Depressive Feelings in Religious Minorities: Does the Religious Context Matter?
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Depressive Feelings in Religious Minorities: Does the Religious Context Matter? Sarah M. Van de Velde1 · Veerle Buffel1 · Lore Van Praag2
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract In the present study, the authors examine the extent to which depressive feelings vary across religious denominations and how this relates to the religious context. We apply a multilevel model using data from the sixth (2012) and seventh (2014) wave of the European Social Surveys, comparing 268 regions within 28 European countries. We find that religious minorities report more depressive feelings than non-minorities, except in regions with a majority of Muslims. A higher likelihood to experience discrimination, as well as the higher proportion of migrants within the religious minority groups, explains a substantial part of this mental health disparity. Keywords Religious minorities · Depressive feelings · Religious context
Introduction The relevance of religious denomination to mental health was first exemplified by Durkheim (1897) who distinguished Protestantism from Catholicism and Judaism in terms of their ability to offer integrative values. Since then, many researchers have examined the universals and the specifics of different denominations to explain differences in health and well-being across religious groups. However, to date only a handful of studies examined how these denominational differences are dependent of occupying a religious minority position, as well as how the meaning of occupying * Sarah M. Van de Velde [email protected] Veerle Buffel [email protected] Lore Van Praag [email protected] 1
Centre for Population, Family and Health, Department of Sociology, University of Antwerp, Sint‑Jacobstraat 2‑4, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium
2
Centre for Migration and Intercultural Studies, Department of Sociology, University of Antwerp, Lange Nieuwstraat 55, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium
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Vol.:(0123456789)
Journal of Religion and Health
a minority position to mental health may be moderated by the broader religious context. Available studies find that occupying a religious minority position within a particular context can lead to more depressive feelings in minority members (May and Smilde 2016; Van de Velde et al. 2017). According to the minority stress model, minorities may have less social support, a more vulnerable socioeconomic position, and/or face more prejudices and discrimination (Missinne and Bracke 2012; Pascoe and Smart Richman 2009). At the same time, people’s interpersonal relations are preferably homogeneous regarding many sociodemographic, behavioral, and intrapersonal characteristics (McPherson et al. 2001). This homophily preference in people’s networks yields large consequences for their mental health and social life experiences (e.g., level of happiness and sense of belonging: Okulicz-Kozaryn 2019). Consequently, being part of a specific religious community may provide (preferred) social networks that could even be strengthened, just beca
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