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In this study, we examined the association of 201 American university students' world views with their sense of purpose in life, as measured by a paper-and-pencil test. Those ascribing to world views based on belief in a personal God tended to have more purpose in life than other students. Purpose in life comprised two factors, one involving satisfaction with general goals and meaning in life, and the other dealing with excitement in day-to-day living. The personal monotheism groups had significantly higher purpose-in-life scores on the first factor than did groups in which a personal transcendent Being was irrelevant, but the world view groups did not differ significantly on the second factor.
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Molcar et al. (1988) studied this question.
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