Cultural religiosity moderates the relationship between being in love and subjective well-being

Mateusz OLECHOWSKI; Maciej R. GÓRSKI; Mohsen JOSHANLOO; M. Azhar HUSSAIN; Arkadiusz WASIEL; Victoria Wai Lan YEUNG; Michael Harris BOND; Brian W. HAAS; Farida GUEMAZ; Mahmoud BOUSSENA; Ángel SÁNCHEZ-RODRÍGUEZ; Nuha ITER; Olha VLASENKO; Vivian Miu Chi LUN; Liman Man Wai LI; Nur Amali AMINNUDDIN; İdil IŞIK; Dieynaba Gabriel NDIAYE; Márta FÜLÖP; David IGBOKWE; Mladen ADAMOVIC; Ragna Benedikta GARÐARSDÓTTIR; Natalia SOBOLEVA; Julien TEYSSIER; Fumiko Kano GLÜCKSTAD; Joonha PARK; Plamen AKALIYSKI; Grace AKELLO; Charity AKOTIA; Marwan AL-ZOUBI; Isabelle ALBERT; Anna ALMAKAEVA; Laura ANDRADE; Lily APPOH; Douglas Marlon Arévalo MIRA; Rasmata BAKYONO-NABALOUM; Arno BALTIN; Pablo Eduardo Barrientos MARROQUIN; Diana BOER; Vlad COSTIN; Alejandra DOMÍNGUEZ-ESPINOSA; Agustin ESPINOSA; Carla Sofia ESTEVES; Vladimer GAMSAKHURDIA; Alin GAVRELIUC; Biljana GJONESKA; Rafail HASANOV; Eric Raymond IGOU; Mostak Ahamed IMRAN; Naved IQBAL; Natalia KASCAKOVA; Lucie Klůzová KRAČMÁROVÁ; Agata KOCIMSKA-BORTNOWSKA; Aleksandra KOSIARCZYK; Olga KOSTOULA; Nicole KRONBERGER; Anna KWIATKOWSKA; Mary Anne LAURI; J. Hannah LEE; Magdalena ŁUŻNIAK-PIECHA; Alexander MALYONOV; Arina MALYONOVA; Fridanna MARICCHIOLO; Linda MOHAMMED; Tamara MOHORIĆ; Fatma MOKADEM; Magdalena MOSANYA; Oriana MOSCA; Elke MURDOCK; Nur Fariza MUSTAFFA; Katarzyna MYŚLIŃSKA-SZAREK; Martin NADER; Azar NADI; Danielle OCHOA; Ayu OKVITAWANLI; Ewa PALIKOT; Patrick DENOUX; Vassilis PAVLOPOULOS; Zoran PAVLOVIĆ; Iva Poláčková ŠOLCOVÁ; Muhammad RIZWAN; Ana Maria ROCHA; Vladyslav ROMASHOV; Espen RØYSAMB; Adil SAMEKIN; Ruta SARGAUTYTE; Beate SCHWARZ; Heyla SELIM; Ursula SERDAREVICH; David SIRLOPÚ; Rosita SOBHIE; Boris SOKOLOV; Maria STOGIANNI; Stanislava STOYANOVA; Moritz STRENG; Chien Ru SUN; Morten TØNNESSEN; Claudio TORRES; Kiều Thị Thanh TRÀ; Vladimir TURJAČANIN; Yukiko UCHIDA; Yvette VAN OSCH; Wijnand VAN TILBURG; Christin Melanie VAUCLAIR; Jorge VERGARA-MORALES; Vivian L. VIGNOLES; Cai XING; Belkacem YAKHLEF; Eric Kenson YAU; June Chun YEUNG; John ZELENSKI; Kuba KRYS

doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2025.102227

Cultural religiosity moderates the relationship between being in love and subjective well-being

Mateusz OLECHOWSKI^*
, Maciej R. GÓRSKI
, Mohsen JOSHANLOO
, M. Azhar HUSSAIN
, Arkadiusz WASIEL
, Victoria Wai Lan YEUNG
, Michael Harris BOND
, Brian W. HAAS
, Farida GUEMAZ
, Mahmoud BOUSSENA
, Ángel SÁNCHEZ-RODRÍGUEZ
, Nuha ITER
, Olha VLASENKO
, Vivian Miu Chi LUN
, Liman Man Wai LI
, Nur Amali AMINNUDDIN
, İdil IŞIK
, Dieynaba Gabriel NDIAYE
, Márta FÜLÖP
, David IGBOKWE

Mladen ADAMOVIC, Ragna Benedikta GARÐARSDÓTTIR, Natalia SOBOLEVA, Julien TEYSSIER, Fumiko Kano GLÜCKSTAD, Joonha PARK, Plamen AKALIYSKI, Grace AKELLO, Charity AKOTIA, Marwan AL-ZOUBI, Isabelle ALBERT, Anna ALMAKAEVA, Laura ANDRADE, Lily APPOH, Douglas Marlon Arévalo MIRA, Rasmata BAKYONO-NABALOUM, Arno BALTIN, Pablo Eduardo Barrientos MARROQUIN, Diana BOER, Vlad COSTIN, Alejandra DOMÍNGUEZ-ESPINOSA, Agustin ESPINOSA, Carla Sofia ESTEVES, Vladimer GAMSAKHURDIA, Alin GAVRELIUC, Biljana GJONESKA, Rafail HASANOV, Eric Raymond IGOU, Mostak Ahamed IMRAN, Naved IQBAL, Natalia KASCAKOVA, Lucie Klůzová KRAČMÁROVÁ, Agata KOCIMSKA-BORTNOWSKA, Aleksandra KOSIARCZYK, Olga KOSTOULA, Nicole KRONBERGER, Anna KWIATKOWSKA, Mary Anne LAURI, J. Hannah LEE, Magdalena ŁUŻNIAK-PIECHA, Alexander MALYONOV, Arina MALYONOVA, Fridanna MARICCHIOLO, Linda MOHAMMED, Tamara MOHORIĆ, Fatma MOKADEM, Magdalena MOSANYA, Oriana MOSCA, Elke MURDOCK, Nur Fariza MUSTAFFA, Katarzyna MYŚLIŃSKA-SZAREK, Martin NADER, Azar NADI, Danielle OCHOA, Ayu OKVITAWANLI, Ewa PALIKOT, Patrick DENOUX, Vassilis PAVLOPOULOS, Zoran PAVLOVIĆ, Iva Poláčková ŠOLCOVÁ, Muhammad RIZWAN, Ana Maria ROCHA, Vladyslav ROMASHOV, Espen RØYSAMB, Adil SAMEKIN, Ruta SARGAUTYTE, Beate SCHWARZ, Heyla SELIM, Ursula SERDAREVICH, David SIRLOPÚ, Rosita SOBHIE, Boris SOKOLOV, Maria STOGIANNI, Stanislava STOYANOVA, Moritz STRENG, Chien Ru SUN, Morten TØNNESSEN, Claudio TORRES, Kiều Thị Thanh TRÀ, Vladimir TURJAČANIN, Yukiko UCHIDA, Yvette VAN OSCH, Wijnand VAN TILBURG, Christin Melanie VAUCLAIR, Jorge VERGARA-MORALES, Vivian L. VIGNOLES, Cai XING, Belkacem YAKHLEF, Eric Kenson YAU, June Chun YEUNG, John ZELENSKI, Kuba KRYS

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications › Journal Article (refereed) › peer-review

Abstract

Previous research indicates that the significance of love varies considerably across cultures. In the present study, we introduce an often-overlooked cultural factor – religiosity – to explore its influence on the relationship between being in love and five dimensions of subjective well-being. We conducted two cross-cultural studies with 31,608 participants from 117 samples across 83 societies. Our findings reveal that, in more religious cultures, being in love is a weaker predictor of well-being compared to more secular cultures in four out of six models. These findings indicate that national context influences the relative importance of various emotions and experiences for well-being, underscoring the need to account for cultural context in research on love.

Original language	English
Article number	102227
Number of pages	11
Journal	International Journal of Intercultural Relations
Volume	108
Early online date	8 Jul 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2025.102227
Publication status	Published - Sept 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025

Funding

This work was supported by the Polish National Science Centre under grant 2020/38/E/HS6/00357 ; Hungarian OTKA Grant K-111 789 ; Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development Grant 301298/2018-1 ; NPO “ Systemic Risk Institute ” Grant LX22NPO5101 funded by the European Union–Next Generation EU (Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, NPO: EXCELES, Czechia); University of Roma Department of Educational Studies Grant DSF 2017-2018 ; HSE University Basic Research Program; Ongoing Research Funding Program (ORF-2025-1204), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ; ESRC grant number ES/W00786X/1 ; Ministry of Science, Technological Development, and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia ( 451-03-66/2024-03/200163 ).

Keywords

Love
Well-being
Religiosity
Culture

Access to Document

10.1016/j.ijintrel.2025.102227

Cite this

OLECHOWSKI, M., GÓRSKI, M. R., JOSHANLOO, M., HUSSAIN, M. A., WASIEL, A., YEUNG, V. W. L., BOND, M. H., HAAS, B. W., GUEMAZ, F., BOUSSENA, M., SÁNCHEZ-RODRÍGUEZ, Á., ITER, N., VLASENKO, O., LUN, V. M. C., LI, L. M. W., AMINNUDDIN, N. A., IŞIK, İ., NDIAYE, D. G., FÜLÖP, M., ... KRYS, K. (2025). Cultural religiosity moderates the relationship between being in love and subjective well-being. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 108, Article 102227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2025.102227

@article{b5b249a0702648fab68a97b844590c5e,

title = "Cultural religiosity moderates the relationship between being in love and subjective well-being",

abstract = "Previous research indicates that the significance of love varies considerably across cultures. In the present study, we introduce an often-overlooked cultural factor – religiosity – to explore its influence on the relationship between being in love and five dimensions of subjective well-being. We conducted two cross-cultural studies with 31,608 participants from 117 samples across 83 societies. Our findings reveal that, in more religious cultures, being in love is a weaker predictor of well-being compared to more secular cultures in four out of six models. These findings indicate that national context influences the relative importance of various emotions and experiences for well-being, underscoring the need to account for cultural context in research on love.",

keywords = "Love, Well-being, Religiosity, Culture",

author = "Mateusz OLECHOWSKI and G{\'O}RSKI, \{Maciej R.\} and Mohsen JOSHANLOO and HUSSAIN, \{M. Azhar\} and Arkadiusz WASIEL and YEUNG, \{Victoria Wai Lan\} and BOND, \{Michael Harris\} and HAAS, \{Brian W.\} and Farida GUEMAZ and Mahmoud BOUSSENA and {\'A}ngel S{\'A}NCHEZ-RODR{\'I}GUEZ and Nuha ITER and Olha VLASENKO and LUN, \{Vivian Miu Chi\} and LI, \{Liman Man Wai\} and AMINNUDDIN, \{Nur Amali\} and İdil I{\c S}IK and NDIAYE, \{Dieynaba Gabriel\} and M{\'a}rta F{\"U}L{\"O}P and David IGBOKWE and Mladen ADAMOVIC and GAR{\DH}ARSD{\'O}TTIR, \{Ragna Benedikta\} and Natalia SOBOLEVA and Julien TEYSSIER and GL{\"U}CKSTAD, \{Fumiko Kano\} and Joonha PARK and Plamen AKALIYSKI and Grace AKELLO and Charity AKOTIA and Marwan AL-ZOUBI and Isabelle ALBERT and Anna ALMAKAEVA and Laura ANDRADE and Lily APPOH and MIRA, \{Douglas Marlon Ar{\'e}valo\} and Rasmata BAKYONO-NABALOUM and Arno BALTIN and MARROQUIN, \{Pablo Eduardo Barrientos\} and Diana BOER and Vlad COSTIN and Alejandra DOM{\'I}NGUEZ-ESPINOSA and Agustin ESPINOSA and ESTEVES, \{Carla Sofia\} and Vladimer GAMSAKHURDIA and Alin GAVRELIUC and Biljana GJONESKA and Rafail HASANOV and IGOU, \{Eric Raymond\} and IMRAN, \{Mostak Ahamed\} and Naved IQBAL and Natalia KASCAKOVA and KRA{\v C}M{\'A}ROV{\'A}, \{Lucie Klůzov{\'a}\} and Agata KOCIMSKA-BORTNOWSKA and Aleksandra KOSIARCZYK and Olga KOSTOULA and Nicole KRONBERGER and Anna KWIATKOWSKA and LAURI, \{Mary Anne\} and LEE, \{J. Hannah\} and Magdalena {\L}U{\.Z}NIAK-PIECHA and Alexander MALYONOV and Arina MALYONOVA and Fridanna MARICCHIOLO and Linda MOHAMMED and Tamara MOHORI{\'C} and Fatma MOKADEM and Magdalena MOSANYA and Oriana MOSCA and Elke MURDOCK and MUSTAFFA, \{Nur Fariza\} and Katarzyna MY{\'S}LI{\'N}SKA-SZAREK and Martin NADER and Azar NADI and Danielle OCHOA and Ayu OKVITAWANLI and Ewa PALIKOT and Patrick DENOUX and Vassilis PAVLOPOULOS and Zoran PAVLOVI{\'C} and {\v S}OLCOV{\'A}, \{Iva Pol{\'a}{\v c}kov{\'a}\} and Muhammad RIZWAN and ROCHA, \{Ana Maria\} and Vladyslav ROMASHOV and Espen R{\O}YSAMB and Adil SAMEKIN and Ruta SARGAUTYTE and Beate SCHWARZ and Heyla SELIM and Ursula SERDAREVICH and David SIRLOP{\'U} and Rosita SOBHIE and Boris SOKOLOV and Maria STOGIANNI and Stanislava STOYANOVA and Moritz STRENG and SUN, \{Chien Ru\} and Morten T{\O}NNESSEN and Claudio TORRES and TR{\`A}, \{Kiều Thị Thanh\} and Vladimir TURJA{\v C}ANIN and Yukiko UCHIDA and \{VAN OSCH\}, Yvette and \{VAN TILBURG\}, Wijnand and VAUCLAIR, \{Christin Melanie\} and Jorge VERGARA-MORALES and VIGNOLES, \{Vivian L.\} and Cai XING and Belkacem YAKHLEF and YAU, \{Eric Kenson\} and YEUNG, \{June Chun\} and John ZELENSKI and Kuba KRYS",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025",

year = "2025",

month = sep,

doi = "10.1016/j.ijintrel.2025.102227",

language = "English",

volume = "108",

journal = "International Journal of Intercultural Relations",

issn = "0147-1767",

publisher = "Elsevier Ltd",

}

OLECHOWSKI, M, GÓRSKI, MR, JOSHANLOO, M, HUSSAIN, MA, WASIEL, A, YEUNG, VWL, BOND, MH, HAAS, BW, GUEMAZ, F, BOUSSENA, M, SÁNCHEZ-RODRÍGUEZ, Á, ITER, N, VLASENKO, O, LUN, VMC, LI, LMW, AMINNUDDIN, NA, IŞIK, İ, NDIAYE, DG, FÜLÖP, M, IGBOKWE, D, ADAMOVIC, M, GARÐARSDÓTTIR, RB, SOBOLEVA, N, TEYSSIER, J, GLÜCKSTAD, FK, PARK, J, AKALIYSKI, P, AKELLO, G, AKOTIA, C, AL-ZOUBI, M, ALBERT, I, ALMAKAEVA, A, ANDRADE, L, APPOH, L, MIRA, DMA, BAKYONO-NABALOUM, R, BALTIN, A, MARROQUIN, PEB, BOER, D, COSTIN, V, DOMÍNGUEZ-ESPINOSA, A, ESPINOSA, A, ESTEVES, CS, GAMSAKHURDIA, V, GAVRELIUC, A, GJONESKA, B, HASANOV, R, IGOU, ER, IMRAN, MA, IQBAL, N, KASCAKOVA, N, KRAČMÁROVÁ, LK, KOCIMSKA-BORTNOWSKA, A, KOSIARCZYK, A, KOSTOULA, O, KRONBERGER, N, KWIATKOWSKA, A, LAURI, MA, LEE, JH, ŁUŻNIAK-PIECHA, M, MALYONOV, A, MALYONOVA, A, MARICCHIOLO, F, MOHAMMED, L, MOHORIĆ, T, MOKADEM, F, MOSANYA, M, MOSCA, O, MURDOCK, E, MUSTAFFA, NF, MYŚLIŃSKA-SZAREK, K, NADER, M, NADI, A, OCHOA, D, OKVITAWANLI, A, PALIKOT, E, DENOUX, P, PAVLOPOULOS, V, PAVLOVIĆ, Z, ŠOLCOVÁ, IP, RIZWAN, M, ROCHA, AM, ROMASHOV, V, RØYSAMB, E, SAMEKIN, A, SARGAUTYTE, R, SCHWARZ, B, SELIM, H, SERDAREVICH, U, SIRLOPÚ, D, SOBHIE, R, SOKOLOV, B, STOGIANNI, M, STOYANOVA, S, STRENG, M, SUN, CR, TØNNESSEN, M, TORRES, C, TRÀ, KTT, TURJAČANIN, V, UCHIDA, Y, VAN OSCH, Y, VAN TILBURG, W, VAUCLAIR, CM, VERGARA-MORALES, J, VIGNOLES, VL, XING, C, YAKHLEF, B, YAU, EK, YEUNG, JC, ZELENSKI, J & KRYS, K 2025, 'Cultural religiosity moderates the relationship between being in love and subjective well-being', International Journal of Intercultural Relations, vol. 108, 102227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2025.102227

TY - JOUR

T1 - Cultural religiosity moderates the relationship between being in love and subjective well-being

AU - OLECHOWSKI, Mateusz

AU - GÓRSKI, Maciej R.

AU - JOSHANLOO, Mohsen

AU - HUSSAIN, M. Azhar

AU - WASIEL, Arkadiusz

AU - YEUNG, Victoria Wai Lan

AU - BOND, Michael Harris

AU - HAAS, Brian W.

AU - GUEMAZ, Farida

AU - BOUSSENA, Mahmoud

AU - SÁNCHEZ-RODRÍGUEZ, Ángel

AU - ITER, Nuha

AU - VLASENKO, Olha

AU - LUN, Vivian Miu Chi

AU - LI, Liman Man Wai

AU - AMINNUDDIN, Nur Amali

AU - IŞIK, İdil

AU - NDIAYE, Dieynaba Gabriel

AU - FÜLÖP, Márta

AU - IGBOKWE, David

AU - ADAMOVIC, Mladen

AU - GARÐARSDÓTTIR, Ragna Benedikta

AU - SOBOLEVA, Natalia

AU - TEYSSIER, Julien

AU - GLÜCKSTAD, Fumiko Kano

AU - PARK, Joonha

AU - AKALIYSKI, Plamen

AU - AKELLO, Grace

AU - AKOTIA, Charity

AU - AL-ZOUBI, Marwan

AU - ALBERT, Isabelle

AU - ALMAKAEVA, Anna

AU - ANDRADE, Laura

AU - APPOH, Lily

AU - MIRA, Douglas Marlon Arévalo

AU - BAKYONO-NABALOUM, Rasmata

AU - BALTIN, Arno

AU - MARROQUIN, Pablo Eduardo Barrientos

AU - BOER, Diana

AU - COSTIN, Vlad

AU - DOMÍNGUEZ-ESPINOSA, Alejandra

AU - ESPINOSA, Agustin

AU - ESTEVES, Carla Sofia

AU - GAMSAKHURDIA, Vladimer

AU - GAVRELIUC, Alin

AU - GJONESKA, Biljana

AU - HASANOV, Rafail

AU - IGOU, Eric Raymond

AU - IMRAN, Mostak Ahamed

AU - IQBAL, Naved

AU - KASCAKOVA, Natalia

AU - KRAČMÁROVÁ, Lucie Klůzová

AU - KOCIMSKA-BORTNOWSKA, Agata

AU - KOSIARCZYK, Aleksandra

AU - KOSTOULA, Olga

AU - KRONBERGER, Nicole

AU - KWIATKOWSKA, Anna

AU - LAURI, Mary Anne

AU - LEE, J. Hannah

AU - ŁUŻNIAK-PIECHA, Magdalena

AU - MALYONOV, Alexander

AU - MALYONOVA, Arina

AU - MARICCHIOLO, Fridanna

AU - MOHAMMED, Linda

AU - MOHORIĆ, Tamara

AU - MOKADEM, Fatma

AU - MOSANYA, Magdalena

AU - MOSCA, Oriana

AU - MURDOCK, Elke

AU - MUSTAFFA, Nur Fariza

AU - MYŚLIŃSKA-SZAREK, Katarzyna

AU - NADER, Martin

AU - NADI, Azar

AU - OCHOA, Danielle

AU - OKVITAWANLI, Ayu

AU - PALIKOT, Ewa

AU - DENOUX, Patrick

AU - PAVLOPOULOS, Vassilis

AU - PAVLOVIĆ, Zoran

AU - ŠOLCOVÁ, Iva Poláčková

AU - RIZWAN, Muhammad

AU - ROCHA, Ana Maria

AU - ROMASHOV, Vladyslav

AU - RØYSAMB, Espen

AU - SAMEKIN, Adil

AU - SARGAUTYTE, Ruta

AU - SCHWARZ, Beate

AU - SELIM, Heyla

AU - SERDAREVICH, Ursula

AU - SIRLOPÚ, David

AU - SOBHIE, Rosita

AU - SOKOLOV, Boris

AU - STOGIANNI, Maria

AU - STOYANOVA, Stanislava

AU - STRENG, Moritz

AU - SUN, Chien Ru

AU - TØNNESSEN, Morten

AU - TORRES, Claudio

AU - TRÀ, Kiều Thị Thanh

AU - TURJAČANIN, Vladimir

AU - UCHIDA, Yukiko

AU - VAN OSCH, Yvette

AU - VAN TILBURG, Wijnand

AU - VAUCLAIR, Christin Melanie

AU - VERGARA-MORALES, Jorge

AU - VIGNOLES, Vivian L.

AU - XING, Cai

AU - YAKHLEF, Belkacem

AU - YAU, Eric Kenson

AU - YEUNG, June Chun

AU - ZELENSKI, John

AU - KRYS, Kuba

PY - 2025/9

Y1 - 2025/9

N2 - Previous research indicates that the significance of love varies considerably across cultures. In the present study, we introduce an often-overlooked cultural factor – religiosity – to explore its influence on the relationship between being in love and five dimensions of subjective well-being. We conducted two cross-cultural studies with 31,608 participants from 117 samples across 83 societies. Our findings reveal that, in more religious cultures, being in love is a weaker predictor of well-being compared to more secular cultures in four out of six models. These findings indicate that national context influences the relative importance of various emotions and experiences for well-being, underscoring the need to account for cultural context in research on love.

AB - Previous research indicates that the significance of love varies considerably across cultures. In the present study, we introduce an often-overlooked cultural factor – religiosity – to explore its influence on the relationship between being in love and five dimensions of subjective well-being. We conducted two cross-cultural studies with 31,608 participants from 117 samples across 83 societies. Our findings reveal that, in more religious cultures, being in love is a weaker predictor of well-being compared to more secular cultures in four out of six models. These findings indicate that national context influences the relative importance of various emotions and experiences for well-being, underscoring the need to account for cultural context in research on love.

KW - Love

KW - Well-being

KW - Religiosity

KW - Culture

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105009905086

U2 - 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2025.102227

DO - 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2025.102227

M3 - Journal Article (refereed)

AN - SCOPUS:105009905086

SN - 0147-1767

VL - 108

JO - International Journal of Intercultural Relations

JF - International Journal of Intercultural Relations

M1 - 102227

ER -

Cultural religiosity moderates the relationship between being in love and subjective well-being

Abstract

Bibliographical note

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Keywords

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