Abstract
We published a meta-analysis to determine the longitudinal positive effect of religion or spirituality (R/S) on mental health. Forty-eight longitudinal studies were summarized (59 independent samples). The meta-analysis yielded a significant, but small overall effect size of r =.08. We concluded that there is evidence for a positive effect of R/S on mental health, but this effect is small. Our meta-analysis was recently criticized in this Journal by Koenig et al. Scientific debate is welcome, but we disagree with most of their comments. Our reply focusses on the following topics: Is the effect of R/S small? Might methodological issues underlie the small overall effect size? Randomized controlled studies, and change course and look elsewhere for more convincing results?
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 45-50 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2-Jan-2021 |