Religiosity and well-being among Nigerians: Exploring the mediating role of fatalism

The current study examined how intrinsic and extrinsic religious orientations relate to hedonic and eudaimonic well-being and the mediating role of the dimensions of fatalism among Nigerians. Data were obtained from a survey of young Nigerians aged between 17 and 37 years (female = 53.85%; Christian = 88.72%). Results indicated that intrinsic religiosity and the belief in divine control, a dimension of fatalism, were associated with higher eudaimonic well-being and positive affect. Extrinsic religiosity correlated positively with eudaimonic well-being and negative affect. The belief in divine control also had a significant positive mediation effect on the influence of religiosity on eudaimonic well-being and positive affect for females. These findings are consistent with the view that religiosity and fatalism are social values associated with well-being in the Nigerian culture. One critical implication of these findings for both theory and research is that the idea that extrinsic religiosity and fatalism are detrimental to well-being is not universally tenable.