Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Beliefs About God and Mental Health Among American Adults

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Religion and Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study examines the association between beliefs about God and psychiatric symptoms in the context of Evolutionary Threat Assessment System Theory, using data from the 2010 Baylor Religion Survey of US Adults (N = 1,426). Three beliefs about God were tested separately in ordinary least squares regression models to predict five classes of psychiatric symptoms: general anxiety, social anxiety, paranoia, obsession, and compulsion. Belief in a punitive God was positively associated with four psychiatric symptoms, while belief in a benevolent God was negatively associated with four psychiatric symptoms, controlling for demographic characteristics, religiousness, and strength of belief in God. Belief in a deistic God and one’s overall belief in God were not significantly related to any psychiatric symptoms.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aardema, F., O’Connor, K. P., & Emmelkamp, P. M. G. (2006). Inferential confusion and obsessive beliefs in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 35(3), 138–147.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Alatiq, Y., Crane, C., Williams, J. M. G., & Goodwin, G. M. (2010). Dysfunctional beliefs in bipolar disorder: Hypomanic vs. depressive attitudes. Journal of Affective Disorders, 122(3), 294–300.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Beck, A. T., Emery, G., & Greenberg, R. L. (1985). Anxiety disorders and phobias: A cognitive perspective. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck, A. T., Butler, A. C., Brown, G. K., Dahlsgaard, K. K., Newman, C. F., & Beck, J. S. (2001). Dysfunctional beliefs discriminate personality disorders. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 39(10), 1213–1225.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Benson, P., & Spilka, B. (1973). God image as a function of self-esteem and locus of control. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 12(3), 297–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blanchard, D. C., Hynd, A. L., Minke, K. A., Minemoto, T., & Blanchard, R. J. (2001). Human defensive behaviors to threat scenarios show parallels to fear- and anxiety-related defense patterns of non-human mammals. Neuroscience and Behavioral Reviews, 25, 761–770.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brune, M. (2006). The evolutionary psychology of obsessive-compulsive disorder: The role of cognitive metarepresentation. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 49(3), 317–329.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burker, E. J., Evon, D. M., Sedway, J. A., & Egan, T. (2005). Religious and non-religious coping in lung transplant candidates: Does adding god to the picture tell us more? Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 28(6), 513–526.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cicirelli, V. G. (2002). Fear of death in older adults: Predictions from terror management theory. Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 57(4), P358–P366.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, D. M. (1999). Anxiety disorders: Why they persist and how to treat them. Behavior Research & Therapy, 37(Suppl 1), S5–S27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Exline, J. J., Park, C. L., Smyth, J. M., & Carey, M. P. (2011). Anger toward god: Social-cognitive predictors, prevalence, and links with adjustment to bereavement and cancer. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100(1), 129–148.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fenigstein, A., & Vanable, P. A. (1992). Paranoia and self-consciousness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62(1), 129–138.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fitchett, G., Murphy, P. E., Kim, J., Gibbons, J. L., Cameron, J. R., & Davis, J. A. (2004). Religious struggle: Prevalence, correlates and mental health risks in diabetic, congestive heart failure, and oncology patients. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 34(2), 179–196.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Flannelly, K. J., & Galek, K. (2010). Religion, evolution, and mental health: Attachment theory and ETAS theory. Journal of Religion and Health, 49(3), 337–350.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Flannelly, K. J., Koenig, H. G., Galek, K., & Ellison, C. G. (2007). Beliefs, mental health, and evolutionary threat assessment systems in the brain. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 195(12), 996–1003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Flannelly, K. J., Galek, K., Ellison, C. G., & Koenig, H. G. (2010). Beliefs about god, psychiatric symptoms, and evolutionary psychiatry. Journal of Religion and Health, 49(2), 246–261.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Foster, R. A., & Keating, J. P. (1992). Measuring androcentrism in the western god-concept. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 31(3), 366–375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Francis, L. J., Gibson, H. M., & Robbins, M. (2001). God images and self-worth among adolescents in Scotland. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 4(2), 103–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freud, S. (1920). A general introduction to psychoanalysis. New York: Horace Liveright.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Froese, P., & Bader, C. D. (2007). God in America: Why theology is not simply the concern of philosophers. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 46(4), 465–481.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Froese, P., & Bader, C. D. (2010). America’s four Gods. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert, P. (1984). Depression: From psychology to brain state. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert, P. (1998a). Evolutionary psychopathology: Why isn’t the mind designed better than it is? British Journal of Medical Psychology, 71(Pt 4), 353–373.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert, P. (1998b). The evolved basis and adaptive functions of cognitive distortions. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 71(Pt 4), 447–463.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert, P. (2001). Evolution and social anxiety: The role of attraction, social competition, and social hierarchies. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 24(4), 723–751.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert, P. (2002). Evolutionary approaches to psychopathology and cognitive therapy. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 16(3), 263–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert, P., Boxall, M., Cheung, M., & Irons, C. (2005). The relationship of paranoid ideation and society anxiety in a mixed clinical population. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 12, 124–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hammersla, J. F., Andrews-Qualls, L. C., & Frease, L. G. (1986). God concepts and religious commitment among Christian University students. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 25(4), 424–435.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hogg, M. A., Adelman, J. R., & Blagg, R. D. (2010). Religion in the face of uncertainty: An uncertainty-identity theory account of religiousness. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 14(1), 72–83.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, S. L. (1994). A self-rated scale for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 50, 564–574.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kirkpatrick, L. A. (1992). An attachment-theory approach to the psychology of religion. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 2(1), 3–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirkpatrick, L. A. (2005). Attachment, evolution, and the psychology of religion. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krause, N. (2002). Church-based social support and health in old age: Exploring variations by race. Journals of Gerontology, 57B(6), S332–S347.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krause, N. (2005). God-mediated control and psychological well-being in late life. Research on Aging, 27(2), 136–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., Williams, J. B. W., & Lowe, B. (2009). An ultra-brief screening scale for anxiety and depression: The PHQ-4. Psychosomatics, 50(6), 613–621.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacLean, P. D. (1977). The triune brain in conflict. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 28, 207–220.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacLean, P. D. (1985). Evolutionary psychiatry and the triune brain. Psychological Medicine, 15(2), 219–221.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacLean, P. D. (1990). The triune brain in evolution: Role in paleocerebral functions. New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marks, I. M., & Nesse, R. M. (1994). Fear and fitness: An evolutionary analysis of anxiety disorders. Ethology & Sociobiology, 15(5–6), 247–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McConnell, K. M., Pargament, K. I., Ellison, C. G., & Flannelly, K. J. (2006). Examining the links between spiritual struggles and symptoms of psychopathology in a national sample. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(12), 1469–1484.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McNaughton, N., & Corr, P. J. (2004). A two-dimensional neuropsychology of defense: Fear/anxiety and defensive distance. Neuroscience and Behavioral Reviews, 28, 285–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore, K. A., & Gee, D. L. (2003). The reliability, validity, discriminant and predictive properties of the social phobia inventory (SoPhi). Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 16(1), 109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moritz, S., & Pohl, R. F. (2006). False beliefs maintenance for fear-related information in obsessive-compulsive disorder: An investigation with the hindsight paradigm. Neuropsychology, 20(6), 737–742.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nelsen, H. M., Cheek, N. H., & Au, P. (1985). Gender differences in images of God. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 24(4), 396–402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nesse, R. M. (1987). An evolutionary perspective on panic disorder and agoraphobia. Ethology & Sociobiology, 8, 73S–83S.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nesse, R. (1998). Emotional disorders in evolutionary perspective. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 71(4), 397–415.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Noffke, J. L., & McFadden, S. H. (2001). Denominational and age comparisons of God concepts. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 40(4), 747–756.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pargament, K. I., Koenig, H. G., & Perez, L. M. (2000). The many methods of religious coping: Development and Initial Validation of the RCOPE. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56(4), 519–543.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, R. E., Pargament, K. I., Lynn, Q. K., & Crossley, C. D. (2004). Self-directing religious coping: A deistic God, abandoning God, or no God at all? Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 43(3), 409–418.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roof, W. C., & Roof, J. L. (1984). Review of the polls: Images of God among Americans. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 23(2), 201–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosmarin, D. H., Pargament, K. I., & Mahoney, A. (2009a). The role of religiousness in anxiety, depression, and happiness in a Jewish community sample: A preliminary investigation. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 12(2), 97–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosmarin, D. H., Pirutinsky, S., Pargament, K. I., & Krumrei, E. J. (2009b). Are religious beliefs relevant to mental health among Jews? Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 1(3), 180–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schaap-Jonker, H., Eurelings-Bontekoe, E., Zock, H., & Jonker, E. (2002). Development and validation of the Dutch questionnaire God image: Effects of mental health and religious culture. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 11(5), 501–515.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schieman, S., Pudrovska, T., Pearlin, L. I., & Ellison, C. G. (2006). The sense of divine control and psychological distress: Variations across race and socioeconomic status. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 45(4), 529–549.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlager, D. (1995). Evolutionary perspectives on paranoid disorder. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 18(2), 263–279.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Silton, N. R., Flannelly, K. J., Ellison, C. G., Galek, K., Jacobs, M. R., Marcum, J. P., et al. (2011a). The association between religious beliefs and practices and end-of-life fears among members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A). Review of Religious Research, 53, 357–370.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silton, N. R., Flannelly, L. T., Flannelly, K. J., & Galek, K. (2011b). Toward a theory of holistic needs and the brain. Holistic Nursing Practice, 25(5), 258–265.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steenwyk, S. A. M., Atkins, D. C., Bedics, J. D., & Whitley, B. E, Jr. (2010). Images of God as they relate to life satisfaction and hopelessness. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 20(2), 85–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stein, M. B., Torgrud, L. J., & Walker, J. R. (2000). Social phobia symptoms, subtypes, and severity: Findings from a community survey. Archives of General Psychiatry, 57(11), 1046–1052.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tamayo, A., & Desjardines, L. (1976). Belief systems and conceptual images of parents and God. Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied, 92(1), 131–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, S., McKay, D., & Abramowitz, J. S. (2005). Hierarchical structure of dysfunctional beliefs in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 34(4), 216–228.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vail, K. E, 3rd, Rothschild, Z. K., Weise, D. R., Solomon, S., Pyszczynski, T., & Greenberg, J. (2010). A terror management analysis of the psychological functions of religion. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 14(1), 84–94.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wenzel, A., Sharp, I. R., Brown, G. K., Greenberg, R. L., & Beck, A. T. (2006). Dysfunctional beliefs in panic disorder: The panic belief inventory. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(6), 819–833.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wiegand, K. E., & Weiss, H. M. (2006). Affective reactions to the thought of “God”: Moderating effects of image of God. Journal of Happiness Studies, 7(1), 23–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, B. T., Worthington, E. L, Jr, Exline, J. J., Yali, A. M., Aten, J. D., & McMinn, M. R. (2010). Development, refinement, and psychometric properties of the attitudes toward god scale (ATGS-9). Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 2(3), 148–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The conduct of this research and the preparation of this manuscript for publication were made possible through the generous support of a grant from the John Templeton Foundation to HealthCare Chaplaincy, NY, NY: ID# 21296, “Spiritual Beliefs as Predictors of Mental Health: A Test of ETAS Theory” (Kevin J. Flannelly, Ph.D., and Kathleen Galek, Ph.D., Co-PI’s). The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nava R. Silton.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Silton, N.R., Flannelly, K.J., Galek, K. et al. Beliefs About God and Mental Health Among American Adults. J Relig Health 53, 1285–1296 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-013-9712-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-013-9712-3

Keywords

Navigation