Approaches toward religion shape life satisfaction through motives and consumption types

This cross-sectional study investigated whether consumer motivations, materialism, and inconspicuous consumption mediate the connection between post-critical beliefs and life satisfaction. The study involved 212 Polish adults (73% female) aged 18–60 who completed the Post-Critical Beliefs Scale, the Consumer Motives Scale, the Material Values Scale, the Inconspicuous Consumption Scale, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. The findings revealed that the motive of belonging and inconspicuous consumption serially mediated the link between symbolic affirmation and life satisfaction. Furthermore, fun motives and materialism serially mediated the relationships between literal interpretations of religion (affirmation and disaffirmation) and life satisfaction. Individuals with high symbolic faith are driven by a sense of belonging, leading to inconspicuous consumption and increased life satisfaction. On the contrary, those with a literal approach to religion, regardless of belief, are motivated by fun and materialism, resulting in lower life satisfaction.