The role of religiosity in labour pain management among Orthodox Christian and Muslim women in Greece

Religiosity is increasingly recognised as a factor associated with psychological resilience; however, its specific role in the subjective appraisal of childbirth pain remains underexplored. Set within the sociocultural context of Greece, a predominantly Orthodox Christian country with a diverse Muslim minority, this cross-sectional study has a dual aim: to compare self-reported labour pain perceptions between Orthodox Christian and Muslim women, and to evaluate individual religiosity as an independent predictor of pain intensity. A convenience sample of 121 postpartum women assessed within 24–48 h of delivery was recruited, comprising 63 Orthodox Christian and 58 Muslim participants who had undergone spontaneous vaginal deliveries without the use of epidural analgesia. Individual religiosity was measured using a scale based on the Sethi and Seligman model. Pain perception was evaluated using the Perception of Labour Pain Questionnaire, a multidimensional self-report rating scale. Data were analysed using group comparisons and linear regression models. Muslim women reported lower overall pain scores compared to Orthodox Christian participants (p < 0.001). While overall religiosity scores were comparable between groups, higher individual religiosity emerged as an independent predictor of lower perceived pain (B = −0.18, p = 0.038). Higher educational attainment was associated with higher pain scores (B = 2.18, p = 0.008). Group differences emerged in specific pain dimensions, with Orthodox Christian women reporting higher scores regarding the physical nature of pain and external medical stressors. Individual religiosity was associated with lower perceived labour pain, while group differences by religious affiliation appeared intertwined with migrant and cultural background. Rather than implying a direct causal effect on physiological pain expression, it is argued that sociodemographic and theological factors provide distinct cultural scripts for navigating childbirth.