The Impact of Religious Practices on Mental Health

The gloomy picture of the society marked by erosion of moral values, growing number of corporate scandals, general environment distrust, lack of harmony and happiness in daily living, increasing rate of depression and sense of alienation. But recent years have been recognized for growing concerns about people's physical and mental health and well- being in relation to goal or purpose in their life. The practice of religious values help to transform the people for better quality of life, quality of service and transparency of relations. Self management is an area where human beings have to make a rational balance in between two aspects of human life: One that relates to the physical body which can be termed as materialism; and other that relates to the inner self. Harmonious co-existence of the two is essential for gaining holistic experience of life. Religiosity has been found to be a significant indicator of co-existence between two. Religious practices promote the level of satisfaction and over all well-being of individuals. The nature of mental well-being and attainment of well-being through the cultivation of religious values emphasize four types of mental balance i.e. conative, attentional, cognitive and effective. In this paper the attempt has been made to discuss the relationship between religious values and mental health.