The past three decades have seen remarkable growth in the study of religion and psychological well-being in the general population and especially among older adults (Koenig, McCullough, and Larson 2001). For the most part, the literature reports salutary associations, suggesting that facets of religious involvement promote mental health (George, Ellison, and Larson 2002; Schieman, Bierman, and Ellison, 2012; Smith, McCullough, and Poll 2003). Much of this research has focused on the role of organizational religious involvement (service attendance, congregational activities), nonorganizational practices (prayer, meditation), and religious motivations (intrinsic vs. extrinsic; Hill and Pargament 2003). Recent work has moved decisively past these generic measures of religiousness by examining religious coping styles (Pargament 1997), congregational support (Krause 2008), and personal experiences with God (sense of divine control, closeness to God; Bradshaw, Ellison, and Marcum 2010; Schieman et al. 2006). At the same time, some observers have noted the detrimental effects of spiritual struggles, such as troubled relationships with God and religious doubts (Ellison and Lee 2010; Pargament 2002).

Although most of this work has examined the direct effects of religiousness on mental health, investigators have also explored subgroup variations. Religion appears to be particularly beneficial for certain segments of the population, including (a) persons experiencing chronic or acute stress (Smith et al. 2003), (b) men (McFarland 2010), and (c) African Americans (Black 1999; Krause 2008). Especially important for the current research is the consistent finding that religion is related to health and well-being among older adults (Koenig 1994a; Dillon and Wink 2007).