Psychological wellbeing and belief in divine control during the third Covid-19 lockdown among The Episcopal Church

Designed to replicate an earlier study conducted among members of the Church of England, this study explored the connection between self-perceived change in psychological wellbeing during the pandemic (measured by The Index of Balanced Affect Change; TIBACh) and belief in divine control (measured by the God in Control of the Pandemic Scale; GiCoPS) among 3,430 lay or ordained members of The Episcopal Church in the USA. Belief in divine control was lower among women, older people, laity, and ethnically white participants; and higher among Evangelicals, Charismatics, and those holding conservative preferences for worship, doctrine and morality. After taking control variables into account, belief in divine control was associated with greater self-perceived increase in positive affect and lower self-perceived increase in negative affect.