IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v296y2022ics0277953622000727.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does armed conflict increase individuals’ religiosity as a means for coping with the adverse psychological effects of wars?

Author

Listed:
  • Shai, Ori

Abstract

This study examines how armed conflict affects individuals' religious behaviors (e.g., praying) and beliefs. The direction of the effect is theoretically not clear: war exposure may strengthen individuals' religiosity. Alternatively, after war exposure, individuals may stop following religion, and decrease their faith in God. To assess the direction of this effect, this study examines individuals' religiosity before and after a war between Israel and a Lebanese terror organization in 2006. Using both longitudinal and cross-section datasets, I find that being exposed to war or residing in war-affected regions increases individuals' religious behaviors and beliefs. These results are more pronounced among lower-educated individuals and among those who were not religious prior to the violence. Exploring possible mechanisms, I show that individuals become more religious as a means for coping with the adverse psychological effects of the war. Placebo tests using the pre-war period and individuals’ views unrelated to war exposure strengthen my main findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Shai, Ori, 2022. "Does armed conflict increase individuals’ religiosity as a means for coping with the adverse psychological effects of wars?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:296:y:2022:i:c:s0277953622000727
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114769
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953622000727
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114769?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Philipp Ager & Antonio Ciccone, 2018. "Agricultural Risk and the Spread of Religious Communities," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 16(4), pages 1021-1068.
    2. Sriya Iyer, 2016. "The New Economics of Religion," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 54(2), pages 395-441, June.
    3. Guiso, Luigi & Sapienza, Paola & Zingales, Luigi, 2003. "People's opium? Religion and economic attitudes," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 225-282, January.
    4. Scheve, Kenneth & Stasavage, David, 2006. "Religion and Preferences for Social Insurance," Quarterly Journal of Political Science, now publishers, vol. 1(3), pages 255-286, July.
    5. Zussman, Asaf, 2014. "The effect of political violence on religiosity," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 64-83.
    6. Jeanet Sinding Bentzen, 2019. "Acts of God? Religiosity and Natural Disasters Across Subnational World Districts," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 129(622), pages 2295-2321.
    7. Marianna Belloc & Francesco Drago & Roberto Galbiati, 2016. "Earthquakes, Religion, and Transition to Self-Government in ItalianCities," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(4), pages 1875-1926.
    8. Joseph Henrich & Michal Bauer & Alessandra Cassar & Julie Chytilová & Benjamin Grant Purzycki, 2019. "War increases religiosity," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 3(2), pages 129-135, February.
    9. Thomas Buser, 2015. "The Effect of Income on Religiousness," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(3), pages 178-195, July.
    10. Dehejia, Rajeev & DeLeire, Thomas & Luttmer, Erzo F.P., 2007. "Insuring consumption and happiness through religious organizations," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(1-2), pages 259-279, February.
    11. Miller, Kenneth E. & Rasmussen, Andrew, 2010. "War exposure, daily stressors, and mental health in conflict and post-conflict settings: Bridging the divide between trauma-focused and psychosocial frameworks," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(1), pages 7-16, January.
    12. Philipp Ager & Casper Worm Hansen & Lars Lønstrup, 2014. "Church Membership and Social Insurance: Evidence from the American South," Discussion Papers 14-29, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    13. Laurence R. Iannaccone, 1998. "Corrigenda [Introduction to the Economics of Religion]," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(4), pages 1941-1941, December.
    14. Elster, Yael & Zussman, Asaf & Zussman, Noam, 2017. "Rockets: The housing market effects of a credible terrorist threat," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 136-147.
    15. Rachel M. McCleary & Robert J. Barro, 2006. "Religion and Economy," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(2), pages 49-72, Spring.
    16. Cesur, Resul & Freidman, Travis & Sabia, Joseph J., 2020. "War, traumatic health shocks, and religiosity," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 475-502.
    17. Filipe Campante & David Yanagizawa-Drott, 2015. "Editor's Choice Does Religion Affect Economic Growth and Happiness? Evidence from Ramadan," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(2), pages 615-658.
    18. Alessandra Cassar & Pauline Grosjean & Sam Whitt, 2013. "Legacies of violence: trust and market development," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 285-318, September.
    19. Laurence R. Iannaccone, 1998. "Introduction to the Economics of Religion," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(3), pages 1465-1495, September.
    20. Daniel L. Chen, 2010. "Club Goods and Group Identity: Evidence from Islamic Resurgence during the Indonesian Financial Crisis," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 118(2), pages 300-354, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tim Friehe & Christian Pfeifer, 2024. "A family member's death increases religious activity: Evidence from Germany," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 77(2), pages 458-468, May.
    2. Frank van Tubergen1,2, & Yuliya Kosyakova & Agnieszka Kanas, 2022. "Conflict intensity in the region of birth increases religiosity among refugees," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 2222, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    3. Shai, Ori, 2022. "Out of time? The effect of an infrequent traumatic event on individuals’ time and risk preferences, beliefs, and insurance purchasing," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bentzen, Jeanet & Sperling, Lena, 2020. "God Politics," CEPR Discussion Papers 14380, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Bentzen, Jeanet Sinding, 2021. "In crisis, we pray: Religiosity and the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 541-583.
    3. Francisco Costa & Angelo Marcantonio & Rudi Rocha, 2023. "Stop Suffering! Economic Downturns and Pentecostal Upsurge," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 21(1), pages 215-250.
    4. Barber, Luke & Jetter, Michael & Krieger, Tim, 2024. "Foreshadowing Mars: Religiosity and pre-Enlightenment conflict in Europe," VfS Annual Conference 2024 (Berlin): Upcoming Labor Market Challenges 302355, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    5. Luke Barber & Michael Jetter & Tim Krieger, 2023. "Foreshadowing Mars: Religiosity and Pre-Enlightenment Warfare," CESifo Working Paper Series 10806, CESifo.
    6. Mavisakalyan, Astghik & Tarverdi, Yashar & Weber, Clas, 2020. "Paradise Postponed: Future Tense and Religiosity," GLO Discussion Paper Series 500, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    7. Samuel Bazzi & Gabriel Koehler-Derrick & Benjamin Marx, 2020. "The Institutional Foundations of Religious Politics: Evidence from Indonesia [“The Classical Islamic Law of Waqf: A Concise Introduction”]," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(2), pages 845-911.
    8. Matthias Basedau & Simone Gobien & Sebastian Prediger, 2018. "The Multidimensional Effects Of Religion On Socioeconomic Development: A Review Of The Empirical Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(4), pages 1106-1133, September.
    9. Basedau, Matthias & Gobien, Simone & Prediger, Sebastian, 2017. "The Ambivalent Role of Religion for Sustainable Development: A Review of the Empirical Evidence," GIGA Working Papers 297, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies.
    10. Tim Friehe & Christian Pfeifer, 2024. "A family member's death increases religious activity: Evidence from Germany," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 77(2), pages 458-468, May.
    11. Bahal, Girish & Iyer, Sriya & Shastry, Kishen & Shrivastava, Anand, 2023. "Religion, Covid-19 and mental health," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    12. Laeven, Luc & Popov, Alexander & Sievert, Clara, 2024. "Is religion an inferior good? Evidence from fluctuations in housing wealth," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 705-725.
    13. Emmanuelle Auriol & Julie Lassébie & Amma Panin & Eva Raiber & Paul Seabright, 2020. "God Insures those Who Pay? Formal Insurance and Religious Offerings in Ghana," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(4), pages 1799-1848.
    14. Alfonsi, Livia & Bauer, Michal & Chytilová, Julie & Miguel, Edward, 2024. "Human capital affects religious identity: Causal evidence from Kenya," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    15. Sriya Iyer, 2016. "The New Economics of Religion," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 54(2), pages 395-441, June.
    16. Oscar Zapata, 2018. "Turning to God in Tough Times? Human Versus Material Losses from Climate Disasters in Canada," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 2(3), pages 259-281, October.
    17. Mustafa Disli & Sahibzada Muhammad Hamza, 2024. "Orthodox Islamic institutions and individual income: evidence from Pakistan," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-11, December.
    18. Ji, Yaling, 2020. "Religiosity and the adoption of formal financial services," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 378-396.
    19. Jeanet Sinding Bentzen & Gunes Gokmen, 2023. "The power of religion," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 45-78, March.
    20. Hasan, Iftekhar & Manfredonia, Stefano & Noth, Felix, 2021. "Cultural resilience, religion, and economic recovery: Evidence from the 2005 hurricane season," IWH Discussion Papers 9/2021, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:296:y:2022:i:c:s0277953622000727. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.