The Varying Effects of Religiousness on Well-Being for Latter-Day Saint Sexual Minorities

Abstract Although religiousness may promote stigma and discrimination toward sexual minorities (SM), at least some SMs report benefitting from their religiousness. It is unclear, however, both how and why religiousness promotes well-being among these SMs. The present study uses a sample of 403 Latter-day Saint SMs to assess how behavioral, psychological, and social components of religiousness affect various aspects of well-being. Path analyses revealed that psychological aspects of religiousness were positively related to positive emotions, engagement, relationships, and meaning, with the strongest association existing between religious commitment and meaning in life. In contrast, behavioral aspects of religiousness were negatively related to positive emotions and meaning, and social aspects of religiousness did not demonstrate any significant relationships with well-being. These findings provide evidence that religiousness may benefit Latter-day Saint SMs psychologically (particularly by enhancing a sense of meaning), whereas behaviorally it may hinder well-being.