Religiosity and beliefs in medical conspiracy theories in 37 European countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

While beliefs in conspiracy theories related to medical procedures proliferated in Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic, previous research has focussed on such predictors of conspiracy as age, gender, educational status, political orientation, and trust in science. By analysing the data from the Eurobarometer survey conducted in 2021 in 37 European countries, this study describes the association between beliefs in medical conspiracy theories and religiosity. It reports three significant findings: first, medical conspiracy theories are more prevalent in the Baltic, Balkan, Southern, Central, and Eastern European countries; second, people who declare themselves to be religious are more willing to believe in medical conspiracy theories; and third, Muslims, Catholics, and Orthodox Christians demonstrated stronger support for medical conspiracy theories than other faith groups and non-believers. Analysing data at both the individual and country level sheds light on the role of religion as a predictor of a conspiracy belief, which may influence people’s medical and health behaviours.