Download full text
(external source)
Citation Suggestion
Please use the following Persistent Identifier (PID) to cite this document:
https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v10i4.5766
Exports for your reference manager
When Believing in Divine Immanence Explains Vaccine Hesitancy: A Matter of Conspiracy Beliefs?
[journal article]
Abstract This article analyzes the relationship between religiosity and vaccine hesitancy by highlighting the role of a specific dimension of religiosity that makes some people more prone to explaining health conditions as a divine agency - the belief in the immanent presence of the divine in everyday life. ... view more
This article analyzes the relationship between religiosity and vaccine hesitancy by highlighting the role of a specific dimension of religiosity that makes some people more prone to explaining health conditions as a divine agency - the belief in the immanent presence of the divine in everyday life. Accordingly, these people may undervalue the role of vaccination as a solution to cope with a pandemic and may be more skeptical of vaccines. We suggest a mechanism explaining the relationship between religiosity and vaccine hesitancy by focusing on the mediating role of beliefs in conspiracy theories, given that belief in divine immanence and conspiracy theories share the common trait of attributing agency to hidden forces. Beliefs in conspiracy theories, in turn, have been shown to be among the strongest predictors of vaccine hesitancy. By using a moderated mediation analysis on Italian survey data collected during the Covid-19 pandemic, we show that such a mechanism helps explain the relationship between believing in divine immanence and vaccine hesitancy among people not adhering to institutional religiosity. In contrast, this mechanism does not apply when the immanent conception of the divine is framed within a system of beliefs belonging to institutional religion.... view less
Keywords
epidemic; vaccination; religious factors; disinformation; faith; Italy; ideology
Classification
Philosophy, Ethics, Religion
Social Psychology
Health Policy
Free Keywords
Covid-19; conspiracy beliefs; religiosity; vaccine hesitancy
Document language
English
Publication Year
2022
Page/Pages
p. 168-176
Journal
Politics and Governance, 10 (2022) 4
Issue topic
The Role of Religions and Conspiracy Theories in Democratic and Authoritarian Regimes
ISSN
2183-2463
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed