Religion as a Resource? Unpacking the Longitudinal Dynamics Between Religiosity and Mental Health in sub-Saharan Africa

Most evidence on religiosity and mental health comes from the relatively unreligious West, often showing negligible protective effects. However, the importance of religion throughout human history suggests both societal and individual benefits. In a three-year longitudinal study in sub-Saharan Africa, we examined how religiosity influences mental health between and within individuals. Overall, people with higher religiosity reported greater life satisfaction and lower substance abuse, but showed no difference in internalizing symptoms (anxiety, depression, trauma sequelae). When individuals became more religious over time, mental health improved: stronger religious beliefs led to enhanced life satisfaction, and participation in religious activities alleviated internalizing symptoms. These findings show that religiosity can serve as a resource for mental health in highly religious contexts, in contrast to minimal longitudinal benefits on wellbeing in the West. An exploratory finding was that increases in life satisfaction led to decreases in religiosity, suggesting a possible mechanism of religious disengagement.