Beliefs in the end of the world, justice, religiosity and system preservation: a psychological study of how the "end of the world" could match common belief systems

While historical research has shown that Beliefs in the End of the World (BEW) are present in human culture, no psychological study has yet explored why people endorse one BEW rather than another. The aim of this study is to understand how the BEWs are linked to other beliefs. Three BEWs were studie...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:  
Bibliographische Detailangaben
VerfasserInnen: Jugel, Milena (VerfasserIn) ; Lecigne, André (VerfasserIn)
Medienart: Elektronisch Aufsatz
Sprache:Englisch
Verfügbarkeit prüfen: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Lade...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Veröffentlicht: Routledge [2015]
In: Journal of beliefs and values
Jahr: 2015, Band: 36, Heft: 2, Seiten: 175-189
RelBib Classification:AB Religionsphilosophie; Religionskritik; Atheismus
AE Religionspsychologie
weitere Schlagwörter:B System Justification (SJ)
B Beliefs in a Just World (BJW)
B Beliefs in the End of the World (BEW)
B Religiosity
Online Zugang: Volltext (Verlag)
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:While historical research has shown that Beliefs in the End of the World (BEW) are present in human culture, no psychological study has yet explored why people endorse one BEW rather than another. The aim of this study is to understand how the BEWs are linked to other beliefs. Three BEWs were studied: Human Deserved End of the World (HDEW) (ecological view of the end of the world); AOW (an external and total end of the world); and Religious End of the World (RSEW) (end of the world caused by a God). Several common beliefs were hypothetically linked to them: Immanent and Ultimate Justice (two dimensions of the Belief in a Just World [BJW]); System Justification (SJ); and Religiosity. Eight hundred and eighty-one participants answered our questionnaires on general Internet forums. Results showed that: (1) HDEW is explained positively by Immanent Justice and negatively by SJs; (2) Annihilation of the World (AOW) is explained negatively by Ultimate Justice and Religiosity, and positively by SJ; and (3) RSEW is explained positively by Religiosity and Ultimate Justice. Justice, Religiosity and preservation of one's way of life (SJ) seem to be ways to cope with the symbolic threat that is represented by the End of the World. Some perspectives for a psychological study of BEWs are presented.
ISSN:1469-9362
Enthält:Enthalten in: Journal of beliefs and values
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/13617672.2015.1041788