РЕЛИГИЈА И МЕНТАЛНО ЗДРАВЉЕ
RELIGION AND MENTAL HEALTH

Summary/Abstract: The topic of this research is the analysis of the relation between religiosity and mental health of believers of the Orthodox and Protestant churches in comparison to the general population and the population of psychiatric patients in Serbia. The main goal of the research was to examine effects that religiosity had on mental health, as well as to examine whether there was a difference between different types of religiosity and religious affiliation (churches and sects). This comparative research was conducted in Belgrade and Novi Sad between 1998 and 2013. The sample was comprised of 621 respondents. According to results, there are differences between healthy and ill respondents that are significant on all variables, while differences between different groups of believers can be observed only on some variables. Questions that this paper seeks to answer are: Which variables related to mental health are influenced by religion, and does religion improve or imperil mental health? In what way does the society establish criteria for evaluating the other and the different and in how does this reflect on self-image? These and numerous other questions asked during the work open the possibility of practical application of this research.

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