Cross-National Comparison of Religion as a Predictor of COVID-19 Vaccination Rates

We examined the effects of religiosity on COVID-19 vaccination rates using a cross-national comparison while controlling for socio-economic factors and culture. Our analysis, conducted on data from 90 countries representing 86% of the world population, showed that Christianity was negatively related to vaccination, while there was no relation with Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and nonbelief. The importance of religion, freedom of expression and belief, sex ratio, median age, and almost all cultural factors were not related to vaccination, whereas Human Development Index was. The influence of different religions on vaccination rates has also been described.

Automated summary

This study examined the effects of religiosity on COVID-19 vaccination rates through a cross-national comparison. The results showed a negative relationship between Christianity and vaccination rates, while there was no significant relation with other religions or nonbelief. Factors such as the importance of religion, cultural factors, and freedom of expression and belief were not related to vaccination rates, but the Human Development Index was. The study also described the influence of different religions on vaccination rates.