Valuing Care Protects Religiosity from the Antisocial Consequences of Impersonal Deontology
Morality typically includes prosociality but often also extends to impersonal deontology. Religion, theoretically and empirically, is concerned with both moral domains. What happens when the two domains are in conflict? Do religious people prefer impersonal deontology at the detriment of prosocialit...
| Published in: | Journal of empirical theology |
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| Authors: | ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2016
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| In: |
Journal of empirical theology
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Religiosity
/ Morals
/ Deontology
/ Altruism
/ Conflict
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| RelBib Classification: | AE Psychology of religion NCA Ethics |
| Further subjects: | B
Care
purity
deontology
consequentialism
morality
religiosity
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Summary: | Morality typically includes prosociality but often also extends to impersonal deontology. Religion, theoretically and empirically, is concerned with both moral domains. What happens when the two domains are in conflict? Do religious people prefer impersonal deontology at the detriment of prosociality? Or do their prosocial inclinations allow them to transgress conflicting moral principles, for instance through white lies? Participants (177 Belgian adults) made a choice in several hypothetical moral dilemmas and were afterwards evaluated on Haidt’s moral foundations (care, fairness, authority, loyalty, and purity) and religiosity. When the conflict implied minor consequences for the target, religiosity predicted impersonal deontology at the detriment of prosociality, because of a high endorsement of purity. However, when the consequences were severe, religiosity was unrelated to impersonal deontology due to a suppressor effect of care. The findings indicate that prosocial dispositions shape religiosity into a ‘compassionate moral rigorism’, thus protecting it from excessive moralism. |
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| ISSN: | 1570-9256 |
| Contains: | In: Journal of empirical theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15709256-12341339 |