Virtudes espirituais, atitudes religiosas e sentido de vida: um estudo correlacional

Abstract

The word virtue – virtus, in Latin – is related both to a specific capacity (potency) or ability, and to a moral aspect. Generally, it relates to worthy and inextinguishable habits, which become praiseworthy regardless of their practical function, it constitutes a value in itself. Therefore, considerations on Logotherapy and Existential Analysis, founded by Viktor Frankl, are highlighted, as it promotes a vision of religiosity based on the perception that it is a human phenomenon and has it center in the spiritual person. This study aims to investigate the extent to which religious attitudes and spiritual/religious virtues explain the presence of meaning. Descriptive, correlational, and multiple linear regression analyzes were performed. There was a sample of 500 subjects, mostly female (72.4%). The mean age was 35.2 years (SD = 13.6; range from 18 to 84 years), with the majority declaring themselves single (56%). There was participation of inhabitants from the five regions of the country, with the majority from the Northeast (73.8%), Catholics (40.2%), with a level of education of Complete Post-Graduation (37.6%) and Middle Social Class (59.8%). As a result, with regard to the parameters of the EVER scale, they were in agreement with the original study, pointing to the existence of a single general fact for religious spiritual virtues (α = 0.97), which explained 68.55% of the variance. With regard to the relationship between the measures, statistically significant and directly proportional correlations were found with the variables: Presence of meaning (r = 0.49; p < 0.001), affectivity (r = 0.66; p < 0.001), cognition (r = 0.64; p < 0.001), corporeality (r = 0.47; p < 0.001) and especially with religious behavior (r = 0.77; p < 0.001).From a linear regression analysis, relating the dependent variable presence of meaning to the others, a significant model was presented in accordance with the literature, which may infer that, for the present sample, those individuals with higher indicators of religious behavior score. more in spiritual/religious virtues, consequently increasing the presence of meaning. All results were analyzed in the light of Logotherapy and Existential Analysis.