Death of Loved Ones: Change and Function of Different Dimensions of Religiosity

Coping with the death of loved ones is a classic research topic in the psychology of religion. To follow up, we concentrate on both the buffering effect of religiosity and spirituality (R/S) dimensions on life satisfaction and on the change of religiosity dimensions after the negative life event of the death of a loved one. The Centrality of Religiosity Scale (CRS), measured in a general population panel survey across several waves, allows a differentiated analysis of these processes. Using fixed-effects regression for longitudinal data, we modeled (i) the change in R/S dimensions and (ii) the buffering effect on life satisfaction as an interaction of time in relation to the event and pre-event R/S dimensions as a resource. We used data from the Swiss Household Panel (SHP) from 1999 to 2024 (N = 14,482). After bereavement, the Private (Prayer) and Public Practices dimensions of R/S increase in the short term; other dimensions show no immediate significant change. Findings on the potential function of R/S in buffering a drop in life satisfaction provide differentiated insights: Prayer and Meditation (Private Practices) show a short-term buffering effect; however, more frequent meditation is associated with a lower level of life satisfaction. Regular R/S service attendance (Public Practice) before bereavement goes with worsened life satisfaction (aggravating effect) following the loss; the same is observed for separation. Our results lay a new foundation for more specialized research in this area, including the specific effects of meditation practice.