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An existential function of evil: The effects of religiosity and compromised meaning on belief in magical evil forces

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Abstract

In three studies, we tested the assertion that the need for meaning motivates belief in magical evil forces. Believing that there are magical evil forces at work in the world, though unpleasant, may contribute to perceptions of meaning in life as the existence of such forces supports a broader meaning-providing religious worldview. We assessed religiosity, measured (Study 1) or manipulated (Study 2) perceptions of meaning, and assessed the extent to which participants attributed a murderer’s actions to magical evil causes (e.g., having a dark soul). Low levels of perceived meaning or experimentally threatened meaning were associated with a greater tendency to make magical evil attributions, but only among individuals reporting high levels of religiosity. In Study 3, we assessed religiosity, experimentally threatened perceptions of meaning, and measured general belief in magical evil forces. Meaning threat increased belief in magical evil, but only among those reporting high levels of religiosity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA

    Clay Routledge, Andrew A. Abeyta & Christina Roylance

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  1. Clay Routledge
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  2. Andrew A. Abeyta
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  3. Christina Roylance
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Correspondence to Clay Routledge.

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Authors Routledge, Abeyta, and Roylance have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical standards

All procedures performed in the reported studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the American Psychological Association Ethics Code. In addition, informed consent was obtained from all participants in the reported studies and all participants were fully debriefed after they participated in the study.

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Routledge, C., Abeyta, A.A. & Roylance, C. An existential function of evil: The effects of religiosity and compromised meaning on belief in magical evil forces. Motiv Emot 40, 681–688 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-016-9571-9

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