Religion and the Sense of Control in Cross-National Perspective: The Importance of Religious Context

Abstract

Is individual religiosity associated with the sense of control? If so, does a nation’s religious context modify that association? Multilevel analyses with data from the sixth wave of the World Values Survey (2010–2014) demonstrate that religious attendance and prayer are positively associated with the sense of control, net of individual- and country-level controls. However, belief in God is not associated with the sense of control. Furthermore, cross-level interactions suggest that the association between individual religiosity and the sense of control varies across national religious context. Specifically, religious attendance, prayer, and belief in God are more positively associated with the sense of control in countries with higher levels of religiosity than in countries with lower levels of religiosity. I discuss the theoretical implications of these findings for views about religion, sense of control, and the linkage between macro-level contexts and micro-level factors.