How Faith Affects Body Awareness: A Cultural Exploration

Religions can shape how people perceive and connect with their bodies. Researchers looked into how various aspects of religiosity influence interoceptive sensibility (IS), which is our ability to notice and understand bodily signals. They examined Christians, Muslims, and Hindus. Study 1 showed that religious identity influences the relationship between the importance of religion in life and IS. For Christians, it was medium, while for Muslims and Hindus, it was strong. Additionally, frequent religious practices had a medium positive link with IS across all groups. Study 2 expanded this by including more dimensions of religiosity and spirituality, along with beliefs about the body, both good (like seeing the body as holy) and bad (like seeing it as sinful). They found that religiosity and spirituality were linked to IS, and beliefs about the body's holiness partially explained this connection, but negative beliefs weakened it. This study suggests that religion, as a cultural factor, impacts body perception and awareness, affecting emotions and mental health.