The relation between religion and depression in Europe: The moderating role of the religious context

Previous research has found that religiosity is positively related to mental well-being. This study assesses whether the religious context moderates the relationship between individual levels of religiosity and depression in the religiously diverse European context. We apply multilevel models, examining 68,874 individuals in 29 European countries subdivided into 277 regions from the sixth (2012) and seventh (2014) wave of the European Social Survey. First, we found that religious service attendance is associated with fewer depressive feelings, but the opposite is true for frequency of prayer. Second, the results indicate that the association between religiosity and depression is moderated by the religious context. In less religious regions, depressive symptoms relate less to service attendance than in highly religious regions, while frequency of praying relates to more depressive symptoms in regions with lower levels of religiosity.