Background

The COVID-19 pandemic was one of the most devastating disasters of the twenty-first century and has exacted a steep health and economic toll. During times of suffering caused by the pandemic, religion/spirituality may prove to be a consistent and valuable coping resource.

Purpose

We situate changes in religious importance and reliance on God as key aspects of religious life that may be important coping mechanisms in response to pandemic-related financial hardship, addressing a gap in the literature on religious coping during the pandemic and considering self-reported changes in religiosity.

Methods

We use data from a nationally representative sample of Americans that was collected in 2021 (N = 1704) and employ a series of OLS Regression Models.

Results

Our results suggest that relying more heavily on God was associated with lower psychological distress, and a stronger reliance on God buffered the deleterious consequences of financial strain on psychological distress. No such patterns were documented for religious importance.

Conclusion and Implications

We discuss our findings within the broader religion and health literature as to whether secondary control via a divine power reduces or enhances individual agency and discuss religion/spirituality may be a consistent and valuable coping resource through adversity and suffering. Though it may be challenging to maintain, or increase, religious/spiritual beliefs in the face of adversity, that there were observed benefits to well-being for doing so could serve as insightful guidance for both religious leaders and R/S individuals.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 大流行期间宗教信仰和对上帝的依赖的变化：在经济紧张的情况下的保护作用？

背景

COVID-19 大流行是 21 世纪最具破坏性的灾难之一，造成了巨大的健康和经济损失。在大流行造成的痛苦时期，宗教/灵性可能被证明是一种一致且宝贵的应对资源。

目的

我们将宗教重要性和对上帝的依赖的变化定位为宗教生活的关键方面，这可能是应对大流行相关经济困难的重要应对机制，解决大流行期间宗教应对方面的文献空白，并考虑自我报告的变化宗教信仰。

方法

我们使用 2021 年收集的具有全国代表性的美国人样本（N = 1704）的数据，并采用一系列 OLS 回归模型。

结果

我们的结果表明，更多地依赖上帝与较低的心理压力有关，而对上帝的更强烈依赖缓冲了经济压力对心理压力的有害后果。没有记录这种模式的宗教重要性。

结论和启示

我们在更广泛的宗教和健康文献中讨论我们的发现，即通过神力进行二次控制是否会减少或增强个人能动性，并讨论宗教/灵性可能是应对逆境和苦难的一致且有价值的应对资源。尽管在逆境中保持或增加宗教/精神信仰可能具有挑战性，但观察到这样做对福祉有好处，可以为宗教领袖和 R/S 个人提供有见地的指导。