Religious Conspiracy Theories About the COVID-19 Pandemic Are Associated With Negative Mental Health

Alice Kosarkova; Klara Malinakova; Lukas Novak; Jitse P Van Dijk; Peter Tavel

doi:10.3389/ijph.2022.1604324

Religious Conspiracy Theories About the COVID-19 Pandemic Are Associated With Negative Mental Health

Int J Public Health. 2022 Aug 26:67:1604324. doi: 10.3389/ijph.2022.1604324. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Alice Kosarkova^{1

2}, Klara Malinakova¹, Lukas Novak¹, Jitse P Van Dijk^{1

2

3}, Peter Tavel¹

Affiliations

¹ Olomouc University Social Health Institute (OUSHI), Olomouc, Czechia.
² Department of Community and Occupational Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands.
³ School Kosice Institute for Society and Health, P.J. Safarik University in Kosice, Kosice, Slovakia.

Abstract

Objectives: Together with the COVID-19 pandemic, conspiracy theories have begun to spread. Evidence is lacking for religious conspiracy theories (RCT) related to COVID-19 in a non-religious environment. This study aimed to assess links between religiosity and spirituality (R/S) and RCT about COVID-19, and to examine their associations with mental health. Methods: A sample of Czech adults (n = 1,273, mean age = 47.5, SD = 16.4; 51.5% male) participated in the survey. We measured R/S, RCT, negative religious coping (NRC), feelings impairment and mental health symptoms. Results: We found R/S were significantly associated with RCT with β 0.71 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.59-0.82) for the strongest association. Moreover, RCT and NRC were strongly associated with paranoia, anxiety and depression. The most frequent association was found for NRC and paranoid ideation, with β of 0.35 (95% CI 0.26-0.44). Conclusion: Our findings showed associations between religiosity/spirituality and beliefs in religious conspiracy theories about COVID-19. Moreover, these RCT and negative religious coping were linked to higher possibility of mental health problems. Understanding these associations may help prevent this negative impact and contribute to the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic help.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; mental health; religiosity; religious conspiracy beliefs; religious coping; spirituality.

MeSH terms

Adaptation, Psychological
Adult
Anxiety / epidemiology
Anxiety Disorders
COVID-19* / epidemiology
Female
Humans
Male
Mental Health*
Middle Aged

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic, project Biological and psychological aspects of spiritual experience and their associations with health (Contract No. 19-19526S) and by the Sts Cyril and Methodius Faculty of Theology of Palacký University Olomouc, internal project Spiritual and social determinants of health with a focus on the COVID-19 pandemic situation (Grant number IGA-CMTF-2021-005). Sts Cyril and Methodius Faculty of Theology of Palacký University Olomouc, internal project Research Areas of Pedagogical Work with Children and Adults, IGA_CMTF_2022_004 to AK.