Laura Upenieks

Education

Ph.D., Sociology, University of Toronto, 2019
M.A., Sociology, University of Toronto, 2014
BSc., Psychology and Sociology with High Distinction, University of Toronto, 2013

Biography

Dr. Laura Upenieks received her Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in 2019 and joined the Baylor Faculty in 2020. She is an Assistant Professor and Undergraduate Program Director at Baylor University. Her research interests are in religion and health, aging and the life course, and quantitative methods. She is currently working on projects related to individuals’ perceived relationship with God and well-being, religious virtues and health, and religious/spiritual struggles over the life course. Dr. Upenieks is the recipient of the 2023 Outstanding Faculty Research Award at Baylor University, and recently received the 2024 Early Career Award from the American Sociological Association Sociology of Religion Section. She also serves on the editorial boards of Society and Mental Health, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, and Review of Religious Research, and has previously been an editorial board member for the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

Recent Publications

Upenieks, Laura and Brandon Vaidyanathan. 2024. “Prone to Wellness? Dispositional Awe, Religion/Spirituality, and Well-Being among Academic Scientists.” Forthcoming at Social Science Research. 

Upenieks, Laura, and Markus H. Schafer. 2024. “A Life Course Approach to the Religion Volunteering Link: Evidence from the United States.” Forthcoming at Sociology of Religion. 

Upenieks, Laura, Blake Victor Kent, Alka M. Kanaya, Heather A. Eliassen, and Alexandra E. Shields. 2024. “Forgiveness and Health across Racial-Ethnic Cohorts: Exploring the Conditioning Roles of Religious Attendance and Closeness to God.” Forthcoming at Mental Health, Religion, and Culture. 

Froese, Paul, Rebecca Bonnag, Jeremy E. Uecker, Matthew A. Andersson, and Laura Upenieks. 2024. “Prayer and Mental Well-Being: An Overview of Original and Comprehensive Prayer Data.” Forthcoming at Journal of Religion and Health. 

Bonhag, Rebecca, and Laura Upenieks. 2024. “Varying Beliefs in God and the Self-Concepts of Mattering and Dignity in a US Sample.” Forthcoming at Review of Religious Research. 

Upenieks, Laura, Elizabeth M. Bounds, Jenae Nelson, Karen K. Melton, Perry Glanzer, and Sarah A. Schnitker. 2024. “Gratitude to God and Mental Well-Being in U.S. Collegiate Athletes: The Explanatory Power of Perceived Indebtedness to God and Meaning in Life.” Forthcoming at Mental Health, Religion, and Culture. 

Kent, Blake Victor, Laura Upenieks, Daniel Jang*, Christopher G. Ellison, and Bradley R.E. Wright. 2024. “The Effect of Religious Service Attendance on Emotional Well-Being: A Micro Longitudinal Analysis of the SoulPulse Study.” Forthcoming at Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.

Upenieks, Laura, Brendan Ryan, and Chris Knoester. 2024. “Better to Have Played than Not Played? Youth Sport Participation, Reasons for Dropout, and Mental Health in Adulthood.” Forthcoming at Sociology of Sport.

Upenieks, Laura. 2024. “Occupational Stressors and Flourishing among Roman Catholic Priests: The Eucharist as the “Source and Summit.” Forthcoming at Review of Religious Research. 

Upenieks, Laura, and Terrence D. Hill. 2024. “The Moderating Role of Offspring Religiosity in the Intergenerational Transmission of Parental Psychopathology.” Forthcoming at Mental Health, Religion, and Culture.

Upenieks, Laura, Elizabeth M. Bounds*, Karen K. Melton, Perry Glanzer, and Sarah A. Schnitker. 2024. “Trait Courage, Attachment to God, and Mental Well-Being among U.S. Collegiate Athletes.” Forthcoming at Journal of Religion and Health. 

Upenieks, Laura, Amanda C. McGowan*, and Terrence D. Hill. 2024. “Masculine Discrepancy Stress, Subjective Well-Being, and the Buffering Role of Religion.” Forthcoming at American Journal of Men’s Health. 

Upenieks, Laura, Rudra Chakraborty*, and Terrence D. Hill. 2024. “Sin in the Digital Flesh? Religion and the Pandemic Sexting Behavior of Men and Women.” Forthcoming at Journal of Religion and Health. 

Upenieks, Laura and Christopher G. Ellison. 2024. “Religious Doubt and Mental Well-Being in Later Life: Is Humility a Protective Resource?” Forthcoming at Psychology and Theology. 

Upenieks, Laura, Blake Victor Kent, Megha Nagaswami, Yue Gu, Alka M. Kanaya, and Alexandra W. Shields. 2024. “Do Religion and Spirituality Buffer the Effect of a Childhood Trauma on Depressive Symptoms? Examination of a South Asian Cohort.” Forthcoming at Journal of Religion and Health. 

Upenieks, Laura and Christos Orfanidis*. 2024. “Perceived Accountability to God, the Religious Role, and Psychological Well-Being.” Forthcoming at Mental Health, Religion, and Culture.