Mechanistic and Applied Insights into Religious Emotion: Mediation–Moderation Evidence Linking Religiosity to Optimism–Pessimism in Taiwanese Undergraduates
About this article
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.
Keywords
- Religiosity
- Emotions Toward God
- Optimism
- Pessimism
- Affective Mechanisms
- Mediation
- Moderation
- Taiwanese Undergraduates
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