Are Religious Practices Indirectly Related to Stress at Work Through the Tendency to Forgive? A Sample of Polish Employees.

Religiosity has been a neglected factor in studies regarding the workplace in comparison to spirituality. Some available studies have indicated positive outcomes of religious commitment and intrinsically religious-oriented employees. There is however a lack of research explaining how religious commitment is related to occupational well-being. This study aimed to examine the mechanism of the relationship between religious practices and stress at work and the role of forgiveness as a moral virtue underlying this link. The participants in the study were 754 employees from Poland. The research used a cross-sectional design. The mechanism controlled for gender, denomination, age, education, and the level of position held, and the indirect relationship between prayer and mass attendance and stress at work through forgiveness was confirmed. Religious practices were positively related to a lack of revenge and avoidance motivation, which, in turn, was negatively correlated with stress at work. The role of religious commitment in occupational well-being was discussed, considering socio-cultural conditioning, and the theoretical and practical implications were presented.

Factors Affecting Australian Catholics' Return to Mass After COVID-19 Church Closures.

In 2020, many places of worship closed due to COVID-19 restrictions, raising questions about rates of return to worship after COVID-19. This survey-based study of 806 Australian churchgoing Catholics explores relationships between a range of variables and the rate of return to Mass attendance after church closures. Pre-closure Mass attendance rate strongly and significantly predicted real-life worship during church closures and higher rates of return to Mass attendance after churches reopened. Real-life worship during COVID-19 also strongly predicted return to Mass attendance, and positively mediated the relationship between pre- and post-closure Mass attendance rates. Virtual worship engagement did not significantly predict return to Mass attendance, but positively mediated the relationship between pre- and post-closure Mass attendance rates, with a smaller effect size.