Psychological Functions of Religious Holidays vs. Non-Religious Vacation: Findings from a Series of Experiments about Shabbat

Background:Studies have increasingly examined religious rituals and spiritual practices for their potential psychological benefits. However, research has not sufficiently investigated how specific meaning-making frameworks associated with those practices contribute to psychological well-being and prosociality. Aims:This series of three experiments examined whether increasing the psychological salience of Shabbat among Jews had a greater impact on a variety of outcomes – feelings of security, positive and negative emotions (Study 1), prosocial emotions (Study 2), and transcendence (Study 3) – than primes of a non-religious vacation day or a routine workday. We examined whether this effect was moderated by level of religiosity and attachment to God.Methods:Participants (n = 240 for each of the three studies) were administered surveys of aspects of religiosity and spirituality. Participants were then randomized to a priming condition to reflect on their experiences with Shabbat, a non-religious vacation day, and a routine workday. Then, outcome measures were administered. Results:In each of the three experiments, the Shabbat prime consistently led to more favorable outcomes on dependent variables than the two control groups (d range = .43-.53), except for negative emotion and personal distress while witnessing others' suffering. Outcomes did not differ between the non-religious vacation and routine workday conditions. While religiosity also predicted more favorable outcomes, there were no significant interaction effects between experimental condition and religiosity. Though correlations with attachment to God were not always significant, those that were associated were consistently in theorized directions. However, there was no interaction whereby attachment to God moderated effects of experimental conditions. Conclusion:Across three experiments, priming participants to reflect on Shabbat yielded consistently more favorable psychological outcomes than secular analogs. Effects of ritual behavior may be enhanced by processes of religious meaning-making beyond ritual behavior alone. Heightening symbolic and emotional salience of meaning may reinforce potential benefits of religious practices or spiritual exercises.