Originally appearing on February 27, 2024 at Trenz Pruca’s Journal
Link: https://trenzpruca.wordpress.com/2024/02/27/question-of-the-week-are-people-who-claim-to-be-religious-more-moral-than-those-with-no-religious-affiliation/
Consciousness is nothing more than post hoc rationalization.
Trenz Pruca
We’ve been told since Sunday school (or by the neighbor who keeps inviting us to Sunday school) that religion is the guardian of morality. Without it, civilization would collapse into an orgy of jaywalking, premarital dancing, and using “OMG” unironically.
But what if the relationship between faith and goodness isn’t quite as tidy as the motivational posters suggest?
Enter the American political system — the world’s largest experiment in testing whether “values voters” actually value values.
Immediately we face a puzzle: Donald Trump — a man who has treated moral principles the way a toddler treats a VCR — nonetheless commands overwhelming loyalty from many who swear that morality and religion go together like peanut butter and Communion wine.
How does that work?
To understand this mismatch, we need to dive into what psychologists have been studying for nearly a century: there is little reliable evidence that religious people behave better. There is, however, plenty of evidence that religious people believe they behave better.
Which, as any bartender or marriage counselor will tell you, is not remotely the same thing.
…But the Test Answers Still Looked Tempting**
Back in the early 20th century — when “social science” involved clipboards, cigarettes, and a stunning lack of women in the faculty lounge — researchers began measuring whether believers were more moral than nonbelievers.
The results were…awkward:
If religion is supposed to improve moral behavior, it was doing it about as well as a dial-up modem does broadband.
Yes — and that’s an important point.
Modern readers want modern evidence, not yellowing psychology journals that smell faintly of Protestant guilt. Fortunately, newer research confirms the same conclusion — but with better statistics:
In short: Some religious believers behave better. Some behave worse. Average them together — you get “meh.”
This is where 60 years of psychology finally explains Trump + Evangelicals = True Love Forever.
Psychologists distinguish two forms of religiosity:
Intrinsic believers are the ones who actually read the part about loving thy neighbor.
Extrinsic believers are the ones who skip directly to the part about smiting enemies and regulating reproductive rights.
Guess which group dominates American politics?
Researchers have found that extrinsic religiosity strongly correlates with:
Extrinsic believers don’t actually want a saint.
They want a bouncer — someone to protect the tribe, punish enemies, and ideally smite a liberal or two before brunch.
There are several reasons why the halo doesn’t reliably translate to good behavior:
Fight for the flock. Forget the goats.
Jesus had opinions about goats. They were not invited to the heavenly after-party.
“I’m one of the good guys because God and I are tight.
Therefore, anything I do is good — even the parts that look bad.”
This is how “family values” can happily coexist with hush-money checks.
Authoritarians love faith traditions because they come pre-loaded with rules, hierarchies, and nice uniforms.
Surveillance motivates morality — even divine surveillance.
This is why many churches have stained glass: so God can watch you better.
Trump is the perfect mirror. He reflects what extrinsic believers actually value:
These values are moral — but only inside the tribe.
Outside the tribe?
They’re just plain mean.
Thus the Trump-Evangelical bond makes sense.
They’re not worshipping his morality — they’re worshipping his willingness to ignore morality in the service of the tribe.
As one political scientist described it:
“They don’t want a shepherd. They want a wolf on their side.”
Absolutely not. Religion can do beautiful things:
But religion is not the cause of kindness.
At best, it is a container for it.
The real source of moral behavior appears to be:
These traits show up in believers and nonbelievers.
They show up in children before anyone tells them about God.
They show up in dogs, for heaven’s sake.
Religion does not make good people.
Good people sometimes find religion.
Religion does not make bad people.
Bad people sometimes find religion.
And people who really want to rationalize will find absolutely anything — including the Almighty Himself — to wave around like a hall pass.
So the answer to the Big Question:
Are people who claim to be religious more moral?
Only if we define “moral” as:
Otherwise?
Not so much.
Morality, it turns out, survives just fine without divine Wi-Fi.
And if we ever need proof of that…
we can always count on Donald Trump, the Pope of Extrinsic Faith, to demonstrate it daily.
Maybe instead of asking:
“Do you believe in God?”
We should ask:
“Do you believe other people deserve dignity?”
The answer to that question predicts morality better than any theological statement ever invented.
And you don’t need a Bible, Qur’an, Bhagavad-Gita, or Book of Mormon to understand it.
Just a functioning conscience.
A rare commodity, perhaps — but blessed are those who try.
Abraham Franzblau’s early work found a negative correlation between religious belief and honesty: Franzblau, A.N. Religious Belief and Character (Columbia University Press, 1934).
Church attendance was not associated with less delinquency among youth: Hirschi, T. & Stark, R. “Hellfire and Delinquency.” Social Problems, 17(2), 202–213 (1969).
College students identifying as religious were no less likely to cheat or volunteer to help disabled children: Smith, R.H., Wheeler, L. & Diener, E. “Faith and Unfaith in the Psychology Lab.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32(5), 951–956 (1975).
Religious students reported cheating more than skeptics: Middleton, R. & Putney, S. “Religious Belief and Exam Cheating.” Sociology and Social Research, 46, 463–473 (1962).
Early research also showed religious focus on personal salvation rather than social justice: Rokeach, M. The Open and Closed Mind (Basic Books, 1969).
More recent behavioral economics findings show no overall prosocial advantage for religious believers once in-group giving (church donations) is removed: Ellison, C.G. & Sherkat, D.E. Theoretical Perspectives on Religious Prosociality (Baylor University Press, 1995).
Meta-analysis: religion predicts prosocial behavior only when people feel watched — suggesting surveillance may be the operative mechanism: Shariff, A.F. & Norenzayan, A. “Supernatural Monitoring and Prosocial Behavior.” Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 17(7), 272–279 (2013).
Large-scale review: nonreligious individuals scored slightly higher on empathy and universal morality than religious ones: Galen, L.W. “Does Religious Belief Promote Prosociality?” Psychological Bulletin, 138(5), 876–906 (2012).
Authoritarian personalities consistently cluster in extrinsic religion (faith as identity/badge): Hunsberger, B. & Altemeyer, B. Right-Wing Authoritarianism (2006).
Intrinsic vs. extrinsic religiosity: those who practice faith as inner moral principle tend to behave more compassionately; those who use religion for status/group identity do not: Allport, G.W. & Ross, J.M. “Personal Religious Orientation and Prejudice.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 5(4), 432–443 (1967).
Pew data on religion and partisanship: Pew Research Center. “Voters’ views of Trump and Biden differ sharply by religion.” Apr. 30, 2024.
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/04/30/voters-views-of-trump-and-biden-differ-sharply-by-religion/
Pew Research Center — “White evangelicals continue to stand out in their support for Trump” (Apr 28, 2025) Pew Research Center
Pew Research Center — “Christianity’s place in politics, and ‘Christian nationalism’” (Mar 15, 2024) Pew Research Center
Pew Research Center — “Party identification among religious groups and religiously unaffiliated voters” (Apr 9, 2024) Pew Research Center
Pew Research Center — “Voters’ views of Trump and Biden differ sharply by religion” (Apr 30, 2024) Pew Research Center
Religious News Service / Pew summary — “White evangelicals continue support for Trump” (Apr 29, 2025) RNS
