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Personality and Social Psychology Review, Vol. 9, No. 1, 48-61 (2005)
DOI: 10.1207/s15327957pspr0901_4

Social Versus Individual Motivation: Implications for Normative Definitions of Religious Orientation

Adam B. Cohen

Institute of Personality and Social Research, University of California, Berkeley; Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, and center for the Study of Religion/Spirituality and Health, Duke University Medical Center

Daniel E. Hall

Center for the Study of Religion/Spirituality and Health Duke University Medical Center; Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Centers

Harold G. Koenig

Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Center for the Study of Religion/Spirituality and Health, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center; Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Keith G. Meador

Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Center for the Study of Religion/Spirituality and Health, and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center; Theology and Medicine Program, Duke University Divinity School

The traditional interpretation of "intrinsic" religiousness has fostered an unchallenged assumption that normative and substantive religious motivation is inherently individual and personal. Social motives for religiousness and structured practices have been characterized as "extrinsic" and as lacking in formative significance. We argue that this view is most applicable in American Protestant religions, and hence existing religious motivation scales reflect a distinctly American Protestant view. We then show that social motives and structured ritual practices are, in fact, as normative as individual motivations in several religious traditions. In particular, we describe the social practices and motives normative for Judaism and certain streams of Christianity. We then discuss the potential relevance of this analysis to emotion, collective identity, and moral judgment.


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 Pers Soc Psychol BullHome page
J. L. Tsai, F. F. Miao, and E. Seppala
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Pers Soc Psychol Bull, March 1, 2007; 33(3): 409 - 421.
[Abstract] [PDF]