Diverging Perceptions of Personal Moral Values and the Values of One's Religious Group

A popular notion in many religions is that less pious individuals are also less moral. We sought to test the self-described moral values of religious and nonreligious individuals under the framework of Moral Foundations Theory. In Study 1, we found that atheists differ from Christians in some moral...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal for the scientific study of religion
Authors: Clark, Travis Daryl 1989- (Author) ; Grove, Richard (Author) ; Swanson, Casey (Author) ; Terrell, Heather K. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Wiley-Blackwell [2020]
In: Journal for the scientific study of religion
Year: 2020, Volume: 59, Issue: 1, Pages: 119-140
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Religious group / Value ethics / Atheism
IxTheo Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
NCB Personal ethics
NCC Social ethics
Further subjects:B Atheism
B Humility
B Morality
B Religion
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
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Description
Summary:A popular notion in many religions is that less pious individuals are also less moral. We sought to test the self-described moral values of religious and nonreligious individuals under the framework of Moral Foundations Theory. In Study 1, we found that atheists differ from Christians in some moral domains. We also found evidence that Christians' self-ratings are consistently lower than what they perceive to be the moral values of other Christians. This finding contradicts previous findings that suggest that Christians may inflate their positive characteristics relative to their peers in other domains. In Studies 2 and 3, we tested several alternative explanations for this finding. Preliminary evidence suggests that Christians rate their moral values lower in comparison to Christian exemplars such as religious leaders, and not from a sense of humility. In contrast, atheists may not have exemplars for such a comparison.
ISSN:1468-5906
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for the scientific study of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/jssr.12644