Spirituality, Conspiracy Beliefs, SCAM and Vaccine Attitudes

This study investigated the impact of spirituality and SCAM (so-called alternative medicine) use on perceptions of vaccine harmfulness, with a focus on COVID-19 and mandatory childhood vaccinations. Additionally, it examined whether spirituality indirectly influences vaccine hesitancy through SCAM use and beliefs in conspiracies.

A cross-sectional probability-based survey was conducted with over 1300 participants from South Tyrol, Italy, in 2023, using the GrAw-7 (Gratitude/Awe) scale as a measure of the experiential aspect of non-religious spirituality. Statistical analysis encompassed Spearman’s correlation and linear regression to assess the associations between spirituality and vaccine perceptions. A mediation model was applied to evaluate the role of spirituality in shaping attitudes towards vaccination.

The results show that higher experiential spirituality was associated with increased perceived harmfulness of COVID-19 and mandatory childhood vaccinations. Spirituality as well as perceived harmfulness of COVID-19 vaccination and mandatory childhood vaccination were correlated with age, increased SCAM utilisation and conspiracy ideation, while institutional distrust was solely associated with vaccine scepticism but not with spirituality; well-being and altruism were only associated with spirituality. Mediation analysis revealed that experiential spirituality accounted for a modest but significant portion of the influence of SCAM use and conspiracy thinking on vaccine perceptions.

The authors concluded that their study underscores the association between experiential spirituality and vaccine perceptions, particularly among individuals with a predisposition towards SCAM and those who exhibit conspiracy-related beliefs, highlighting the intricate relationships without implying causation. While spirituality does not appear to directly hinder vaccine uptake, it correlates with heightened perceptions of vaccine risks, particularly within contexts where alternative health practices and distrust in mainstream medical authorities are prevalent. This relationship emphasises that people who score high on spiritual awareness may be indirectly influenced to differ from others with respect to vaccination attitudes by promoting scepticism towards vaccine safety and efficacy. Even if we cannot change the spirituality of people, we know now that we can address information campaigns not only by attempting to build trust but also by addressing information to people preferring SCAM use and being spiritual at once. We think that this result is an important insight when focusing vaccine campaigns on vaccine-hesitant persons. These findings emphasise the importance of incorporating spiritual awareness, convictions, and beliefs into public health communication strategies. To address vaccine hesitancy within spiritually inclined populations, public health campaigns could explore framing vaccination in ways that resonate with values such as community care, personal responsibility, or altruism while ensuring that these messages are tailored to the diverse beliefs and perspectives of these groups. Moreover, collaboration with spiritual and community leaders could serve as a strategy to strengthen vaccine acceptance in populations that perceive health through a spiritual perspective. Future research should further explore the interactions between spirituality, SCAM use, and beliefs in conspiracies, with an emphasis on understanding how spirituality mediates health behaviours in culturally and religiously diverse contexts. Longitudinal studies and analyses across broader demographic groups are necessary to generalise these findings and refine public health interventions aimed at addressing spirituality-linked vaccine hesitancy.

My interpretation of these findings is that they confirm what we have repeatedly discussed here: There is a link between SCAM use and vaccination hesitance. It most likely is due to a cross-correlation: a certain mindset (that includes spirituality and several other phenomena) influences the distrust in vaccinations as well as the use of SCAM (and other things like, for instance, the belief in conspiracy theories).