Religiosity of Roman Catholics in Poland and the Meanings of In Vitro Fertilisation: Evidence from Network Psychometrics

TL;DR

This study explores how Roman Catholics in Poland associate religious concepts like 'sin' with in vitro fertilization, revealing complex attitudes despite high religiosity.

Contribution

The study introduces network psychometrics to analyze the interplay between religiosity and IVF perceptions in a highly religious population.

Findings

'Sin' is identified as the central concept in the network of meanings associated with IVF.

'Artificial fertilisation' is found to be an ambiguous and multifaceted meaning in the network.

Polish Roman Catholics generally hold positive or neutral views of IVF despite high religiosity.

Abstract

This research employs network psychometrics to elucidate the connection between religiosity and the meanings ascribed to in vitro fertilisation (IVF), using a representative sample of Polish Roman Catholics (N=874). Although Poland is known as a country with high indicators of religiosity, studies show that Polish Roman Catholics generally hold positive or neutral views of IVF. Of particular significance is the emergence of “sin” as the central node within the network of meanings associated with IVF. Furthermore, “artificial fertilisation” surfaces as a particularly ambiguous meaning. Beyond its scientific contribution, this article offers practical implications for shaping health policy pertaining to IVF.

Figures