Exploring religion, race and gender as factors in the life satisfaction and religiosity of young South African adults

We explored differences in religious and existential well-being, religiosity, and life satisfaction among university students across religion, race, and gender, by using an adapted version of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS), the Religious Orientation Test (ROT), and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). A convenience sample of 235 students participated in the study. The females (n = 188) reported significantly higher levels of religiosity and religious well-being than the males (n = 47). The white students (n = 43) were found to have lower religiosity levels than their black (n = 59) and Indian (n = 133) counterparts and higher life satisfaction scores than the black students. In the Indian sub-sample, the Muslim (n = 24) as well as the Christian (n = 29) students had higher levels of religiosity than the Hindu (n = 80) students. The Christian (Indian) students had significantly higher religious well-being scores than the Hindu (Indian) students. In line with past research, the correlations between life satisfaction, religiosity, and religious well-being were significant. As scores on the SWLS increased, levels of religiosity and religious well-being also increased. The implications of the findings and the limitations of the study are discussed.