RT Article
T1 How Do Perceptions of God as Autonomy Supportive or Controlling Relate to Individuals' Social-Cognitive Processing of Religious Contents? The Role of Motives for Religious Behavior
JF The international journal for the psychology of religion
VO 22
IS 1
SP 10
OP 30
A1 Soenens, Bart
A1 Neyrinck, Bart
A1 Vansteenkiste, Maarten
A1 Dezutter, Jessie
A1 Hutsebaut, Dirk
A1 Duriez, Bart
A2 Neyrinck, Bart
A2 Vansteenkiste, Maarten
A2 Dezutter, Jessie
A2 Hutsebaut, Dirk
A2 Duriez, Bart
LA English
YR 2012
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1846855357
AB Using self-determination theory as a guiding framework, this study examined whether perceptions of God as autonomy supportive and controlling were related to individuals' belief in a transcendent reality and to their social-cognitive style of approaching religious contents (i.e., literal and rigid vs. symbolic and flexible). Further, we examined whether individuals' motives for religious behavior (i.e., autonomous vs. controlled) would mediate these associations. In a sample of 267 religiously active participants, we found that the two types of perceptions of God were positively related to belief in transcendence but were differentially related to a symbolic approach. Specifically, a perception of God as autonomy supportive related positively and a perception of God as controlling related negatively to a symbolic approach. Some evidence was obtained for a mediating role of motives for religious behavior in these associations. Discussion focuses on how self-determination theory can contribute to research on the psychology of religion.
DO 10.1080/10508619.2012.634781