ABSTRACT:
Introduction. While religious group membership has been associated with positive health outcomes, it may also shape how people engage with health advice, sometimes in ways that present challenges. Given these mixed findings, the role of religious group membership in long COVID prevalence and severity warrants closer examination. This study investigated whether religious group membership functions as a protective or risk factor for the long COVID prevalence and severity. Method. Data were drawn from Round 11 of the European Social Survey (N = 25,124) across 24 countries. Multilevel multinomial logistic mediation models tested whether the association between religious group membership and long COVID prevalence and severity was mediated by two divergent pathways: frequency of religious attendance (enactment) and religiosity (significance of beliefs). Results. As predicted, religious group membership was indirectly associated with a lower likelihood of reporting long COVID symptoms via more frequent attendance at religious services. In contrast, greater religiosity, operationalised as the significance people attribute to their religious beliefs, was associated with a greater likelihood of reporting persistent symptoms. Conclusions. These findings suggest that the potential health advantages of religious group membership may be associated with opportunities for social connection and participation. Public health interventions should consider how both religious and secular forms of group participation can be leveraged to support people managing long COVID and other chronic conditions.