Religiosity, Emotions, Resilience, and Wellness during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Study of Taiwanese University Students

Abstract

One hard fact of COVID-19 is the uncertainty of all things. Anchoring on the assumption that the religiosity of an individual has a profound impact on their emotions, resilience, and wellness, this study investigated the levels of the centrality of religiosity, emotions towards God, resilience, and wellness among 399 Taiwanese university students. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, factor analysis, group comparisons, multiple regression, and mediation analysis. Findings showed that most of the participants were religious. Furthermore, the 16 emotions towards God were successfully factored into three distinct sub-groups, namely: pleasant, unpleasant, and moral valence, which were later found to be quite related to Asian religions. More importantly, the results suggested that the resiliency of an individual can be attributed to their belief in the existence of God or the Divine, while the wellness indicators of security and satisfaction were related to one’s religiosity. Lastly, structural equation modeling showed that resilience fully mediated the relationship between the ideology dimension of religiosity and the security and satisfaction component of wellness. In addition to discussing these significant results, this paper also included some implications of the study results, particularly the importance of religiosity and emotions toward God or the Divine in sustaining resilience and promoting wellness, especially in the context of crisis, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Loss of Faith and Decrease in Trust in a Higher Source During COVID-19 in Germany

“…International studies and statements from the first phase of the pandemic would assume that faith/religiosity is an important resource to cope with the pandemic (Asadzandi et al, 2020 ; Barmania & Reiss 2020 ; Edara et al, 2021 ; Koenig 2020 ; Kowalczyk et al, 2020 ; Peteet 2020 ; Pirutinsky et al, 2020 ). A study from Poland assumed a “protective influence” of a person´s faith (Kowalczyk et al, 2020 ).…”

“…It is widely accepted that a person´s faith or religiosity not only can be a resource to cope with difficult life situations (Weber & Pargament 2014 ) but also can contribute to maintaining wellbeing during the corona pandemic (Asadzandi et al, 2020 ; Barmania & Reiss 2020 ; Edara et al, 2021 ; Koenig 2020 ; Kowalczyk et al, 2020 ; Peteet 2020 ; Pirutinsky et al, 2020 ). One may assume, therefore, that faithful people can rely on this resource and are more able to cope with the pandemic than can non-religious persons.…”

Perceived Changes of Attitudes and Behaviors of Seventh-Day Adventists During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Findings from a Cross-Sectional Survey in Germany

“…It is well known that a person´s faith or spirituality can be a buffer against adverse life events (Weber & Pargament, 2014 ), and thus it was assumed that this resource is relevant also to cope with the adverse effects of the corona pandemic (Kowalczyk et al, 2020 ; Pirutinsky et al, 2020 ; Asadzandi et al, 2020 ; Barmania & Reiss, 2020 ; Peteet, 2020 ; Koenig, 2020 ; Edara et al, 2021 ). Also for Muslims, it was stated that religion and religious coping may buffer health anxiety during the pandemic and may help to stabilize their wellbeing (Saud et al, 2021 ; Mahmood et al, 2021 ; Anchour et al, 2021 ).…”

Building Emotional Resilience: Japanese Women’s Religious and Spiritual Coping Strategies in the Time of COVID-19

“…Yet, religiosity and spirituality are known sources of coping strategies for emotional distress in challenging times (Gard et al 2014;Bryce Yaden 2019;Lucchetti et al 2019;de Rezende-Pinto et al 2019;Nita 2019). While the mechanisms underlying the association between spirituality, religiosity, and emotional health outcomes are not yet completely understood (Ano and Vasconcelles 2005;Ivtzan and Papantoniou 2014;Guendelman et al 2017;Büssing 2019), spirituality and religiosity have already been positively correlated with individuals' capacity to adapt and cope with the difficulties and stressors of the pandemic (Lucchetti et al 2020;Ferrell et al 2020;Del Castillo et al 2020;Pirutinsky et al 2020;Edara et al 2021). As such, spirituality and religiosity are identified as sources of resilience in that they enable individuals to enact strategies improving subjective well-being and quality of life.…”