Reminding people of their religious belief system reduces hostility

http://news.yorku.ca/2014/10/15/reminding-people-of-their-religious-belief-system-reduces-hostility-york-u-research/

TORONTO, Oct 15, 2014 – Few topics can prove more divisive than religion, with some insisting it promotes compassion, selflessness and generosity, and others arguing that it leads to intolerance, isolation and even violence.

New research conducted at York University, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, may shed some light on religion’s actual influence on believers – and the news is positive.

•••••


Post navigation
Reminding people of their religious belief system reduces hostility: York U research

TORONTO, Oct 15, 2014 – Few topics can prove more divisive than religion, with some insisting it promotes compassion, selflessness and generosity, and others arguing that it leads to intolerance, isolation and even violence.

New research conducted at York University, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, may shed some light on religion’s actual influence on believers – and the news is positive.

“Based on our premise that most people’s religious beliefs are non-hostile and magnanimous, we hypothesized that being reminded of religious beliefs would normally promote less hostile reactions to the kinds of threats in everyday life that usually heighten hostility,” says researcher Karina Schumann, the article’s lead author, now a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University.

•••••