Fear God, Not COVID-19: Is Conservative Protestantism Associated with Risky Pandemic Lifestyles?

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Sociology of Religion
• Health Psychology

Background:

• COVID-19 pandemic revealed variations in health attitudes and behaviors.
• Religious factors influencing health outcomes are gaining research attention.
• Conservative Protestant rhetoric and beliefs may impact pandemic health behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test if conservative Protestants perceive the COVID-19 pandemic as less threatening than other religious groups and the non-religious.
• To examine if conservative Protestants engage in riskier pandemic lifestyles compared to other groups.

Main Methods:

• Utilized nationally representative data.
• Employed statistical analyses to compare conservative Protestants with other religious groups and the non-religious.
• Controlled for confounding factors in the analysis.

Main Results:

• Conservative Protestants generally perceived the pandemic as less threatening.
• Conservative Protestants tended to engage in riskier pandemic lifestyles.
• Hypotheses were supported, indicating a pattern of riskier health behaviors within this group.

Conclusions:

• Affiliation with conservative Protestant denominations may negatively impact public health among adherents during pandemics.
• Findings suggest potential risks to personal and community health due to an "otherworldly focus" within some religious traditions.
• Recommendations for pandemic health promotion among conservative Protestants and future research directions are discussed.