Abstract
Background: Religious explanatory frameworks predominate in African contexts, where spiritual, divine, and supernatural causation often serve as primary lenses for interpreting socioeconomic phenomena including health, poverty, education, and economic outcomes. While religion provides undeniable spiritual and social benefits, concerns have emerged regarding potential socioeconomic ramifications when religious attributions eclipse empirical, structural, and systemic analyses of social challenges. Objective: This study critically analyzed the relationship between religious explanatory primacy and socioeconomic outcomes in African contexts, examining mechanisms through which religious attribution patterns influenced development trajectories. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between January and August 2024 across Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana, employing multistage sampling to recruit 1,500 adult respondents (500 per country) from urban and rural communities. Data were collected through structured questionnaires measuring religious explanatory primacy via a validated 20-item Religious Attribution Scale and socioeconomic outcomes using standardized indices for healthseeking behavior, educational investment, entrepreneurial orientation, and poverty alleviation strategies. Statistical analysis proceeded through univariate descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations and chi-square tests, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to examine direct, indirect, and moderated relationships between constructs. Results: Univariate analysis revealed that 63.3% of respondents exhibited high religious attribution (M=73.42, SD=15.68), with 42.1% endorsing primarily prayer-focused poverty strategies and 35.4% prioritizing spiritual over biomedical health approaches. Bivariate analysis demonstrated significant negative correlations between religious attribution and health-seeking behavior (r=-0.412, p
Keywords
Religious attribution, explanatory frameworks, socioeconomic outcomes, locus of control, African development.