of belonging and meaning than did participants in the ideologically homogenous condition, but this effect was not as large for participants high in intellectual humility. High levels of religious commitment and intrinsic religious orientation predicted lower levels of intellectual humility, and high levels of quest religious orientation predicted higher levels of intellectual humility. We conclude by discussing limitations and areas for future research.