Read the full paper [here][1].
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This paper is under review (1/10/16).
**Abstract**:
Religious beliefs are a critical part of many people’s lives, yet little is known about how they change in reaction to the loss of close others or develop over the lifespan (especially later in life). For example, individuals with different personality traits might react differently in terms of changes in their religious beliefs after loss. The current research sought to understand how loss predicted religiosity's development over time, assessing both religiosity and personality prior to loss and observing changes over a ten-year period. Religiosity and personality were both highly rank-order stable, but religiosity did show changes depending on personality traits together with the experience of loss. Taken together the results deepen understanding of the dynamic association between religiosity and personality and suggest that future research should consider personality traits together with major life events to better understand whether individuals turn toward or away from religion in response to death.
[1]: https://osf.io/kxrp8/