Spirituality Studies 11-1 Spring 2025 59 Carmen María Salvador-Ferrer Relationships Between Religiosity, Self-Esteem, and Purpose in Life Received December 20, 2024 Revised January 20, 2025 Accepted January 21, 2025 Keywords Religiosity, spirituality, self-esteem, purpose in life, mediation model This exploratory study analyzes whether self-esteem and religiosity influence life purpose. A questionnaire was used in which there are three scales: Purpose of Life (García-Alandete, Martínez and Nohales 2013; PIL-10 with Cronbach’s alpha score=.904); The Religiosity Scale (Koenig, Parkerson and Meador 1997; Duke Religion Index with Cronbach’s alpha score=.890); and Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg 1965; Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale with Cronbach’s alpha score=.875). This instrument was administered to 963 participants of which 35% were women and 65% were men. The correlation data shows statistically significant relationships between most variables, except the association between negative selfesteem vs. religiosity. In regression analysis, the findings indicate that the three variables (religiosity, positive selfesteem, and negative self-esteem) have a statistically significant influence on the purpose of life. We found the highest positive self-esteem, followed by religiosity and, in the opposite extreme, with a negative impact, negative self-esteem. With mediation analysis, it is found that the relationship between religiosity and purpose of life is mediated by negative self-esteem. Religiosity can play a relevant role in self-esteem and purpose in life. These data indicate that if religious practices are worked, people will show a better value of themselves and will mark their purpose in life more clearly. Carmen María Salvador-Ferrer, Ph.D. serves as a Professor of Social Psychology at University of Almería, Spain. She has published numerous research studies in the field of Positive Psychology. Her recent research interest focuses on the holistic study of human happiness. Dr. Salvador-Ferrer can be reached at cmsalva@ual.es. Carmen María Salvador-Ferrer
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