The Relationship between Leisure and Religious Lifestyles with Social Happiness among High School Students

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD. Student in Sociology at University of Shiraz

2 Professor, Department of Sociology, Shiraz University

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Shiraz University

Abstract

The main objective of this survey is to describe and explain the relationship between leisure and religious lifestyles with social happiness among students. The statistical population of this study includes all students of Jahrom City, Fars Province, Iran, while 400 students were selected through multistage random sampling method. The research tool included a questionnaire containing three scales of happiness, leisure lifestyle and religious lifestyle. The descriptive findings of the research show that the students’ happiness average score is medium and upward. As students put their primary years behind and get closer to the last high school years, their happiness decreases and the more they move from the lower classes to the upper classes, from collective religious lifestyle to individualistic lifestyle, from traditional to modern lifestyle, and from public schools to private schools their happiness increases. The inferential results indicate that traditional leisure lifestyle, collective religious lifestyle, social class and household income are related to different dimensions of happiness of students. Overall, it may be concluded that one of the main sources of happiness lies in social communications: on the one hand, extensive and satisfactory communications, and, on the other, membership in social communities and collective activities – entertainment or religious – can increase the social happiness of the individual and consequently that of the society, but, these variables cannot independently explain the dependent variable’s high variation.

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