“God is my vaccine”: The Role of Religion, Conspiracy Beliefs, and Threat Perception in Relation to COVID-19 Vaccination

Abstract

Religious and conspiracy beliefs both center around a belief in the presence of a potent force capable of impacting individuals' destinies. In line with compensatory control theory, the perception of such a potent external agent may serve to alleviate feelings of uncertainty and help restore a sense of control. During the coronavirus pandemic, the perception of a potent force that controlled events might have lowered the sense of threat posed by COVID-19 and thus reduced rates of vaccination. In this cross-sectional study involving highly religious Polish adults (N = 213), we found that the perception of the coronavirus threat served as a mediator in the negative association between conspiracy beliefs, religious beliefs, and the number of vaccine doses received. These findings align with the compensatory control model.

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https://researchportal.hw.ac.uk/en/publications/574c1e0e-a0cc-4427-af06-40d83bbfc277