Replication Data for: Religious and conspiracist? An analysis of the relationship between the dimensions of individual religiosity and belief in a big pharma conspiracy theory

In the increasing scholars’ attention to factors associated with conspiracy beliefs, religiosity has been under-investigated, at least in empirical research. This work aims to address the issue by analysing to what extent and in which forms individual religiosity is associated with conspiracy beliefs. Religion and conspiracy theories could show both similarities and dissimilarities. First, as alternative religiosity and conspiracy theories tend to spread knowledge stigmatized by the authorities, we expect that alternative religious beliefs are positively associated with conspiracy beliefs. Second, as religion and conspiracy theories explain events with the agency of invisible forces and detect patterns in nature, also conventional religious beliefs are supposed to be positively associated with conspiracy beliefs. Third, church attendance is hypothesized to discourage conspiracy beliefs, as exposure to religious authorities could deter the adhesion to unofficial narratives. By employing data coming from the Italian joint edition of the European Values Study-World Values Survey 2018, the article tests the hypotheses by analysing the association between the multiple dimensions of individual religiosity and belief in a conspiracy theory on pharmaceutical companies. Results show that, after controlling for confidence in political and religious institutions and attitudes towards science, only alternative religious beliefs, here measured with belief in the reincarnation, are positively associated with belief in the big pharma conspiracy theory. Empirical evidence suggests taking caution when looking at similarities between conventional religiosity and conspiracy beliefs.在学界日益关注与阴谋论信念相关的影响因素之际，宗教虔诚性（religiosity）的相关研究仍显不足，至少在实证研究层面是如此。本研究旨在解决这一研究缺口，通过分析个体层面的宗教虔诚性与阴谋论信念的关联程度及具体形式展开探究。宗教与阴谋论既存在相似性，也存在差异性。其一，另类宗教虔诚性与阴谋论往往会传播被当权者污名化的知识，因此我们推测，另类宗教信念与阴谋论信念呈正相关关系。其二，宗教与阴谋论均以无形力量的动因来解释各类事件，并试图探寻自然中的规律模式，因此传统宗教信念亦被认为与阴谋论信念呈正相关关系。其三，研究假设宗教礼拜参与度会抑制阴谋论信念的形成，因为接触宗教权威机构可能会阻碍个体接受非官方叙事。本研究采用2018年意大利版《欧洲价值观研究-世界价值观调查》（"European Values Study-World Values Survey"）联合数据集，通过分析个体宗教虔诚性的多维度与医药公司阴谋论信念之间的关联，对上述研究假设进行检验。研究结果显示，在控制了对政治与宗教机构的信任度以及对科学的态度等变量后，唯有以轮回信念为测量指标的另类宗教信念，与医药巨头阴谋论信念呈显著正相关关系。本研究的实证结果表明，在审视传统宗教虔诚性与阴谋论信念之间的相似性时，需保持审慎态度。