Belief in supernatural agents in the face of death
Abstract
Four studies examined whether awareness of mortality intensifies belief in supernatural agents among North Americans. In Studies 1 and 2, mortality salience led to more religiosity, stronger belief in God, and in divine intervention. In Studies 3 and 4, mortality salience increased supernatural agent beliefs even when supernatural agency was presented in a culturally alien context (divine Buddha in Study 3, Shamanic spirits in Study 4). The latter effects occurred primarily among the religiously affiliated, who were predominantly Christian. Implications for the role of supernatural agent beliefs in assuaging mortality concerns are discussed.
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Living under conditions of low existential threat increases the likelihood of becoming a disbeliever.
“In summary, there appear to be at least three plausible contributors to religious disbelief: a lack of exposure to CREDs in the community while growing up, living under conditions of low existential threat, and a reliance on an analytic (vs. intuitive) cognitive style should all increase the likelihood of becoming a disbeliever.”
From The amoral atheist? A cross-national examination of cultural, motivational, and cognitive antecedents of disbelief, and their implications for morality (2021) · cites this paper as [32]
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- Authors
- Norenzayan, A., & Hansen, I. G.
- Affiliations
- University of British Columbia,
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- ORCID
- Hansen, Ian G.
- Venue
- Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2006-02
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 174-187
- ISSN
- 0146-1672 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-7433
- OpenAlex
- W2038682099
- Cited by
- 390
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 27 · 2016: 21 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 24 · 2013: 22 · 2012: 28
- FWCI
- 12.94
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
- Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Paranormal Experiences and Beliefs
- Keywords
- mortality salience, supernatural agents, belief in God, religiosity, divine intervention, fear of death, Buddhist deities, religious affiliation, coping with death
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Attitude to Death, Culture, Female, Humans, Male, Parapsychology, Surveys and Questionnaires, Religion
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