A growing body of research has documented connections between religious involvement and mental health. However, religion is complex and multidimensional. Religious witnessing, the interpersonal sharing of religious faith, is an important religious practice that has received little attention. Religious witnessing is a relatively unconventional behavior in contemporary American society, yet it can promote social interaction and belonging and has implications for personal identity and sense of self-worth. Using data from a 2010 national random sample (N = 1,342) of U.S. adults, we examine associations between religious witnessing and mental health and the moderating role of public and private religiosity. Mental health is measured using three classes of psychiatric symptoms (general anxiety, social anxiety, and paranoia). Results show that witnessing is related to positive mental health among more highly religious individuals and negative mental health among less religious individuals. Drawing from identity theory and authenticity research, we argue that the contingent impact of religious witnessing on mental health can be explained by (1) participation in social contexts and groups conducive to religious self-expression and (2) the interplay between witnessing, private religiosity, and feelings of authenticity.

越来越多的研究表明，宗教参与与心理健康之间存在联系。但是，宗教是复杂和多维的。宗教见证是人与人之间宗教信仰的共享，是一种重要的宗教活动，很少受到关注。宗教见证是当代美国社会中一种相对非常规的行为，但它可以促进社会互动和归属感，对个人身份和自我价值感有影响。使用2010年美国成年人的全国随机样本（N = 1,342）的数据，我们研究了宗教见证与心理健康与公共和私人宗教信仰的调节作用之间的联系。使用三类精神病症状（一般性焦虑，社交焦虑和妄想症）来衡量心理健康。结果表明，见证与宗教信仰较高的人的积极心理健康和宗教信仰较低的人的消极心理健康有关。从身份理论和真实性研究中，我们认为宗教见证对心理健康的偶然影响可以通过（1）参与有助于宗教自我表达的社会环境和群体以及（2）见证与私人宗教之间的相互作用来解释。以及真实感。