Humility, compassion, and gratitude to God: Assessing the relationships among key religious virtues.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between religion and gratitude to God. A special emphasis is placed on key virtues that are promoted in the church. A conceptual model is developed that contains the following core hypotheses: (a) more frequent attendance at religious services will bolster feelings of religious commitment, (b) people who are more committed to their faith will be more likely to adopt religious teachings that extol the virtue of humility, (c) people who are more humble will be more compassionate, (d) individuals who are more compassionate are more likely to provide support to others, (e) providing support to others helps people derive a deeper sense of religious meaning in life, and (f) individuals who have found a deeper sense of meaning through their faith will feel more grateful to God. Data from a recent nationwide survey provide support for each of these relationships.