Paranormal Beliefs, Vaccine Confidence, and COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake

Conservative religious ideologies have been linked to vaccine hesitancy. Yet, little is known about how paranormal beliefs relate to vaccine confidence and uptake. We hypothesize that paranormal beliefs will be negatively related to both confidence and uptake due to their association with lower leve...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Authors: Corcoran, Katie E. (Author) ; Scheitle, Christopher P. 1981- (Author) ; DiGregorio, Bernard D. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Oxford Univ. Press 2023
In: Sociology of religion
Year: 2023, Volume: 84, Issue: 2, Pages: 111-143
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B USA / Belief in spirits / Vaccination / Trust / Wissenschaftsbewertung / Conspiracy theory / COVID-19 (Disease) / Pandemic
RelBib Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
AZ New religious movements
KBQ North America
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Conservative religious ideologies have been linked to vaccine hesitancy. Yet, little is known about how paranormal beliefs relate to vaccine confidence and uptake. We hypothesize that paranormal beliefs will be negatively related to both confidence and uptake due to their association with lower levels of trust in science and a greater acceptance of conspiratorial beliefs. We test this hypothesis using a new nationally representative sample of U.S. adults fielded in May and June of 2021 by NORC. Using regression models with a sample of 1,734, we find that paranormal beliefs are negatively associated with general vaccine confidence, COVID-19 vaccine confidence, and COVID-19 vaccine uptake. These associations are partially or fully attenuated net of trust in science and conspiratorial belief. Although not a focus of the study, we also find that Christian nationalism’s negative association with the outcomes is fully accounted for by measures of trust in science and conspiratorial beliefs.
ISSN:1759-8818
Contains:Enthalten in: Sociology of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1093/socrel/srac024