Our strong desire for materials is generated by spiritual deprivation: how do religious beliefs affect materialism among Chinese?

Abstract Religious beliefs are believed to alleviate individuals’ materialism by many Western scholars. The current research investigated whether religious beliefs related to lower levels of materialism among Chinese groups, and if so, whether meaning in life mediated this relationship. Two studies were conducted in this research. By employing large-scale archival data from the 2018 Chinese General Social Survey, Study 1 revealed that Chinese people believing in religion showed weaker materialistic tendencies, as reflected by the frequency of shopping in the past year. Study 2 was a cross-sectional survey study, demonstrating that meaning in life mediated the association between religious beliefs and materialism. Specifically, individuals with religious beliefs had more presence of meaning and therefore exhibited weaker materialism, whereas individuals without religious beliefs tended to search for meaning, which contributed to greater materialism. Our findings not only further the understanding about how religious beliefs affect materialism but also suggest possible ways to mitigate materialism.