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Belief in a Loving Versus Punitive God and Behavior
Author(s) -
Shepperd James A.,
Pogge Gabrielle,
Lipsey Nikolette P.,
Miller Wendi A.,
Webster Gregory D.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of research on adolescence
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.342
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1532-7795
pISSN - 1050-8392
DOI - 10.1111/jora.12437
Subject(s) - punitive damages , psychology , forgiveness , social psychology , law , political science
We examined the extent to which beliefs in a loving God and punitive God correspond with self‐reported behavior in an online, longitudinal survey involving three waves of data collection, each separated by 6 months. Adolescents ( N = 760) reported the extent to which they believed in a loving God and a punitive God (Times 1 and 3) and reported their engagement in benevolent (helping and forgiveness) and aggressive behavior (Times 2 and 3). Participants strongly endorsed a loving God but not a punitive God. In addition, belief in a loving God corresponded with reports of less aggressive and more benevolent behavior, whereas belief in a punitive God corresponded with more aggressive and less benevolent behavior.