MORE EDUCATED RELIGIOUS INDIVIDUALS ARE LESS PROSOCIAL

Back to Page Authors: Yuxin Zhang

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Keywords: egalitarianism, just-world belief, social welfare, prosocial values, religiosity, education

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Abstract: Previous literature found that religiosity is positively associated with belief in a just world and negatively associated with egalitarianism and endorsement of the welfare system. Our study is the first to show that level of education interacts with religiosity to determine belief in a just world, egalitarianism, and endorsement of the welfare system. Religious and nonreligious participants (N = 575) showed no difference in their system justification when they received a lower-than-college education. Yet, as nonreligious participants became more educated, they tended to show no change in their belief in a just world or attitude towards the welfare system and showed a positive change in egalitarianism, whereas more educated religious participants showed higher belief in a just world, lower support for the welfare system, and lower egalitarianism. These results shed light on the formation of system justification belief, welfare attitudes, and prosocial orientation, with important implications for charity, donation campaigns, and welfare policies.

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