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Religion and Spirituality in Quality of Life Studies

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Abstract

The authors present their views on the current state of the art for research focused upon religion/spirituality and quality of life. Because of the undeniable influence of religion and spirituality at the macro-level of cultures, the internal and external worlds of individuals embedded in any culture are touched by religion and spirituality – even for individuals who deny any religious affiliation or beliefs. Religion and spirituality has already attracted attention from QOL researchers across a wide set of disciplines and should continue to do so in the future. The authors discuss approaches, topics and methodological issues that should be considered when researching religion/spirituality and QOL. Recommendations for future research are set in italics.

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Correspondence to Mark Peterson.

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Peterson, M., Webb, D. Religion and Spirituality in Quality of Life Studies. Applied Research Quality Life 1, 107–116 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-006-9006-y

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