“God is my vaccine”: the role of religion, conspiracy beliefs, and threat perception in relation to COVID-19 vaccination

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dc.abstract.enReligious and conspiracy beliefs are based on the assumption that a potent force exists which is capable of affecting people’s destinies. According to compensatory control theory, the belief in such a potent external agent may serve to alleviate feelings of uncertainty and help restore a sense of control. This is of particular relevance and importance to attitudes and behaviour of religious individuals towards vaccinations during the Covid-19 pandemic, where a belief in such a potent external force controlling events and destinies may have lowered the sense of threat posed by Covid-19 and in turn reduced vaccination uptake. To test this, we conducted a cross-sectional study of highly religious adults in Poland (N = 213) and found that the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses taken was negatively predicted by conspiracy beliefs, perceived closeness to God, and frequency of church attendance, and positively predicted by the perceived COVID-19 threat. Furthermore, mediation analysis revealed that both conspiracy beliefs and perceived closeness to God were related to a decreased perception of the COVID-19 threat, which in turn led to a decreased number of vaccine doses received. Our study offers important insights for public health professionals and identifies further research pathways on conspiracy and religious beliefs in relation to health-related behaviours.
dc.affiliationWydział Psychologii
dc.affiliationWydział Psychologii w Sopocie
dc.contributor.authorRabinovitch, Aleksandra
dc.contributor.authorBliuc, Ana-Maria
dc.contributor.authorStrani, Katerina
dc.contributor.authorŁycyniak, Ewa
dc.contributor.authorCristea, Mioara
dc.date.access2025-08-20
dc.date.accessioned2025-10-13T08:18:26Z
dc.date.available2025-10-13T08:18:26Z
dc.date.created2024-07-24
dc.date.issued2024-08-20
dc.description.abstract<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Religious and conspiracy beliefs are based on the assumption that a potent force exists which is capable of affecting people’s destinies. According to compensatory control theory, the belief in such a potent external agent may serve to alleviate feelings of uncertainty and help restore a sense of control. This is of particular relevance and importance to attitudes and behaviour of religious individuals towards vaccinations during the Covid-19 pandemic, where a belief in such a potent external force controlling events and destinies may have lowered the sense of threat posed by Covid-19 and in turn reduced vaccination uptake. To test this, we conducted a cross-sectional study of highly religious adults in Poland (<jats:italic>N</jats:italic> = 213) and found that the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses taken was negatively predicted by conspiracy beliefs, perceived closeness to God, and frequency of church attendance, and positively predicted by the perceived COVID-19 threat. Furthermore, mediation analysis revealed that both conspiracy beliefs and perceived closeness to God were related to a decreased perception of the COVID-19 threat, which in turn led to a decreased number of vaccine doses received. Our study offers important insights for public health professionals and identifies further research pathways on conspiracy and religious beliefs in relation to health-related behaviours.</jats:p>
dc.description.accesstimeafter_publication
dc.description.issue46
dc.description.physical1-8
dc.description.versionfinal_author
dc.description.volume43
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s12144-024-06475-7
dc.identifier.eissn1936-4733
dc.identifier.issn1046-1310
dc.identifier.urihttps://share.swps.edu.pl/handle/swps/1828
dc.identifier.weblinkhttps://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-024-06475-7
dc.languageen
dc.pbn.affiliationpsychologia
dc.rightsEmbargo
dc.rights.questionYes_rights
dc.share.articleOTHER
dc.subject.enCOVID-19 vaccination
dc.subject.enConspiracy beliefs
dc.subject.enReligion
dc.subject.enThreat perception
dc.swps.sciencecloudsend
dc.title“God is my vaccine”: the role of religion, conspiracy beliefs, and threat perception in relation to COVID-19 vaccination
dc.title.journalCurrent Psychology
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typeArticle