In Theory: Does belief in a higher power inspire more risk-taking?
Reminders of God, or the concept of a supreme being, may make people more likely to take risks, according to a study at Stanford University published in the journal Psychological Science.
In previous studies, religiosity — reminders of God — showed the opposite, but Stanford researchers found that in those studies, the risks that were examined tended to have negative connotations, like substance abuse and gambling.
In this study, which involved an online survey taken by nearly 900 people, researchers presented small reminders of God — like a word scramble with the word God or a passage to read about God — before being presenting a choice.
“In one study, for example, participants were asked to choose which version of the study they wanted to complete: One version would give them a small bonus payment, but involved looking at an ‘extremely bright color’ that they were told could potentially damage their eyes, while the other version involved looking at a harmless darker color. The researchers found that participants who had been reminded of God prior to making their choice were more likely to opt for the dangerous version of the experiment (95.5%) than the participants who hadn’t been reminded of God (84.3%).”
Q: What do you think about the findings of the study?
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Until I heard of this study, I really had no opinion — and even now, I’m still not sure. It is kind of interesting that the knowledge of God seems to inspire more risks — but then, maybe such a result is not surprising.
If God is always with us, and stands ready to greet us when this life is over, what’s not to like? What’s not to risk? In one place in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul says something like, “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” If believers are reminded of God, what is to keep them from giving their all, even at the risk of losing their lives?
After all, we have all this (this world) and Heaven, too. Maybe now the results of that survey surprise me not at all!
The Rev. Skip Lindeman
La Cañada Congregational Church
La Cañada Flintridge
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I believe these findings point to a handful of truths we find in the Bible. Psalm 34:8 says: “O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”
People who were subtly reminded about God’s existence apparently assumed that he indeed is good, and that he would help them in spite of the greater risks. Which points us to another scripture: Romans 1:19-20 says, “That which is known about God is evident … For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made…”
God has made his goodness known in such a way that people selected randomly from the general population knew that he is good and helpful, and not capricious, vindictive or cruel. Which leads me to a question for our readers: Do you also believe that God is good? Will you trust him to be good to you even when others aren’t? Will you trust him enough to commit the gift of life that he has given you to his service and glory? Will you respond positively to the greatest expression of God’s goodness ever, the offering of his son’s life on the cross to pay for your sins and mine?
There is something deep within all of us that knows that God is good. We must make a conscious choice to respond the correct way and turn to him in faith. In a very simple way that’s what the people in this study did.
Pastor Jon Barta
Burbank
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It is important to recognize that observational studies such as this one do not show causation. We do not know that because those who were reminded of God took more risks that they did so because of the reminder.
Were the groups exactly matched for, say, level of education, income, and other life conditions? Or were the results controlled for these and other demographic differences? Were the risk-takers hungry, tired or preoccupied and the play-it-safers less so — or vice-versa? Any number of factors, including random chance, could affect the outcome.
Most importantly, it seems to me that the subjects’ actual religious beliefs would have come into play. For instance, a reminder of a supreme being would probably not have affected my responses much if at all.
Studies about human behavior make for interesting and entertaining speculation, but let’s not read too much into them.
Roberta Medford
Atheist
Montrose
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My concern with the study is that most of the exercises measured interest or curiosity rather than actual behavior.
Does clicking on a sky-diving ad that mentions God really mean that I believe he will keep me safe? The participants weren’t required to actually jump from a plane.
Of the tests mentioned in news reports, the only one that indicated real intent involved the choice to look — then and there — at a potentially harmful light in return for a small amount of money. Those exposed to the word “God” were more willing to risk their eyesight.
The researchers concluded that the reference to a deity made the respondents comfortable with the risk. If this is correct, the expectation reflects a misunderstanding of our relationship with God. To me, this is the most interesting issue raised by the study.
Scriptures teach, and many of us have learned from experience, that God can and sometimes does protect us from harm. We also know from precept and example that it is unwise to recklessly put ourselves in danger with the expectation that God will save us from our folly. As Christ said when Satan dared him to leap from the pinnacle of the temple, “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” Agreeing to risk your eyesight for a few dollars may well put you on the wrong side of Christ’s counsel.
Some of the participants expressed anger at God when their choices didn’t turn out well. This also is to misunderstand the relationship. The promise of faith isn’t that God will always protect us or smooth our path, but that we will learn the right lessons from the disappointments, sorrow and pain that we all inevitably experience. As we learn those lessons, we draw nearer to him. And that, really, is the point.
Michael White
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
La Crescenta
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The study seems to say that people who have a strong faith in a supreme being, no matter what that being is called, are more willing to take chances with their lives than those who don’t have a strong faith. I am not surprised.
The most damaging emotion to one’s self-image is loneliness. The feeling of being alone can destroy one’s ability to carry on. I remember an Orthodox rabbi who was once asked why more Orthodox people didn’t get cancer. He said,” We get the same amount of cancer and other life-threatening diseases as other people do, but due to our beliefs we handle these traumatic situations better.” As long as God is with me, I am not alone and more willing to believe that all will turn out positively. But, as Rabbi Harold Kushner alludes to, don’t go looking for God in any other place than the soul of the person sitting next to you at 2 a.m. after you called, terrified over some news you received the previous day or a test you failed or you are losing sight of your true worth. God is always our co-pilot whether we leave the ground or not. But if we do leave, God will help us steer through our personal heavens or Hades because the fiery hell of being alone has been drowned by the life-giving waters of faith.
Rabbi Mark Sobel
Temple Beth Emet
Burbank
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A while back, I weighed in on a question about the government’s findings regarding soldiers, which stated that those with religious underpinnings were more grounded and secure than those who had none. It was my opinion, therefore, that those believing God had their back were more likely than others to risk heroic actions because the ultimate outcome for them, whether success or death, would be win-win, whereas the unbelievers would, in a given instance, contemplate their complete annihilation and so might hesitate.
I received a ton of flack about that from atheists, who demanded that there are more considerations involved with heroics than just personal destruction; like how the moment presents itself, and how invested one might be in their immediate compatriots. I was just going on the government findings, so whether not having God in mind would stimulate indecision was simply a guess.
That said, here we have a similar question, saying that God-reminders definitely encourage risk-taking. The findings say two things to me. First, that if people truly believe God is there watching them and concerning himself with their well-being, then they cannot but accept any outcome as God’s perfect will, eternally speaking. We may not like that we lose in a given situation, or that we suffer, but in the long range, it will be but a hiccup in our existence, and God is still our King.
Secondly, if anyone says they believe in God but charge him with wrongdoing or with dropping-the-ball in their circumstance, then they probably don’t know him but have only a false, superstitious faith. I am a Christian, and I believe that God watches out for me, but I don’t tempt God by jumping off roofs or by staring at the sun with the expectation that he will interrupt gravity or cancel eye-damaging UV rays just for me. He did create natural laws that I need to abide. If I were reminded of God just before making a choice to cause myself harm, I would still ask myself, “is it necessary and righteous, or foolhardy and presumptive?”
The Rev. Bryan Griem
Montrose Community Church
Montrose
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I can see why the belief in an all-powerful and divine, anthropomorphic being could make people more willing to take risks that did not involve immorality. With that concept of God, a person could well believe that he or she would be protected from harm by God and so would be more confident of safety even in potentially dangerous situations. What the study does not seem to cover is what view of God, or lack of that belief, the participants have. So perhaps a refinement of that criteria for participants would make it more reliable.
My own view of God is very different from the more traditional religious one described above. My understanding of God is as a divine presence in my life and one that connects me to all that is beyond myself. This presence in my life has no absolute agency to bring about positive or negative consequences, although it is both immanent and transcendent. I believe that as people, we are called to act for good and God in the world for the benefit of all.
With that description of God, my expectation would be that I gain strength for facing risks through my awareness of the divine in myself and the support of the larger power that comprises the universe, not from some force that is separate from the reality in which we live. I would like to think that I would take risks to bring about positive results in the world, even in the face of danger. And I hope that others would do that too, whatever their religious belief system or lack thereof.
Rev. Dr. Betty Stapleford
Unitarian Universalist Church of the Verdugo Hills
La Crescenta