“Lean not on your own understanding”: Belief that morality is founded on divine authority and non-utilitarian moral judgments
Recent research has shown that religious individuals are much more resistant to utilitarian modes of thinking than their less religious counterparts, but the reason for this is not clear. We propose that a meta-ethical belief that morality is rooted in inviolable divine commands (i.e., endorsement o...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2013-11-01
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| Series: | Judgment and Decision Making |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1930297500004691/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1797701664307675136 |
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| author | Jared Piazza Justin F. Landy |
| author_facet | Jared Piazza Justin F. Landy |
| author_sort | Jared Piazza |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Recent research has shown that religious individuals are much more resistant to utilitarian modes of thinking than their less religious counterparts, but the reason for this is not clear. We propose that a meta-ethical belief that morality is rooted in inviolable divine commands (i.e., endorsement of Divine Command Theory) may help explain this finding. We present a novel 20-item scale measuring a belief that morality is founded on divine authority. The scale shows good internal reliability and convergent and discriminant validity. Study 1 found that this scale fully mediated the relationship that various religiosity measures had with a deontological thinking style in our sample of American adults. It also accounted for the link between religiosity and social conservative values. Furthermore, the relationship between the scale and these outcome variables held after statistically controlling for variables related to actively open-minded thinking and the Big Five. Study 2 replicated the results using naturalistic moral dilemmas that placed deontological and utilitarian concerns in conflict, and showed that the results of Study 1 cannot be explained by differences in moral foundations (e.g., concern for authority more generally) or differences in the perceived function of rules. Quite the contrary, endorsement of the divine origins of morality fully mediated the relationship religiosity had with the so-called “binding” foundations (i.e., Loyalty, Authority, and Sanctity). Our findings highlight the importance of meta-ethical beliefs for understanding individual differences in moral judgment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T04:39:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5980048d5fa543b09ac83e1aa3b9fc82 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1930-2975 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T04:39:56Z |
| publishDate | 2013-11-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Judgment and Decision Making |
| spelling | doaj.art-5980048d5fa543b09ac83e1aa3b9fc822023-09-03T09:45:49ZengCambridge University PressJudgment and Decision Making1930-29752013-11-01863966110.1017/S1930297500004691“Lean not on your own understanding”: Belief that morality is founded on divine authority and non-utilitarian moral judgmentsJared Piazza0Justin F. Landy1Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, 3720 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104–6241Department of Psychology, University of PennsylvaniaRecent research has shown that religious individuals are much more resistant to utilitarian modes of thinking than their less religious counterparts, but the reason for this is not clear. We propose that a meta-ethical belief that morality is rooted in inviolable divine commands (i.e., endorsement of Divine Command Theory) may help explain this finding. We present a novel 20-item scale measuring a belief that morality is founded on divine authority. The scale shows good internal reliability and convergent and discriminant validity. Study 1 found that this scale fully mediated the relationship that various religiosity measures had with a deontological thinking style in our sample of American adults. It also accounted for the link between religiosity and social conservative values. Furthermore, the relationship between the scale and these outcome variables held after statistically controlling for variables related to actively open-minded thinking and the Big Five. Study 2 replicated the results using naturalistic moral dilemmas that placed deontological and utilitarian concerns in conflict, and showed that the results of Study 1 cannot be explained by differences in moral foundations (e.g., concern for authority more generally) or differences in the perceived function of rules. Quite the contrary, endorsement of the divine origins of morality fully mediated the relationship religiosity had with the so-called “binding” foundations (i.e., Loyalty, Authority, and Sanctity). Our findings highlight the importance of meta-ethical beliefs for understanding individual differences in moral judgment.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1930297500004691/type/journal_articlemoral judgmentreligiosityDivine Command Theoryutilitarianismdeontologymeta-ethicsauthorityMoral Foundations Theoryconservatismactively open-minded thinking |
| spellingShingle | Jared Piazza Justin F. Landy “Lean not on your own understanding”: Belief that morality is founded on divine authority and non-utilitarian moral judgments Judgment and Decision Making moral judgment religiosity Divine Command Theory utilitarianism deontology meta-ethics authority Moral Foundations Theory conservatism actively open-minded thinking |
| title | “Lean not on your own understanding”: Belief that morality is founded on divine authority and non-utilitarian moral judgments |
| title_full | “Lean not on your own understanding”: Belief that morality is founded on divine authority and non-utilitarian moral judgments |
| title_fullStr | “Lean not on your own understanding”: Belief that morality is founded on divine authority and non-utilitarian moral judgments |
| title_full_unstemmed | “Lean not on your own understanding”: Belief that morality is founded on divine authority and non-utilitarian moral judgments |
| title_short | “Lean not on your own understanding”: Belief that morality is founded on divine authority and non-utilitarian moral judgments |
| title_sort | lean not on your own understanding belief that morality is founded on divine authority and non utilitarian moral judgments |
| topic | moral judgment religiosity Divine Command Theory utilitarianism deontology meta-ethics authority Moral Foundations Theory conservatism actively open-minded thinking |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1930297500004691/type/journal_article |
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