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Big Five personality and religiosity: Bidirectional cross-lagged effects and their moderation by culture
[journal article]
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... view more
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.... view less
Keywords
ALLBUS; culture; personality development; religiousness; Federal Republic of Germany; personality traits
Classification
Personality Psychology
Sociology of Religion
Free Keywords
Big Five; Allgemeine Bevölkerungsumfrage der Sozialwissenschaften ALLBUS - Kumulation 1980-2018 (ZA5274 v1.0.0)
Document language
English
Publication Year
2023
Page/Pages
p. 736-752
Journal
Journal of Personality, 91 (2023) 3
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12770
ISSN
1467-6494
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed
Licence
Creative Commons - Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0