Relationship between religious characteristics and responses to vigilantism

• Published in: Personality and individual differences Vol. 55; no. 5; pp. 496 - 501
• Main Author: Miller, Monica K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2013; Elsevier
• Subjects: Behavior. Attitude; Biological and medical sciences; Devotionalism; Evangelism; Extrinsic religiosity; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fundamentalism; Individual differences; Intrinsic religiosity; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Religious characteristics; Social psychology; Vigilantism; United States; North America; America; Vigilantism; Extrinsic religiosity; Individual differences; Fundamentalism; Evangelism; Religious characteristics; Devotionalism; Intrinsic religiosity; Social environment; Belief; Human; Punishment; Religious attitude; University environment; Religion; Student; Forgiveness; Motivation; Cultural environment; Interindividual comparison
• ISSN: 0191-8869; 1873-3549
• DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2013.04.014

•Are religious beliefs, motivations related to responses to vigilantism?•Subjects read 3 scenarios describing vigilantism in response to 3 crimes.•Punitiveness is related to low fundamentalism, extrinsic religiosity, evangelism.•Punitiveness is related to high devotionalism, intrinsic religiosity.•Motivations are more frequent predictors of responses than beliefs. Religious characteristics are often related to attitudes about legal issues (e.g., death penalty). This study investigated whether U.S. university students’ religious beliefs (i.e., fundamentalism, devotionalism, evangelism) and religious motivations (i.e., intrinsic, extrinsic religiosity) were associated with responses to vigilantism (i.e., whether the vigilante is justified, should be legally responsible, should receive a lighter sentence). Participants read three scenarios describing vigilantism in response to different crimes (murder, drug dealing, child molestation). More punitive responses to vigilantism were associated with being low in fundamentalism, extrinsic religiosity, and evangelism, and with being high in devotionalism and intrinsic religiosity. Motivations were more frequent predictors of responses to vigilantism than beliefs. Results are the first step in explaining relationships between religious characteristics and responses to vigilantism.