The Influence of Religious Beliefs on Social Interaction

The theme of the research focuses on religious beliefs in the existence of the immortals in the beyond and on social interaction among strangers and intimates. It is assumed that people who have religious beliefs are different from people who do not have religious beliefs. The purpose of the research is to have a better understanding of the concept of religion and to explore the function of religion in everyday life. More than 200 people including religious and nonreligious, Germans and Chinese participated in the investigation. The result of the study shows that people whose self ascribed identity is religious accept the existence of the immortals in the beyond as real and therefore their behaviour and motives in social interaction differ from the people who do not have religious beliefs. Differences between Germans and Chinese were found as well.