Psychological wellbeing and belief in divine control during the third COVID-19 lockdown among The Episcopal Church

Village, Andrew; Francis, Leslie J.

Psychological wellbeing and belief in divine control during the third COVID-19 lockdown among The Episcopal Church

Village, Andrew ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2174-8822 and Francis, Leslie J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2946-9980 (2026) Psychological wellbeing and belief in divine control during the third COVID-19 lockdown among The Episcopal Church. Mental Health, Religion & Culture. pp. 1-13.

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/13674676.2025.2534513

Abstract

Designed to replicate an earlier study conducted among members of the Church of England, this study explored the connection between self-perceived change in psychological wellbeing during the pandemic (measured by The Index of Balanced Affect Change) and belief in divine control (measured by the God in Control of the Pandemic Scale) among 3430 lay or ordained members of The Episcopal Church in the USA. Belief in divine control was lower among women, older people, laity, and ethnically White participants; and higher among Evangelicals, Charismatics, and those holding conservative preferences for worship, doctrine, and morality. After taking control variables into account, belief in divine control was associated with greater self-perceived increase in positive affect and lower self-perceived increase in negative affect.