The Existential Quest: Doubt, Openness, and the Exploration of Religious Uncertainty
- 3 April 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
- Vol. 32 (2), 89-126
- https://doi.org/10.1080/10508619.2021.1902647
Abstract
Terror management theory suggests people can manage existential concerns through faith in their cultural systems, including religious beliefs. It is not clear, however, how people with a religious “quest” orientation manage such existential concerns. The present research explored the intersection between existential concern and religious quest. Quest individuals experience doubt, which comes at the cost of greater death-related anxieties (Study 1, n= 654), cognitions (Study 2, n = 167), and vulnerability against mortality reminders (Study 3, n= 226). Second, mortality salience (MS) led people high in quest to become more culturally open-minded (Study 4, n = 100), and less likely to believe-in or commit-to their supernatural agent (Study 5, n = 120). These responses were mitigated when quest individuals were first prompted to explore (a step toward resolving) their doubts and uncertainties (Study 6, n = 462). Implications for quest orientation and existential defense- vs. growth-motivation are discussed.Keywords
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