The Relation between Religion and Well-Being Adam B. Cohen 1 & Kathryn A. Johnson 1 Received: 27 October 2015 / Accepted: 31 May 2016 # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht and The International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS) 2016 Abstract This article reviews research on religion and well-being, focusing primarily on Western, traditional religions. We provide some nuance, caveats, and future direc- tions for further research. We discuss how and why religious groups may differ in their well-being, that there may be important subgroup differences, that there are multiple dimensions to both religion and well-being, that religion and other cultural identities may interact to impact well-being, and that religion (e.g., religious anxieties) may be associated with lower well-being in some ways. We consider how religious extremism relates to well-being and also suggest that more research is needed regarding well-being in other types of religious and spiritual groups. We hope that this article will add complexity to the important intersections between religion and well-being. Keywords Religion . Well-being . Happiness . Life satisfaction The Relation between Religion and Well-Being In an increasingly secular and global society, some question whether religion contributes to, or impedes, well-being (Diener et al. 2011; Mochon et al. 2011). In the early twentieth century, Freud considered religion to be a psychopathological, neurotic wish-fulfillment. However, the current zeitgeist of work on religion and well-being seems much more charitable. Today, religion is viewed as a powerful coping mechanism (Pargament and Park 1997) and a (perhaps uniquely suited) system to provide meaning in life (Park 2005). Indeed, even Freud admitted that, B.. . only religion can answer the question of the purpose of life. One can hardly be wrong in concluding that the idea of life having a purpose stands and falls with the religious system^ (Freud 1961/1927, p. 25). Applied Research Quality Life DOI 10.1007/s11482-016-9475-6 * Adam B. Cohen adamcohen@asu.edu 1 Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, PO Box 871104, Tempe, AZ 85287-1104, USA