Greg DalyReligious believers who feel protected by God can be inclined to take risks
Religious belief and practice can encourage people to take bigger risks than they might otherwise do, according to a new Stanford University study.
Previous studies have found that faith in a higher power can lead to the avoidance of risky behaviours such as substance abuse, unprotected sex, and gambling, but in a study published in Psychological Science, researchers found that risk aversion is linked with religion only when risks are perceived as having a moral dimension.
According to Daniella Kupor, the study’s lead author, the researchers wondered whether in cases of risk without moral connotations, reminders of God would cause people to feel safe and protected and therefore more willing to take risks.
They tested this theory through online surveys with almost 900 participants, finding that when people were reminded of God — whether through word scrambles that included God-related words or by reading a paragraph about God — they were more willing to engage in various risky behaviours than those participants who weren’t prompted to think about God.
Even such simple expressions as “God knows what you’re missing” would influence participants’ reactions, the study found.
Ms Kupor and her fellow researchers attribute this to how participants think about God. With most participants reporting membership of a Judeo-Christian faith, they tended to see God as a source of divine protection. Cultures in which God is not seen in so benevolent a light might lead to different results, they caution.