Influence of Catholic Religious Practices on Spiritual Well-Being: A Study on Happiness, Resilience, Forgiveness, and Gratitude Across 19 Countries

Abstract This study aims to analyze the influence of Catholic religious practices—such as frequency of prayer, prayer recitation, attendance at Mass, and attendance at Eucharistic Adoration—on spiritual well-being, including their impacts on happiness, resilience, forgiveness, and gratitude, among Latin American and Caribbean populations. The study employed an explanatory design with observable variables. The sample consisted of 3,013 individuals (men: $$22.8\text{\%}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>22.8</mml:mn> <mml:mtext>\%</mml:mtext> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> , women: $$77.2\text{\%}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>77.2</mml:mn> <mml:mtext>\%</mml:mtext> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> ) from 19 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean. The instruments used were a sociodemographic form that included four questions related to Catholic religious practices, the Spiritual Well-Being Scale, the Trait Forgivingness Scale, the Gratitude Scale, the Brief Resilience Scale, and the Subjective Happiness Scale. The findings indicate that engagement in Catholic religious practices has a positive impact on spiritual well-being, which in turn enhances the psychological traits associated with personal and social development, thereby contributing to a fuller life.