Anger, Exit, and Assertion: Do People See Protest Toward God as Morally Acceptable?

摘要

Do people believe that it is morally acceptable to protest against God? This question was examined in Internet studies with two samples: undergraduates (n = 358) and a broad-based adult sample (n = 471), both from the United States. Analyses were limited to participants who reported some belief in God. As predicted, seeing protest toward God as acceptable was associated with lower religiosity and more negative views of God (e.g., harsh, distant, cruel). Participants also made moral distinctions between various forms of protest toward God: Assertive responses (questioning and complaint) were rated more acceptable than anger and associated negative feelings (frustration, disappointment). Negative feelings, in turn, were rated more acceptable than exit responses (rebellion, holding on to anger; rejecting God; questioning God's authority; terminating the relationship). To the extent that participants saw protest toward God as acceptable, they reported more anger toward God. On the surface, zero-order correlations suggested that positive emotions and attitudes regarding God were associated with seeing anger toward God as wrong; however, this association disappeared when exit and assertion were taken into account via regression. These regressions revealed that positive emotions and attitudes toward God were strongly linked with seeing exit as wrong but also (modestly but consistently) with seeing assertion as acceptable. These findings suggest a parallel between perceived relationships with God and human relationships: When such bonds are close and resilient, they often allow room for some questioning and complaint, provided that there is a clear commitment to preserve (i.e., not exit) the relationship.