Explaining the Belief in God

Jared B. Kenworthy’s research is interesting for various reasons. What caught my attention was the following:

Believers perceived their own position as being more rational than both the in-group and the out-group. Nonbelievers, by contrast, attributed equivalent amounts of rationality to themselves and to the in-group, both of which exceeded that attributed to the believing out-group.

In his research Mr. Kenworthy uses rational reasons and emotionality as opposites to explain why people come to conclusion, where “internal, rational process is seen as positive, and an emotional or external origin for an attitude is seen as negative.”

One could slightly overstate this research claiming that for believers, their faith is rational, but the faith of others is not.

See Explaining the Belief in God for Self, In-Group, and Out-Group Targets.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.