Reflections on Religious Belief and Prosociality: Comment on Galen (2012)

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-2012

Publication Source

Psychological Bulletin

Volume Number

138

Issue Number

5

First Page

913

Last Page

917

Publisher

American Psychological Association

ISSN

0033-2909

Abstract

Luke Galen (2012) offers a timely analysis of associations between religiosity and prosocial and antisocial attitudes and behaviors. After identifying 10 points of agreement, I raise 8 questions for further reflection and research: (1) Is ingroup giving and volunteerism not prosocial? (2) Are religion-related prosocial norms part of the religious factor? (3) Is social support also appropriately considered part of the religious factor? (4) Are self-report data from more and less religious people invalid? (5) How should we disentangle gender and religiosity? (6) How might we resolve "the religious engagement paradox"? (7) Does religion serve an adaptive, evolutionary function? And (8) Might research further explore religiosity, in its varieties, and prosociality?

Keywords

religiosity, religion, altruism, prosocial

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