Lonely in church: The role of the God concept and attachment

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between religiosity and spirituality (R/S), the God concept, Attachment to God and loneliness among believers in the secular context of the Czech Republic. Data were collected from September 2023 to October 2024 on a sample of 5,202 participants aged 18 to 91 (31.1 ±14.2 years; 40.8% men). The Concept of God, Attachment to God (AGI), Loneliness (UCLA), Sensory Perception Sensitivity (SPSQ), Neuroticism and Extraversion (BFI) and religious attendance and affiliation were measured. The Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal–Wallis one-way ANOVA, multiple linear regression and binomial logistic regression were used for statistical analysis. Higher loneliness was associated with being a believer outside the church or a convinced atheist (OR = 1.30–1.33, p < .05), a negative concept of God (OR = 1.43, p < .05) and avoidant attachment to God (b = 0.09, p < .001). Lower loneliness was associated with a positive concept of God (OR = 0.76, p < .05), contrary to expectations, anxious attachment to God (b = -0.13, p < .001) and with regular church attendance (once or more times a week; OR = 0.61, p < .05) in the case of social loneliness. First, we found that church affiliation and regular attendance are associated with lower levels of loneliness, suggesting they serve as potential protective factors against loneliness. Second, our data indicate that believers are not a homogeneous group, as their level of loneliness depends on their concept of God and their attachment to God.