IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i15p9597-d880162.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Religious Fundamentalism, Delusions, and Conspiracy Beliefs Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Małgorzata Sobol

    (Department of Psychology, University of Warsaw, 00-183 Warsaw, Poland)

  • Marcin Zajenkowski

    (Department of Psychology, University of Warsaw, 00-183 Warsaw, Poland)

  • Konrad S. Jankowski

    (Department of Psychology, University of Warsaw, 00-183 Warsaw, Poland)

Abstract

The widespread COVID-19 conspiracy theories are a problem in dealing with the pandemic, as their proponents tend not to adhere to public health regulations. The aim of this study was to analyse the relationships between religious fundamentalism, delusions, compliance with public health regulations, and religion-related conspiracy beliefs about the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants were 570 internet users aged 18–60. They responded to questions regarding sociodemographic variables, compliance with public health regulations, conspiracy beliefs concerning COVID-19, as well as the Revised Religious Fundamentalism Scale, and the Delusions Scale. The results indicated that people exhibiting more conspiracy beliefs were less likely to comply with public health regulations concerning the COVID-19 pandemic and showed more religious fundamentalism. Additionally, there was an indirect effect of religious fundamentalism on conspiracy beliefs through delusions. The results suggest that when formulating epidemiological messages, it is worth paying attention to the importance of rational thinking.

Suggested Citation

  • Małgorzata Sobol & Marcin Zajenkowski & Konrad S. Jankowski, 2022. "Religious Fundamentalism, Delusions, and Conspiracy Beliefs Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-6, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:15:p:9597-:d:880162
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/15/9597/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/15/9597/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fife, Betsy L., 2005. "The role of constructed meaning in adaptation to the onset of life-threatening illness," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(10), pages 2132-2143, November.
    2. Kelsey E. Gonzalez & Rina James & Eric T. Bjorklund & Terrence D. Hill, 2021. "Conservatism and infrequent mask usage: A study of US counties during the novel coronavirus (COVID‐19) pandemic," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 102(5), pages 2368-2382, September.
    3. Sijia Li & Yilin Wang & Jia Xue & Nan Zhao & Tingshao Zhu, 2020. "The Impact of COVID-19 Epidemic Declaration on Psychological Consequences: A Study on Active Weibo Users," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-9, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Israel Escudero-Castillo & Fco. Javier Mato-Díaz & Ana Rodriguez-Alvarez, 2021. "Furloughs, Teleworking and Other Work Situations during the COVID-19 Lockdown: Impact on Mental Well-Being," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-16, March.
    2. S. Brent Jackson & Kathryn T. Stevenson & Lincoln R. Larson & M. Nils Peterson & Erin Seekamp, 2021. "Outdoor Activity Participation Improves Adolescents’ Mental Health and Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-18, March.
    3. Massimiliano Scopelliti & Maria Giuseppina Pacilli & Antonio Aquino, 2021. "TV News and COVID-19: Media Influence on Healthy Behavior in Public Spaces," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-15, February.
    4. Yuan Zheng & Jingyi Zhou & Xianglong Zeng & Mingyan Jiang & Tian P. S. Oei, 2022. "A New Second-Generation Mindfulness-Based Intervention Focusing on Well-Being: A Randomized Control Trial of Mindfulness-Based Positive Psychology," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(6), pages 2703-2724, August.
    5. Clemens Koestner & Viktoria Eggert & Theresa Dicks & Kristin Kalo & Carolina Zähme & Pavel Dietz & Stephan Letzel & Till Beutel, 2022. "Psychological Burdens among Teachers in Germany during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic—Subgroup Analysis from a Nationwide Cross-Sectional Online Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-16, August.
    6. Alfano, Vincenzo, 2023. "God or good health? Evidence on belief in God in relation to public health during a pandemic," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    7. Durmuş Burak, 2023. "The Effect of Risk and Protective Factors on Primary School Students’ COVID-19 Anxiety: Back to School After the Pandemic," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 16(1), pages 29-51, February.
    8. Maraseni, Tek & Poudyal, Bishnu Hari & Aryal, Kishor & Laudari, Hari Krishna, 2022. "Impact of COVID-19 in the forestry sector: A case of lowland region of Nepal," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    9. Ilse Adriana Gutiérrez-Pérez & Pedro Delgado-Floody & Daniel Jerez-Mayorga & Diego Soto-García & Felipe Caamaño-Navarrete & Isela Parra-Rojas & Nacim Molina-Gutiérrez & Iris Paola Guzmán-Guzmán, 2021. "Lifestyle and Sociodemographic Parameters Associated with Mental and Physical Health during COVID-19 Confinement in Three Ibero-American Countries. A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-13, May.
    10. Christian M. Hafner, 2020. "The Spread of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Time and Space," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-13, May.
    11. Siqi Lai & Brian Deal, 2022. "Parks, Green Space, and Happiness: A Spatially Specific Sentiment Analysis Using Microblogs in Shanghai, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-18, December.
    12. Jadsada Kunno & Busaba Supawattanabodee & Chavanant Sumanasrethakul & Chuthamat Kaewchandee & Wachiraporn Wanichnopparat & Krit Prasittichok, 2022. "The Relationship between Attitudes and Satisfaction Concerning the COVID-19 Vaccine and Vaccine Boosters in Urban Bangkok, Thailand: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-11, April.
    13. Mateusz Ciski & Krzysztof Rząsa, 2023. "Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression in the Investigation of Local COVID-19 Anomalies Based on Population Age Structure in Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(10), pages 1-23, May.
    14. Yang Yang & Keqiao Liu & Siqi Li & Man Shu, 2020. "Social Media Activities, Emotion Regulation Strategies, and Their Interactions on People’s Mental Health in COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-16, December.
    15. Adina-Iuliana Jigani & Camelia Delcea & Margareta-Stela Florescu & Liviu-Adrian Cotfas, 2024. "Tracking Happiness in Times of COVID-19: A Bibliometric Exploration," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-35, June.
    16. Alessandro Germani & Livia Buratta & Elisa Delvecchio & Claudia Mazzeschi, 2020. "Emerging Adults and COVID-19: The Role of Individualism-Collectivism on Perceived Risks and Psychological Maladjustment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-15, May.
    17. Jacqueline-Nathalie Harba & Gabriela Tigu & Adriana AnaMaria Davidescu, 2021. "Exploring Consumer Emotions in Pre-Pandemic and Pandemic Times. A Sentiment Analysis of Perceptions in the Fine-Dining Restaurant Industry in Bucharest, Romania," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-24, December.
    18. Juwon Hwang & Porismita Borah & Dhavan Shah & Markus Brauer, 2021. "The Relationship among COVID-19 Information Seeking, News Media Use, and Emotional Distress at the Onset of the Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-13, December.
    19. Juan Gómez-Salgado & Montserrat Andrés-Villas & Sara Domínguez-Salas & Diego Díaz-Milanés & Carlos Ruiz-Frutos, 2020. "Related Health Factors of Psychological Distress During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-16, June.
    20. Mikyung Jun & Songyi Lee & Taeeun Shim, 2021. "First-Year College Student Life Experiences during COVID-19 in South Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-18, September.

    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:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:15:p:9597-:d:880162. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.