Batman, God and the Meaning of Life

I am not an overly religious guy, but I have always considered myself deeply spiritual. I understand the appeal of religion, though. Religions answer one of the foundational questions of our existence: why? Religion and spirituality can give us meaning and purpose in a world and in a life that otherwise may feel chaotic and pointless. On the other hand, I have a problem with the structure of most of our modern religions. I chafe at the idea of basing my life on rules disseminated via a mythological game of telephone and dictated by a moody, intergalactic grandparent … but to each their own. That being said, I don’t think we should throw out the meaning and purpose, baby, with the ecclesiastical bathwater, and I think the research backs me up on this.

I think it's a question that we have all asked ourselves or been asked by others in a variety of ways: what is your purpose? What does it all mean? What is my destiny? But instead of this vague, monolithic question, research shows that meaning works across three interacting dimensions: coherence (making sense), purpose (making plans), and mattering (having consequence). George & Park (2016), along with Martela & Steger (2016), help establish this tripod of meaning, and Costin & Vignoles (2020) evaluated and validated the tripartite structure across longitudinal cohorts. They showed that while coherence, purpose, and mattering are related, they represent distinct facets of psychology. Li, Wong & Cooper (2025) reinforce these conclusions and show that meaning has distinct subdivisions: comprehension, purpose, and mattering.

When we talk about meaning and purpose, we should specify that we are not talking about the cinematic, relentless pursuit of a single goal. That’s not necessarily healthy (I’m looking at you, Batman). The evidence shows that a healthy sense of purpose is the ability to reengage with an adaptive goal, and it requires the psychological flexibility to pivot to new, meaningful activities when previous goals don’t work out.

Kashdan, McKnight, & Goodman (2023) describe purpose as the ability to organize attention and behavior over time without narrowing into rigid goals. They showed that high-order purpose can be expressed through replaceable aims when one endeavor fails. Across two studies tracking young adults through major life transitions, Haase, Singer, Silbereisen, Heckhausen, & Wrosch (2021) show that purpose and subjective well-being predicted increases in goal reengagement. So yeah, having a purpose matters, but it can be broader than eliminating crime in Gotham City. Maybe after the Joker escaped for the millionth time, Bruce could have subsidized mental health care access instead of assaulting criminals in cosplay.

Batman also shows another important caveat: purpose and meaning aren't unchangeable personality traits or cognitive light switches. Context is deeply important. It’s hard to explore meaning and purpose when you are in constant danger, experience persistent social adversity, or lack the bare necessities. Perhaps Batman’s unhealthy stubborn and dogged persistence as a vigilante can actually be explained by his well-documented trauma history. Braun-Lewensohn & Sagy (2010) demonstrated that chronic political violence weakened adolescents' developing sense of coherence, hope, and meaning. This shows that external conditions can hamper an internal sense of meaning. Chen, Weziak-Bialowolska, Lee, Bialowolski, & VanderWeele (2020) showed that social isolation and psychological adversity diminish a sense of purpose over time. Conversely, social ties and institutional participation sustain it. Additionally, Weziak-Bialowolska, Bialowolski, & VanderWeele (2020) showed that material conditions and occupational roles provide the structure to develop a broader purpose. Batman had to fight because he never felt safe enough to shift the aims or methods of his meaning and purpose. In addition, he was socially isolated and intentionally avoided participation in broader institutions, which eroded his hope and sense of connection. If it wasn’t already obvious, Batman is a case study for an unhealthy sense of meaning and purpose.

And yet, I am a little jealous of Batman. Batman gets up every day with a mission and billions of dollars to accomplish it. I am a little jealous of the faithful. God and/or scripture seem to give their lives purpose and meaning in a way that I don’t fully understand. In the right context and developed in a healthy way, meaning and purpose can be a cornerstone of our well-being. Purpose in life is consistently associated with lower perceived stress and depression (Sutin et al., 2024; Sutin et al., 2026 ). Boring et al. (2022) found that coherence was associated with lower pain and predicted lower odds of developing chronic pain over time. Guthrie et al. (2025) found that increasing interpersonal mattering predicted daily meaning, beyond a sense of global or cosmic meaning. So even if you don’t feel like you have a grand purpose in life, feeling like you matter in your interpersonal connections can make a difference.

So what is the meaning of my little essay on meaning and purpose? I guess what I am trying to convey is that you don’t need to be on a mission from God or have a tragic character background to give your life meaning and purpose. Meaning is not necessarily about saving the world or landing a record deal. It can include those things; you just can’t be too rigid. Meaning and purpose are more about having a few values-based core directions, like caring for your family, showing up to social justice protests, learning to play an instrument. It is really about having a few ideas that help you decide how to allocate your time and energy. Purpose should be more like a compass and not a map where ‘X’ marks the spot.

Does my day-to-day life make sense? Do I feel like I have a reason, or a few reasons, to get out of bed in the morning? Does my existence matter to someone or something, even in small ways? These questions form the nexus of what real meaning and purpose are about, but don’t panic if you have a hard time answering them. Give yourself grace. Positive thinking won’t do the trick if your context is chaotic, dangerous, or is just plain exhausting. Chronic stress and lack of safety can destroy your sense of meaning, and “mindset” does very little in the face of real-world hardship. As with most things, habit and routine matter. Achieving enlightenment on a mountaintop would be great, but hard to work-in before picking the kids up from school. Having coffee with a friend, walking the dog, joining a choir all naturally build a sense of purpose and mattering. Writing about your values and reflecting on what matters is important, but the benefits of these exercises fade over time, whereas building a routine around your values can be much more helpful.

References

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Braun-Lewensohn, O., & Sagy, S. (2010). Sense of coherence, hope and values among adolescents under missile attacks: A longitudinal study. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 15(3), 247–260. https://doi.org/10.1080/1364436X.2010.520305

Chen, Y., Weziak-Bialowolska, D., Lee, M. T., Bialowolski, P., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2020). Longitudinal determinants of purpose in life among older adults. American Journal of Epidemiology, 189(12), 1545–1555.

Chen, Z., Zhang, Y., & Li, X. (2026). Temporal dynamics of meaning in life: An intensive longitudinal analysis of coherence, purpose, and significance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 130(2), 341–358.

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