1 Religion , Health , and Well - Being among African Americans

INTRODUCTION A growing research literature associates various religious factors with positive mental and physical health, and even suggests that aspects of religious involvement may reduce mortality risk (for reviews, see Ellison, 1994; Koenig, 1994; Levin, 1994). Although there is wealth of evidence that religious institutions continue to play important social and political roles in the African American community (e.g., Lincoln & Mamiya, 1990), researchers have only recently begun to focus on the implications of religious involvement for the mental and physical well-being of individual African Americans. In addition to isolated studies that have appeared from time to time, several well-defined research programs have developed around these issues, as Levin (1994) points out. This brief article has two main objectives: (1) to summarize the empirical key findings regarding religion and well-being among African Americans; and (2) to identify various theoretical explanations for these observed relationships. THE EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE Life Satisfaction and Subjective Well-Being