Big Five personality and religiosity: Bidirectional cross‐lagged effects and their moderation by culture

Abstract

Objective Personality has long been assumed to be a cause of religiosity, not a consequence. Yet, recent research suggests that religiosity may well cause personality change. Consequently, longitudinal research is required that examines the bi‐directionality between personality and religiosity. The required research must also attend to cultural religiosity—a critical moderator in previous cross‐sectional research. Method We conducted four‐wave, cross‐lagged panel models assessing the bi‐directional effects between religiosity (measured as religious attendance) and the Big Five personality traits over 12 years in 14 samples (Ntotal = 44,485). Each sample used population‐representative data from a different German federal state—states that vary widely in religiosity. Results The findings were the following: (1) Agreeableness, openness, and conscientiousness were associated with changes in religiosity, with the latter two effects being culture‐contingent. (2) Religiosity was associated with changes in agreeableness and openness, with the latter effect being culture‐contingent. (3) The cross‐lagged effects of personality on religiosity were overall stronger than the reverse effects. Conclusions The directionality between the Big Five and religiosity seems to go both ways and culture matters for those effects. We discuss the power of religiosity to alter personality and the role of culture for this effect and for personality change more generally.

Transactional effects between personality and religiosity.

“…We found more significant and more pronounced effects for belief in God, especially at the within-person level. Moreover, we found the weakest associations for service attendance with the personality traits, which is notable given the common usage of service attendance as the sole indicator of religiosity in prior research (Entringer et al, 2022;Schwartz & Huismans, 1995). This finding highlights the value of using a multifaceted approach when assessing people's religiosity (Chan et al, 2015).…”

“…They found that higher levels of religious values relative to others predicted higher subsequent levels of agreeableness but no effects of agreeableness on subsequent levels of religiosity nor any effects for conscientiousness. Finally, Entringer et al (2022) found evidence for reciprocal effects between the Big Five and religious service attendance across 12 years in a four-wave study of over 44,000 German adults. Higher levels of agreeableness relative to others predicted higher subsequent levels of religiosity and higher levels of religiosity relative to others predicted higher subsequent levels of agreeableness.…”

“…Less attention has been given to the longitudinal associations between personality traits and religiosity over time. Moreover, most existing studies—longitudinal and cross-sectional—have focused on the association between personality and religiosity at the between-person level (Entringer et al, 2022; Huuskes et al, 2013; Wink et al, 2007). These studies have contributed to our understanding of the ways in which religious and nonreligious people differ in their personality traits.…”

“…The large body of evidence for temporal variation in personality trajectories as well as in religiosity trajectories raises questions about the ways in which personality and religiosity transact over time. Just as people’s personality may predispose them to be drawn toward religion, ascribing to a religious lifestyle may foster the development of certain personality traits toward patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that align more with religious themes (Entringer et al, 2022; Schnitker et al, 2021; Stronge et al, 2021). These links may be transactional; that is, changes in certain personality traits may evoke intraindividual changes in religiosity, which may, in turn, evoke subsequent changes in personality traits, thereby creating a “runaway process.” For example, a person who is high in agreeableness may initially gravitate toward religion to self-select into a social context that appreciates their prosocial inclinations (cf.…”

“…In this study, we used RI-CLPMs to examine the within-person links between the Big Five personality traits and three aspects of religiosity (belief in God, service attendance, and prayer) across 11 annual assessments in a nationally representative sample of Dutch individuals. Although religiosity can be understood as a single dimension and has often been assessed with single-item measures (Entringer et al, 2022;Gebauer et al, 2013;Inglehart et al, 2014), researchers have emphasized the multifaceted nature of religiosity and advocated the use of multidimensional assessments to capture individual differences in religiosity (e.g., religious beliefs, practices, and affiliation; P. E. King & Boyatzis, 2004;Saroglou, 2011;Stoppa & Lefkowitz, 2010). Here, we focus on three central and often used indicators of religiosity: belief in God, service attendance, and prayer (Berkessel et al, 2021;H.…”