Assistant Professor Po-Wen She from the Department of Finance of National Sun Yat-Sen University (right) collaborated with researchers at the University of Cambridge to study the psychological effects of religious beliefs during the pandemic (the upper left and lower left pictures are taken from the report).

“Do Religious People Cope Better in a Crisis? Evidence from the UK Pandemic Lockdowns,” a study conducted by Assistant Professor Po-Wen She of NSYSU’s Department of Finance in collaboration with the University of Cambridge (UK), has been featured in foreign media outlets such as the BBC. According to the study, people with religious beliefs were better able to cope with psychological and emotional stress during the 2020-21 pandemic lockdowns in the United Kingdom than those without religious beliefs.

Together with Professor Shaun Larcom and Professor Sriya Iyer from the Department of Land Economy of the University of Cambridge, Professor She analyzed data from 3,884 people during the first and second national lockdowns in the UK and compared it with the three waves of data prior to the pandemic.

They found that, despite the general low mood during the lockdowns, the mental health of religious people was less negatively impacted than that of non-religious people.

The team noted that the study shows that it is not only having religious beliefs that matters, but also the level of devotion to them, which is crucial for coping with crises.

This study was featured in a foreign media report at the following link:

• Religious people coped better with Covid-19 pandemic, research suggests（University of Cambridge）
• Cambridge University studies claim religion may have helped during Covid（BBC）
• Religious people coped better with Covid pandemic: Study（IANS）
• Religious Communities Coped Better During COVID-19 Pandemic, Studies Show（DAILY CALLER）
• UK studies claim religion may have helped during COVID-19 （CathNews）