Does Religiosity Matter for Islamic Banking Adoption?

Abstract

Religiosity is frequently identified as an important determinant of Islamic banking adoption, yet empirical findings vary across countries, banking services, populations, and analytical models. This study systematically synthesises Scopus-indexed evidence to estimate the overall relationship between religiosity and consumers’ intention to adopt Islamic banking services and to examine potential sources of between-study variation. A systematic literature review and random-effects meta-analysis were conducted using Scopus records identified from database inception to September 2026. Of 310 records screened, 46 studies were included in the systematic review, while 10 independent studies comprising 2,545 participants provided comparable effect sizes for quantitative synthesis. Pearson correlations were transformed using Fisher’s z and pooled using a restricted maximum likelihood random-effects model. Religiosity showed a substantial positive association with Islamic banking adoption intention, with a pooled correlation of 0.614 (95% confidence interval: 0.524–0.691). Considerable heterogeneity was observed, with an I² of 91.5%, although the prediction interval remained positive. Exploratory moderator analyses indicated no statistically significant differences by geographical context or adoption target. Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of the pooled association, while Egger’s test did not detect significant small-study effects. These findings indicate that religiosity is an important correlate of Islamic banking adoption, although its influence varies substantially across contexts and should not be interpreted causally.