Faith and Health: How Religion Impacts Science Views and COVID-19 Outcomes in Finland

Let's zoom in on Finland and see how people's religious beliefs affect their views on science and healthcare, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research shows that those who consider themselves more religious tend to have less positive views on science, tech, and medicine compared to non-religious folks. This was found by looking at data from four Finnish surveys. But that's not all. Areas with more conservative religious groups saw higher COVID-19 spread and fewer people getting vaccinated. These trends stuck around throughout the pandemic. This tells us that when making health policies, we need to think about how religious beliefs might influence how people react to health advice. Why does this matter? It could help explain why some places have more people not following health guidelines. It's like finding a missing piece of the puzzle.