Is It Really Religion? Comparing the Main and Stress-buffering Effects of Religious and Secular Civic Engagement on Psychological Distress

Abstract

Using a random sample of adult residents from the state of Texas, we examine how religious participation and secular civic engagement buffer the effects of perceived financial strain and neighborhood disadvantage on psychological distress. Our findings suggest that (a) both organizational religious and secular civic engagement buffer the deleterious effects of perceived financial hardship on respondents’ psychological distress, (b) organizational as well as nonorganizational religious participation buffers the detrimental effects of perceived neighborhood disadvantage on respondents’ psychological distress, (c) religious involvement has a more robust buffering effect than secular civic engagement, and (d) nonorganizational religious participation can serve as a coping mechanism for respondents who suffer from psychological distress. Research implications, study limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.