Mattering to God and to the Congregation: Gendered Effects in Mattering as a Mechanism Between Religiosity and Mental Health

Abstract

A vast literature suggests favorable links between religiosity and mental health. Yet, the concept of "mattering" is an underexplored concept in the sociology of religion. Using a sample of U.S. adults from the 2017 Baylor Religion Survey, we investigate whether any associations between several aspects of religiosity (worship attendance, prayer, attachment to God, and God image) and mental health may be mediated by perceptions of mattering, and whether these pathways differ for men and women. Results from structural equation models indicate that mattering mediates the relationships between attachment to God, holding a judgmental God image, and worship attendance with depressive symptoms for women only. Further, holding a judgmental God image and worship attendance are mediated by mattering in predicting women's anxiety. We discuss the impact of mattering and the gendered pathways through which some aspects of religion and mental health are connected.

Trust in God and/or Science? Sociodemographic Differences in the Effects of Beliefs in an Engaged God and Mistrust of the COVID-19 Vaccine

“…First, drawing from the large literature at the intersection of science and religion, we ask whether beliefs in an engaged God predict a lack of trust in the COVID-19 vaccine. Second, recognizing that this pattern is unlikely to be consistent across sociodemographic characteristics, which themselves also predict attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine (Mohan et al, 2021 ; Olagoke et al, 2021 ; Piltch-Loeb et al, 2021 ; Sallam, 2021 ; Viswanath et al, 2021 ) and are linked with beliefs in God’s causal influence over daily life (Bonhag & Upenieks, 2021 ; Hayward et al, 2017 ; Lincoln & Mamiya, 1990 ; Schieman, 2010 ; Schieman & Jung, 2012 ), we consider how race, gender, and social class (education) may moderate the association between beliefs in an engaged God and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. For the disenfranchised members of American society, the belief in an engaged, involved God may lead them to freely draw on a limitless source of power that they can cede control to, including over their health and risk of COVID-19 infection.…”

“…Women tend to have stronger beliefs in divine control and God’s engagement in daily affairs (Schieman et al, 2010 ). Women also tend to hold more favorable views of God compared to men and are more likely to conjure positive and loving images of God (Bonhag & Upenieks, 2021 ; Jung, 2020 ). Moreover, women are likely to have a stronger God locus of health control relative to men (Boyd & Wilcox, 2020 ).…”

Religion, Spirituality, and Mental Health Among Scientists During the Pandemic: A Four‐country Study

“…Although extensive research indicates that R/S are positively related to physical and mental well‐being (Hackney and Sanders 2003; Schieman, Bierman, and Ellison 2013; Jung 2020; Bonhag and Upenieks 2021), it is important to seek a nuanced understanding of this relationship. For example, the literature prompted us to explore: (1) whether religiosity is always beneficial to people's well‐being (Bradshaw, Ellison, and Flannelly 2008; Kaushal et al.…”

“…2013; Galek et al. 2015; Bonhag and Upenieks 2021; Schnabel and Schieman 2022), this need not always be the case. For instance, religious attendance (a public form of religious practice) is positively related to life satisfaction (Maselko and Kubzansky 2006) and negatively related to anxiety (Ellison, Burdette and Hill 2009) and depression (Hayward et al.…”

“…Although extensive research indicates that R/S are positively related to physical and mental well-being (Hackney and Sanders 2003;Schieman, Bierman, and Ellison 2013;Jung 2020;Bonhag and Upenieks 2021), it is important to seek a nuanced understanding of this relationship. For example, the literature prompted us to explore: (1) whether religiosity is always beneficial to people's well-being (Bradshaw, Ellison, and Flannelly 2008;Kaushal et al 2022); (2) which measurement of religiosity is associated with the scientists' well-being (Strawbridge et al 2001;Bartkowski, Acevedo, and Van Loggerenberg 2017;Jung 2020;Speed and Lamont 2021;Kaushal et al 2022); and (3) should scholars treat R/S as similar or separate concepts in their analysis of R/S and well-being (Emmons 2005;Park 2005;Koenig 2009;Lake 2012)?…”