Mechanistic and Applied Insights into Religious Emotion: Mediation–Moderation Evidence Linking Religiosity to Optimism–Pessimism in Taiwanese Undergraduates
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Religious experience is inherently affective, yet the mechanisms by which religious belief relates to psychological outlook remain under-specified. This study tests a three-factor model of emotions toward God as affective mechanisms that mediate and/or moderate links between religiosity and dispositional outlook in Taiwanese undergraduates. A sample of 551 students completed validated measures of multidimensional religiosity (CRSi-14), emotions toward God (EtG; good, bad, moral), and dispositional optimism/pessimism (LOT-R). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the three-factor EtG structure. Hayes PROCESS models examined mediation (Model 4) and moderation (Model 1). Mediation analyses showed that good emotions significantly mediated the positive association between religiosity and optimism (indirect β=0.32, 95% Confidence Interval; CI [0.13, 0.51]), whereas bad emotions fully mediated the religiosity-pessimism link (indirect β=0.15, 95% CI [0.048, 0.254]); moral emotions did not mediate either outcome. Moderation tests indicated that good emotions moderated the religiosity-pessimism relationship (β interaction = -0.282, p=.019), such that religiosity related more strongly to reduced pessimism when good emotions were lower; no significant moderation emerged for bad or moral emotions. Findings advance basic affective theory by specifying valenced religious emotions as distinct mechanisms, and they inform applied mental-health practice by identifying emotion-focused targets (amplifying “good” emotions, addressing “bad” emotions) through which religiosity may shape youth outlook.
DOI: 10.14419/h8qnrw67
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4417298023
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