Cultural religiosity moderates the relationship between being in love and subjective well-being

Olechowski M.;Gorski M. R.;Joshanloo M.;Hussain M. A.;Wasiel A.;Yeung V. W. L.;Bond M. H.;Haas B. W.;Guemaz F.;Boussena M.;Sanchez-Rodriguez A.;Iter N.;Vlasenko O.;Lun V. M. -C.;Li L. M. W.;Aminnuddin N. A.;Isik I.;Ndiaye D. G.;Fulop M.;Igbokwe D.;Adamovic M.;Gardarsdottir R. B.;Soboleva N.;Teyssier J.;Gluckstad F. K.;Park J.;Akaliyski P.;Akello G.;Akotia C.;Al-Zoubi M.;Albert I.;Almakaeva A.;Andrade L.;Appoh L.;Mira D. M. A.;Bakyono-Nabaloum R.;Baltin A.;Marroquin P. E. B.;Boer D.;Costin V.;Espinosa A. D.;Espinosa A.;Esteves C. S.;Gamsakhurdia V.;Gavreliuc A.;Gjoneska B.;Hasanov R.;Igou E. R.;Imran M. A.;Iqbal N.;Kascakova N.;Kracmarova L. K.;Kocimska-Bortnowska A.;Kosiarczyk A.;Kostoula O.;Kronberger N.;Kwiatkowska A.;Lauri M. A.;Lee J. H.;Luzniak-Piecha M.;Malyonov A.;Malyonova A.;Maricchiolo F.;Mohammed L.;Mohoric T.;Mokadem F.;Mosanya M.;Mosca O.;Murdock E.;Mustaffa N. F.;Myslinska-Szarek K.;Nader M.;Nadi A.;Ochoa D.;Okvitawanli A.;Palikot E.;Denoux P.;Pavlopoulos V.;Pavlovic Z.;Solcova I. P.;Rizwan M.;Rocha A. M.;Romashov V.;Roysamb E.;Samekin A.;Sargautyte R.;Schwarz B.;Selim H.;Serdarevich U.;Sirlopu D.;Sobhie R.;Sokolov B.;Stogianni M.;Stoyanova S.;Streng M.;Sun C. -R.;Tonnessen M.;Torres C.;Tra K. T. T.;Turjacanin V.;Uchida Y.;van Osch Y.;van Tilburg W.;Vauclair C. -M.;Vergara-Morales J.;Vignoles V. L.;Xing C.;Yakhlef B.;Yau E. K.;Yeung J. C.;Zelenski J.;Krys K.

2025-01-01

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Abstract

Previous research indicates that the significance of love varies considerably across cultures. In the present study, we introduce an often-overlooked cultural factor – religiosity – to explore its influence on the relationship between being in love and five dimensions of subjective well-being. We conducted two cross-cultural studies with 31,608 participants from 117 samples across 83 societies. Our findings reveal that, in more religious cultures, being in love is a weaker predictor of well-being compared to more secular cultures in four out of six models. These findings indicate that national context influences the relative importance of various emotions and experiences for well-being, underscoring the need to account for cultural context in research on love.