Vol.:(0123456789) Journal of Religion and Health https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-020-01108-2 1 3 ORIGINAL PAPER Determination of Breast Cancer Fatalism in Women and the Investigation of the Relationship Between Women’s Cervical Cancer and Pap Smear Test Health Beliefs with Religious Orientation and Fatalism Ayse Berivan Bakan 1  · Gulpinar Aslan 2  · Metin Yıldız 1 Accepted: 6 October 2020 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020 Abstract This study aims to determine breast cancer fatalism in women and investigate the relationship between women’s cervical cancer and pap smear test health beliefs with religious orientation and fatalism. The study, which was conducted as a descriptive and relational screening one, was conducted in the eastern part of Turkey between July and August 2019. The study was conducted with 357 women who were not diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer, and who were not pregnant. A positive, signifcant relationship was found between the Religious Orientation Scale total mean score and Health Motivation and Pap smear Beneft Perception sub-scale mean score. A positive, signifcant relationship was found between the Fatalism Tendency Scale total mean score and Sensitivity, Importance Perception, Pap smear Beneft Perception and Pap smear Barrier Perception sub-scale mean scores (p < .05). The participating women were found to have a low level of breast cancer fatalism. Reli- gious Orientation and Fatalism Tendency were found to have afected the Cervical Cancer and Pap Smear Test Health Beliefs. Similar studies are recommended to be conducted in larger groups and diferent regions. Keywords Religion · Woman · Cancer screening · Fatalism · Breast · Cervical cancer * Ayse Berivan Bakan absavci77@gmail.com Gulpinar Aslan pinar_goksuguzel@hotmail.com Metin Yıldız fb_metin1907@hotmail.com 1 Department of Nursing, Agri Ibrahim Cecen University School of Health, Agri, Turkey 2 Public Health Nursing, Ataturk Unıversity Health Sciences Institute, Erzurum, Turkey