Life Satisfaction and General Health of Elderly Muslims Practicing Regular Collective Religious Prayer

Abstract

The present study examined the impact of five times regularly performed religious practices on and life satisfaction and general health (somatic symptoms, anxiety/insomnia, social dysfunction, and severe depression) among old age Muslims. For this purpose 100 old age subjects belonging to Muslim religious community, age ranging from 65 to 75 years, who reported to perform the religious prayers (Salat) in the mosque collectively five times a day and 100 Muslim subjects of the same age who were not regular at such religious congregation were selected. They were administered a general health questionnaire and life satisfaction scale. In order to find out the significance of the difference between the two comparisons groups, a t-test was used. The results revealed significantly greater life satisfaction, and lesser general health problems like hypochondria, anxiety/insomnia, social dysfunction, and severe depression for subjects who were regular at collective religious prayers than for those subjects who were not attending the collective prayers regularly. Thus the regular participation in the collective religious practices emerged as the factor that may enhance the life satisfaction of old age people, whereas the nonparticipation in collective religious practices may cause to develop somatic symptoms, feel more anxiety/insomnia, cause social impairment and lead experience severe depression in the old age.