Religious Attendance and Health Behavior in Cross-National Perspective: The Role of Religious Context

Abstract

Background: A substantial body of evidence shows that individuals with higher levels of religious attendance are more likely to avoid risky health behaviors and adopt beneficial health behaviors. Yet, less is known about the extent to which these patterns vary across national context. Purpose: The current study aims to examine how religious attendance is associated with health behavior cross-nationally. More importantly, it assesses the ways that country-level religiosity moderates this association. In this endeavor, the current study focuses on five health behaviors—smoking, drinking, eating fruit, eating vegetables, and participating in physical activity. Methods: The current study uses multilevel modeling with data from the seventh round of the European Social Survey (2014). Results: The multilevel analyses demonstrate that religious attendance is negatively associated with drinking and smoking whereas it is positively associated with eating fruit, eating vegetables, and participating in physical activity cross-nationally. In addition, religious context moderates these associations in a way that lends support to the moral communities thesis. Specifically, the negative association between religious attendance and smoking behavior is stronger in countries with higher levels of religiosity. In a similar vein, the positive association between religious attendance and participating in physical activity is stronger in countries with higher levels of religiosity. However, the positive association between religious attendance and eating fruit is weaker in countries with higher levels of religiosity, which runs counter to the moral communities thesis. Conclusions and Implications: The results in the study suggest that religious attendance has beneficial effects on health behavior. By analyzing a large, cross-national dataset, the current study lays a firmer basis for the generalization that religious attendance may discourage negative health behavior and promote positive health behavior. In addition, the current study elaborates on this pattern by documenting the moderating role of national religious context. The findings in the study implicate the importance of considering national context in research on religious involvement and health behavior.