People who attribute events to God in their daily life tend to have higher levels of meaning in life, according to new research published in The Journal of Positive Psychology. The study, which utilized daily diary methods, investigated the potential outcomes of daily attributions to God and the devil/demons.
It is inherent in human nature to seek an understanding of one’s surroundings, and there are various methods to achieve this, each with significant psychological consequences. Humans strive to identify the reasons behind diverse occurrences, a process commonly known as developing causal attributions. Attributing causes to non-physical or non-material elements like supernatural agents (for example, God, ghosts/spirits, angels, demons, the devil) and impersonal powers (such as fate/destiny, karma, and supernatural luck) is referred to as supernatural attributions.
Research has revealed that many people in the United States believe in the existence of God, the devil, or demons. Faith in God is linked with enhanced well-being, whereas belief in the devil or demons is typically associated with negative outcomes. It is worth noting that acknowledging the involvement of supernatural agents or powers in one’s life may provide a feeling of cosmic significance, which could enhance one’s perception of the meaning of life.
The new study, authored by Joshua A. Wilt and his colleagues at Case Western Reserve University, investigated whether daily attributions to God and the devil/demons are related to the level of perceived meaning in people’s lives.
For this study, “meaning in life” comprises several aspects, including having a direction and purpose in life, feeling that one’s life is significant, and perceiving life as predictable and coherent. Meaning in life has been found to be related to both mental and physical health.
In order to investigate the link between daily attributions to God and the devil/demons and meaning in life, the study recruited 75 undergraduate students from the American midwest. Participants utilized daily diary methods to gather data on daily attributions and meaning for three weeks. The study asked participants to make attributions to God and the devil/demons separately for positive and negative events. Participants were prompted to think about the variety of things that happen in a typical day and to what degree they usually attribute responsibility to God or the devil/demons for positive or negative events. In addition, the daily survey included ratings of daily meaning in life.
The participants also completed baseline questionnaires that were used to measure meaning in life, overall religious commitment, and general tendencies to make attributions to God and the devil/demons to explore whether daily associations depended on overall tendencies.
The findings revealed that individuals who attributed positive events to God had a higher meaning in life throughout the study, even after controlling for other attributions, daily religiousness, and emotions. However, negative supernatural attributions had positive associations only among those with stronger religious worldviews and were not highly robust. The data cannot determine causality, but it suggests that attributing more to God over time could potentially increase meaning in life.
The authors of the study acknowledge there are some limitations to their work. For example, they used a one-item self-report method to measure attributions, which limits a review of individual consistency over time. Additionally, the study’s findings may not be applicable outside of the specific contexts. For example, individuals in different cultures of practicing different religions may not elicit the same results.
This study suggests that supernatural attributions can infuse ordinary events with meaning, enhancing the sense of meaningfulness in life, regardless of whether one thinks of God or the devil.
The study, “Are daily supernatural attributions to God and the devil/demons linked with meaning in life?”, was authored by Joshua A. Wilt, Daryl R. Van Tongeren and Julie J. Exline.