The Relevance of God to Religious Believers and Non-Believers

Bibliographic Data

ID4531334
AuthorsÂngela Leite (0000-0003-0560-1756, Universidade Católica Portuguesa), Diogo Guedes Vidal (0000-0002-2777-2372, Fernando Pessoa University, corresponding author), Maria Alzira Pimenta Dinis (0000-0002-2198-6740, Fernando Pessoa University), Hélder Fernando Pedrosa E Sousa (0000-0002-2952-8859, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro), Paulo César Dias (0000-0001-6876-3723, Universidade Católica Portuguesa)
Year2020
Volume11
Issue4
Pages212
Publication date2020-04-22
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligions (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel11040212
OpenAlexW3018225538
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited46

This study presents a review about what great figures of history thought about the existence of God and a worldwide comparison between religious believers and non-believers using the World Social Survey (WSS) database, comprising a sample of 90,350 respondents. Results reveal that most people believe in the existence of God and consider that God is important and very important in their lives. Believers are mainly women; younger than non-believers; mostly married; less educated than non-believers; most of whom work, though fewer hours than non-believers; and perceive themselves as belonging to the middle class. There are more believers with no formal education than non-believers. The diversity of religious believers and non-believers, visible in the perspectives of humanity's important personalities, mirrors the diversity of ordinary people towards the relevance of God. The results obtained point to a correlation between the belief in God and the studied sociodemographic variables but also suggest that the difference between believers and non-believers may be artificial, having resulted from the adopted methodology. The relationship found between being a believer and defending traditional values also corroborates with previous studies, suggesting that humankind needs God to give meaning to the world around them, namely, in morality and conduct terms

Belief in God · Epistemology · Humanity · Morality · Personality · Personality psychology · Political science · Religious belief · Religious diversity · Social science · Sociology · Theology · Anthropology · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Religion and Society Interactions · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology · Religious studies · Social Psychology

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