New study sheds light on what helps nonbelievers thrive psychologically in a religious culture

A new study published in the Archive for the Psychology of Religion explores how nonbelievers in Poland maintain psychological well-being in a predominantly religious culture. The researchers found that greater clarity in self-beliefs, access to social support, and use of adaptive emotional strategies were strongly linked to meaning in life and overall well-being. Secular values such as humanism and belief in science were also associated with positive outcomes, but not as consistently.

The researchers conducted this study to address a long-standing gap in psychology. While many studies have examined the benefits of religious involvement, fewer have looked at what supports mental health in people who do not hold religious beliefs. This oversight has created a lopsided view of well-being, often suggesting that religion is essential to a meaningful or mentally healthy life. In response, the study sought to investigate the factors that support psychological functioning among people who do not believe in God or a higher power.

“Much of the existing psychological research on how beliefs relate to well-being has historically focused on religious believers, leaving nonbelievers underrepresented. This gap is particularly important in places like Poland, one of the fastest secularizing countries globally, where nonbelievers are becoming increasingly prominent,” said study author Paweł Łowicki, an
assistant professor at the University of Warsaw

“Many of these individuals hold meaningful secular beliefs—such as humanism or belief in science—which may be linked to different aspects of well-being. We wanted to explore these associations and better understand the factors connected to well-being in this growing but often overlooked group.”

Poland has traditionally been deeply religious but is now experiencing one of the fastest rates of secularization in the world. The researchers surveyed 500 Polish adults who stated they did not believe in a god or higher power. Of these participants, 38% reported no affiliation with any religious or secular group, 33% identified as Roman Catholic, and 22% identified as atheist. The rest were agnostic or identified with other labels. The participants ranged in age from 18 to 85 and were equally split by gender.

“What stood out most was the diversity within our sample,” Łowicki told PsyPost. “Although all participants identified as not believing in God or a higher power, a significant number still reported affiliation with religious groups, particularly Roman Catholicism. This highlights that belief and affiliation don’t always go hand in hand. People may identify with religious or secular communities for various personal, social, or cultural reasons, independent of supernatural belief. It speaks to the complexity and heterogeneity of the nonbeliever population and the importance of distinguishing between belief and group identity.”

To measure well-being and its potential predictors, the researchers used a series of questionnaires. These included tools to assess life satisfaction, happiness, meaning in life, perceived social support, emotion regulation strategies, clarity of self-beliefs, and endorsement of secular values like humanism and belief in science. Humanism was measured as a belief in human dignity and the importance of reducing suffering. Belief in science was defined as trust in science as the most effective way to understand reality.

The researchers found that social support and the use of adaptive emotion regulation strategies—such as acceptance, reappraisal, and problem-solving—were the strongest predictors of well-being. These strategies helped participants manage negative emotions in constructive ways and were consistently linked to higher levels of happiness and life satisfaction. People who reported having strong support from family and friends also reported greater meaning in life and overall well-being.

Clarity of self-beliefs—the degree to which people felt they had a stable and coherent understanding of who they are—was another important predictor. Individuals who were clear about their self-concept tended to score higher on measures of happiness and life satisfaction. This clarity was also related to a greater sense of meaning in life, suggesting that having a stable identity might be beneficial regardless of religious belief.

Secular beliefs played a more mixed role. Endorsing humanism was positively associated with meaning in life and, indirectly, with well-being. However, belief in science showed a more complex pattern. While it was linked to some measures of meaning and emotion regulation, it was negatively associated with overall well-being when other variables were taken into account. The researchers suggested that this could be partly explained by the timing of the study. It was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, when trust in science may have been challenged by widespread frustration and uncertainty.

Interestingly, the study found minimal differences in well-being between people of different (non)religious affiliations. Atheists and Roman Catholics reported similar levels of life satisfaction and happiness. The only statistically significant difference showed slightly higher well-being among Roman Catholics compared to those with no group affiliation, but the effect size was small. There were no differences between the groups in terms of social support or meaning in life.

“Our findings suggest that nonbelievers’ well-being is not only related to secular beliefs like humanism, but also to broader psychological and social resources,” Łowicki explaiend. “In particular, perceived social support, the use of constructive emotion regulation strategies, and clarity of self-beliefs were all linked with greater well-being and a stronger sense of meaning in life. These results point to a range of factors—beyond religious belief—that may support well-being in secular populations.”

But there are some limitations to consider. The study focused exclusively on people living in Poland, a country with a unique cultural and religious history. As a result, the findings may not generalize to nonbelievers in other countries or cultural settings. The data were also collected at a single point in time.

“The main limitation of our study is that it was cross-sectional and correlational, meaning we cannot draw conclusions about causality,” Łowicki noted. “While we found several associations between well-being and factors such as secular beliefs, social support, and emotion regulation, we cannot determine the direction of these relationships. Future studies using longitudinal or experimental methods would be needed to examine how these dynamics develop over time.”

Despite these limitations, the study makes an important contribution to our understanding of mental health outside of religious frameworks. It highlights that nonbelievers are not a monolithic group and that their well-being is shaped by a range of psychological, social, and philosophical factors. The findings may be especially useful for counselors and therapists working with nonreligious clients, as they point to specific areas—like emotion regulation, self-clarity, and community connection—that can be strengthened to support well-being.

Looking forward, “I’d like to explore the diversity within nonbelieving populations more deeply,” Łowicki explained. “Our findings suggest there are meaningful differences in how individuals identify and what they value—even among those who share a lack of belief in God. Understanding these differences may offer a more nuanced picture of how various secular perspectives relate to psychological well-being. I’m also interested in applying methods such as longitudinal research or experience sampling to observe these patterns in daily life and over time.”

“I think this research highlights the importance of studying diverse belief systems—including secular ones—through a psychological lens. There is often a tendency to frame well-being research around religious belief, and while those studies are important, it’s equally important to recognize that many people find meaning, community, and psychological strength outside of religion. I believe that acknowledging and studying these paths can help support inclusive mental health practices and public understanding.”

The study, “If not belief in God, then what? Identifying factors that contribute to well-being among Polish nonbelievers,” was authored by Paweł Łowicki and Sally B. Barker.