COVID‐19's effects upon the religious group resources, psychosocial resources, and mental health of Orthodox Jews

Abstract

In this article, we examine how COVID‐19 has affected the mental health of Orthodox Jews and how religious resources cushion the effects of isolation and deprivation of religious gatherings over time. Using longitudinal data from the COVID‐19 Community Portrait Study, fixed‐effects regression models are employed to predict how religious resources are affected by COVID‐19 and how mental health is affected by both COVID‐19 and religious resources. We find two competing effects upon participants’ religious resources. While group resources decreased as a result of the pandemic, psychosocial resources were strengthened. A Closeness‐to‐God Index predicted lower levels of depression and anxiety, less perceived stress, and less loneliness. Congregational prayer also predicted lower stress and less loneliness, but the magnitude of the effect was smaller. The findings provide empirical support for theoretical frameworks emphasizing the positive effects of religion on mental health and suggest psychosocial resources enable religious coping during particularly challenging times.

Trust in God: The COVID‐19 Pandemic's Impact on Religiosity in China

“…For some racial and political demographics, the relationship between religiosity and COVID anxieties is likely conditioned by varying levels of trust in medical and political institutions. Religious responses to COVID‐19 are generally associated with compliance in terms of public health recommendations, which were offered in partnership with the U.S. federal government what when political conservatism was held constant (Bankier‐Karp and Shain 2022; Corcoran, Scheitle, and DiGregorio 2021). Still, some religious groups deviate from this general pattern (Corcoran, Scheitle, and DiGregorio 2021; Schnabel and Schieman 2022).…”

“…Religious coping with the pandemic may primarily be stemming from religious communities drawing on known resources, but it may also reflect irreligious populations seeking new resources for unprecedented times. Furthermore, the majority of published research we identified focuses on COVID‐19 in the United States, while a small number are cross‐national or European‐focused (Bankier‐Karp and Shain 2022; Bentzen 2021; Corcoran, Scheitle, and DiGregorio 2021; DiGregorio et al. 2021; Molteni et al.…”

“…Religious coping with the pandemic may primarily be stemming from religious communities drawing on known resources, but it may also reflect irreligious populations seeking new resources for unprecedented times. Furthermore, the majority of published research we identified focuses on COVID-19 in the United States, while a small number are crossnational or European-focused (Bankier-Karp and Shain 2022;Bentzen 2021;Corcoran, Scheitle, and DiGregorio 2021;DiGregorio et al 2021;Molteni et al 2021;Schnabel and Schieman 2022;Upenieks, Ford-Robertson, and Robertson 2022;Upenieks 2022b). While these studies are valuable, focusing on religion in the West, where religious activity remains relatively unregulated, is inappropriate for establishing general patterns of religiosity, as the majority of the global population, including the people of China, lives under moderate to severe religious restriction (Pew Research Center 2022).…”

Religious Beliefs, Trust In Public Figures, And Adherence to COVID-19 Health Guidelines among American Orthodox and Non-Orthodox Jews

“…Orthodox Jewish communities are highly interdependent and collectivistic, and their communal life relies heavily on in-person gatherings (Heilman, 2000 ). Under ordinary circumstances, this communal environment provides complementary group resources (products of religious communal belonging), social identity resources (products of being accepted as a religious group member), and psychosocial resources (products of religious beliefs; Bankier-Karp & Shain, 2022 ; Hayward & Krause, 2014 ). However, measures adopted throughout the USA that prohibited or strictly limited public religious activities (Burke, 2020 ; VanderWeele, 2020 ), while deemed necessary to minimize the spread of COVID-19, had an outsized effect on Orthodox Jews, especially because of religious requirements for and reliance upon in-person prayer services that cannot be substituted by electronically mediated services (Bankier-Karp & Shain, 2022 ).…”

“…Indeed, Orthodox Jewish communities, especially tight-knit Hasidic groups, experienced higher rates of COVID-19 mortality than other ethnic or religious groups, and numerous influential religious leaders died, which further negatively impacted communal morale (Stack, 2020 ). However, other studies show a conflicting pattern: Notwithstanding the decline in group resources, likely a result of the cessation of public religious life, Orthodox Jews actually reported high levels of resilience, including an increase in psychosocial aspects of religion relevant to coping (Aronson et al, 2022 ; Bankier-Karp & Shain, 2022 ; Graham et al, 2020 ).…”