Abstract
Uncertainty, fear, and distress have become prevalent in the lives of U.S. residents since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The unpredictable reality of social distancing, shutdowns, and isolation have affected daily routines and influenced well-being and health. Drawing on consumer culture theory, we conducted an exploratory study to examine the mediating role of consumer spirituality in the subjective well-being of religious Christians during COVID-19 and to discover links between well-being and health outcomes. Participants from the United States (n = 104) were recruited via a Qualtrics’ online panel. Findings show that religiosity among Christians enhanced subjective well-being, demonstrating the positive effect of religious beliefs, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, spiritual consumption mediated this relationship, suggesting the importance of possessions to religious expression and subjective well-being. Implications for messaging about health and well-being are discussed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1719-1733 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Journal of Religion and Health |
| Volume | 61 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 2022 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
Funding
We are grateful to have received funding from the following sources to help undertake this research: Ariel University Grants Program for COVID-19 Research (Israel), the Meadows School of the Arts, the Temerlin Advertising Institute, and the Marriott Family Endowed Professor Award at Southern Methodist University.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Meadows School of the Arts | |
| Southern Methodist University | |
| Temerlin Advertising Institute | |
| Ariel University |
Keywords
- COVID-19
- Consumer spirituality
- Health messaging
- Religiosity
- Subjective well-being
- United States