Humor is an important way of coping with and processing whatever may be going on in someone's life. Whether it be positive or negative, making jokes and telling stories is a way in which many people communicate their experiences to others. In a study done by Vassilis Saroglou and Lydwine Anciaux about liking sick humor and its correlations with religion, it was found that "appreciation of sick humor was positively related to coping styles reflecting emotional expression and to use of humor as coping, and negatively related to religion measures"(Saroglou, 257). It is a pretty common understanding that the type of humor you like has something to do with your personality, liking a certain kind of humor tends to indicate something about your character. But this study makes the assertion that enjoying a certain type of comedy points mainly to one's coping styles and forms of expression. 

 

      An important part of this study is distinguishing between different types of humor and what each of them entail. The first type of humor mentioned is sick humor, defined as "that which makes fun of death, disease, deformity (Saroglou, 257). This type of humor is distinguished from "hostile humor (with which it shares the anti-social character) and transgressive, provocative humor in general (with which it shares the willingness to transgress social conventions)" (Saroglou, 258). It was found that in regards to liking sick humor that"although religiosity seemed to share with humor the latter coping styles, it differed in that it was negatively related to emotional expression coping styles and self-distraction"(Saroglou, 257). For the people that were less religious, sick humor correlated with a coping style that included emotional expression. It was a way in which they could project their bad experiences and cope with them. For those who identified as religious, emotional expression and self-distraction were less prevalent. They seemed to have used the comedy, not as a way of coping but simply as an experience. This means that there is a major difference in how those who are religious and non-religious experience comedy. 

     

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      In another study done by Saroglou titled Humor Appreciation as Function of Religious Dimensions another important distinction is made, the difference between humor appreciation and humor production. Experiencing humor and creating humor are completely different situations, and one's preferences may differ between the two situations. The study demonstrated that "religious fundamentalism and orthodoxy were found to be negatively related to humor appreciation in general and to appreciation of incongruity-resolution and nonsense humor in particular"(Saroglou, 144). In terms of what the study found for humor production "religiosity was unrelated to humor appreciation and no religious dimension predicted low appreciation of sexual humor" (Saroglou, 144). The less religious people in this study didn't care much for sexual humor. For the more religious participants, they did not appreciate the humor having to do with nonsense and incongruity-resolution.

 

      Another interesting point is made in the study, explaining why these correlations might exist. He explains that "religion seems to be animated by a need for order, closure, self-mastery, and control of self and of the world" (Saroglou, 145). In keeping with that logic, "it is not then surprising that early Christian authors (e.g., Fathers of the Church) pointed out the"release of control" characteristic of laughter and humor, an aspect common to other, similarly "suspicious", phenomena, emotions, and passions" (Saroglou, 145). Since religion is typically associated with and often tends to focus on the importance of control and order, it is no surprise that the release of control that humor provides might be an unwelcome feeling.