New Study Shows Even Thinking about God Boosts Positive Moral Behavior

LifeSiteNews Staff/TN : Aug 31, 2007
LifeSiteNews

"These are compelling findings that have substantial impact on the study of social behaviour because they draw a causal relationship between religion and acting morally—a topic of some debate."

(Vancouver, B.C.)—University of British Columbia psychology researchers have made a "compelling" discovery as it relates to the connection between God and moral behavior. Their finding? Thoughts related to God cultivate cooperative behavior and generosity.

As reported in LifeSiteNews, in a study to be published in the September issue of Psychological Science journal, researchers investigated how thinking about God and notions of a higher power influenced positive social behavior, specifically cooperation with others and generosity to strangers.

The research is reportedly the first of its kind in North America. According to researchers Azim Shariff and Ara Norenzayan "were surprised by the magnitude of the positive results for the religious 'prime' in both studies. Sixty-eight per cent of subjects from the religious prime groups allocated $5 or more to anonymous strangers, compared to 22 per cent from groups where neutral or no concepts were activated."

Said Shariff, "These are compelling findings that have substantial impact on the study of social behavior because they draw a causal relationship between religion and acting morally—a topic of some debate. They by no means indicate that religion is necessary for moral behavior, but it can make a substantial contribution."