Exploring the existential function of religion and supernatural agent beliefs among Christians, Muslims, atheists, and agnostics
- PMID: 22700240
- DOI: 10.1177/0146167212449361
Exploring the existential function of religion and supernatural agent beliefs among Christians, Muslims, atheists, and agnostics
Abstract
Building on research suggesting one primary function of religion is the management of death awareness, the present research explored how supernatural beliefs are influenced by the awareness of death, for whom, and how individuals' extant beliefs determine which god(s), if any, are eligible to fulfill that function. In Study 1, death reminders had no effect among Atheists, but enhanced Christians' religiosity, belief in a higher power, and belief in God/Jesus and enhanced denial of Allah and Buddha. Similarly, death reminders increased Muslims' religiosity and belief in a higher power, and led to greater belief in Allah and denial of God/Jesus and Buddha (Study 2). Finally, in Study 3, death reminders motivated Agnostics to increase their religiosity, belief in a higher power, and their faith in God/Jesus, Buddha, and Allah. The studies tested three potential theoretical explanations and were consistent with terror management theory's worldview defense hypothesis. Theoretical implications are discussed.
Similar articles
-
Belief in supernatural agents in the face of death.Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2006 Feb;32(2):174-87. doi: 10.1177/0146167205280251. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2006. PMID: 16382080
-
Exploring the existential function of religion: the effect of religious fundamentalism and mortality salience on faith-based medical refusals.J Pers Soc Psychol. 2009 Aug;97(2):334-50. doi: 10.1037/a0015545. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2009. PMID: 19634979
-
A terror management analysis of the psychological functions of religion.Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2010 Feb;14(1):84-94. doi: 10.1177/1088868309351165. Epub 2009 Nov 25. Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2010. PMID: 19940284
-
A theoretical and empirical review of the death-thought accessibility concept in terror management research.Psychol Bull. 2010 Sep;136(5):699-739. doi: 10.1037/a0020524. Psychol Bull. 2010. PMID: 20804234 Review.
-
Terror management theory applied clinically: implications for existential-integrative psychotherapy.Death Stud. 2014 Jul-Dec;38(6-10):412-7. doi: 10.1080/07481187.2012.753557. Epub 2013 Sep 17. Death Stud. 2014. PMID: 24666148 Review.
Cited by
-
Would you exchange your soul for immortality?-existential meaning and afterlife beliefs predict mind upload approval.Front Psychol. 2023 Dec 14;14:1254846. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1254846. eCollection 2023. Front Psychol. 2023. PMID: 38162973 Free PMC article.
-
Coping with mortality salience: the role of connection thinking and afterlife beliefs in Chinese context.Front Psychol. 2023 Nov 22;14:1190906. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1190906. eCollection 2023. Front Psychol. 2023. PMID: 38078250 Free PMC article.
-
Investigating the Role of Normative Support in Atheists' Perceptions of Meaning Following Reminders of Death.Front Psychol. 2022 Jul 5;13:913508. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.913508. eCollection 2022. Front Psychol. 2022. PMID: 35865689 Free PMC article.
-
The Link Between COVID-19, Anxiety, and Religious Beliefs in the United States and the United Kingdom.J Relig Health. 2021 Aug;60(4):2196-2208. doi: 10.1007/s10943-021-01296-5. Epub 2021 May 29. J Relig Health. 2021. PMID: 34050906 Free PMC article.
-
Posterior medial frontal cortex and threat-enhanced religious belief: a replication and extension.Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2020 Dec 24;15(12):1361-1367. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsaa153. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2020. PMID: 33180108 Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
