Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses
Published on: September 28, 2018
The need to belong can motivate belief in God
Jochen E Gebauer1, Gregory R Maio
1Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institut für Psychologie, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Deutschland. mail@JochenGebauer.info
Abstract:
The need to belong can motivate belief in God. In Study 1, 40 undergraduates read bogus astrophysics articles "proving" God's existence or not offering proof. Participants in the proof-for-God condition reported higher belief in God (compared to control) when they chronically imagined God as accepting but lower belief in God when they imagined God as rejecting. Additionally, in Study 2 (72 undergraduates), these effects did not occur when participants' belongingness need was satisfied by priming close others. Study 3 manipulated 79 Internet participants' image of God. Chronic believers in the God-is-rejecting condition reported lower religious behavioral intentions than chronic believers in the God-is-accepting condition, and this effect was mediated by lower desires for closeness with God. In Study 4 (106 Internet participants), chronic believers with an accepting image of God reported that their belief in God is motivated by belongingness needs.
Related Concept Videos
Importance of Need for Affiliation
Need for Self-Esteem
Secondary Motives: Affiliation Motivation and Aggression Motivation
Maslow's Theory of Basic Human Needs
Physiological needs such as hunger, thirst, sex, physical comfort, and survival are at the bottom of the pyramid. These are the components that are necessary to sustain life. Once the first level of needs has been met, the second level arises.
Safety needs include stability and predictability. Protection and freedom from danger are all a part of...
Maslow's Need Hierarchy Theory
At the pyramid's base are physiological needs, including food, water, and shelter — essentials for...
Social Proof

