Suggestibility and Sense of Belongingness of Various Religious Groups in Kerala

Understanding complex religious influences is a critical dimension of understanding modern human affairs (Harvard’s Religious Literacy Project). The influence has an impact on human beings varying from sense of perceived control to meaningful community life. The present study examined whether religiosity has any impact on any role on individuals’ level of suggestibility and sense of belongingness or not? To investigate this question, data was collected from three religious’ groups in Kerala (N=375). There were participants from Hinduism (n=155), Islam (n=109) and Christianity (n=111). The variables -religiosity, suggestibility and sense of belongingness were measured using the Belief into Action Scale (Koenig, Wang, Zaben & Adi, 2015), Multidimensional Iowa Short Suggestibility Scale (Kotov, Bellman & Watson, 2004), and Sense of Belonging Instrument (Hegarty & Patusky, 1995) respectively. Spearman ranks correlation and regression analysis was done to interpret the results. The study findings have implications for research and understanding the role of religion in human wellbeing.