Summary: Given the common narrative that religion and science are in conflict (Elsdon-Baker, 2019; Rutjens & Preston, 2020), we propose to explore the role of religiosity in compliance with differentially framed health-related advice based on scientific findings. In a UK pilot study (N=350), we found that less religious individuals trusted health-related scientific data more when they believed the data source was a scientific journal rather than the UK government (while controlling for political orientation). Highly religious participants instead trusted the data equally regardless of the source, suggesting that religious people are not biased against science. Responding to the INSBS Small Research Grants call, we take a novel approach to studying the religion-science relation by investigating whether religiosity plays a role in compliance with scientific health advice crossculturally.

Compliance with health advice, such as social distancing, is extremely important when dealing with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic (and preventing a second wave). Our project would allow us to determine effective ways of communicating such advice to people with diverse religious beliefs cross-culturally. We would also encourage the public to re-evaluate the stereotypic perceptions of religious people as science sceptics.

We would address the following main research question:

• Can we increase health-advice compliance by tailoring communication to people with diverse beliefs cross-culturally? Specifically:
• Source framing: Are there cultural differences in the way religious, non-religious, and spiritual but non-religious (SBNR) people respond to advice communications presented by different sources (e.g., governments versus scientists)?
• Certainty framing: Are there cultural differences in the way people with diverse beliefs respond to advice communications presented as certain (“social distancing will definitely reduce virus spread”) or uncertain (“social distancing will likely reduce virus spread”)?

We will recruit participants with differing levels of religiosity and religious beliefs (Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam) from countries differentially affected by the coronavirus pandemic (the UK, USA, Canada, Taiwan, Malaysia) using online recruitment platforms. We will present participants with differently framed (in terms of certainty and source) coronavirus prevention advice via online surveys and measure participants’ intentions to comply with that advice.