Relationship between Practicing Religious Beliefs and Happiness among Students of Semnan University of Medical Sciences

 Happiness is one of the positive emotions in a person that affects his/her thoughts, feelings and behaviors and is closely related to religious beliefs. The present study was conducted to investigate the correlation between practicing religious beliefs and happiness in students of Semnan University of Medical Sciences.

 The present study was descriptive-analytical and correlational, which was carried out in a cross-sectional manner. The statistical population included all students of Semnan University of Medical Sciences and the sample size based on multistage random sampling included 390 volunteer students. The main variables were practicing religious beliefs and happiness and the measurement instruments included two psychometric questionnaires of Temple and Oxford. In the present study, all ethical considerations were observed and the authors reported no conflict of interests.

 Data analysis showed that the correlation between religious beliefs and happiness was 0.26 (P<0.001). Therefore, there was a positive and significant correlation between happiness and the practice of religious beliefs. The degree of slight correlation between religious beliefs and happiness in terms of maternal education was significant only in mothers with diploma, postgraduate education and above.

 Considering the positive correlation between practicing religious beliefs and happiness, appropriate planning by university administrators is recommended to strengthen religious beliefs in students and their commitment to religious duties. Increasing students’ happiness can play an important role in increasing hope and promoting scientific activities.