Self-Enhancement and Religiosity

自我提升和宗教信仰是人类的核心现象。 但这两者之间有什么关系呢？ 世界宗教将自我提升描述为非宗教的东西。 他们相信宗教信仰会让自我提升枯竭。 如果是这样的话，人们就不得不怀疑是否存在对自尊的普遍需求，因为自我提升是自尊最可靠的表达。 因此，自我提升和宗教信仰的话题与围绕自尊的备受争议的普遍性问题有关。 这个话题也与许多自我理论的有效性有关，这些理论基于自尊和自我增强是人类共性的假设。 在此，我申请了第一个研究自我提升和宗教信仰之间关系的研究项目：（1）通过元分析总结现有的间接证据，进一步验证自我提升增加宗教信仰（SEIR）模型。 (2)荟萃分析的实验模拟将测试SEIR模型的因果假设。 (3)一个三波纵向研究将测试宗教信仰对宗教领域自我提升的互补效应，本研究也将试图建立宗教自我提升作为一个过程来解释既定的宗教信仰效应，因此，本研究是相关的自我提升的普遍性及其影响。 目前的研究也与宗教心理学的一个关键问题有关：为什么宗教虔诚会持续存在？

Self-enhancement and religiosity are central human phenomena. But how are the two related? World religions describe self-enhancement as something irreligious. They believe that religiosity lets self-enhancement run dry. If this were the case, one would have to doubt the existence of a universal need for self-esteem, because self-enhancement is self-esteem's most reliable expression. Thus, the topic of self-enhancement and religiosity is relevant for the much-debated universality question surrounding self-esteem. The topic is also relevant for the validity of many self-theories, which are based on the assumption that self-esteem and self-enhancement are human universals. Additionally, the topic informs about the suitability of much-discussed techniques to quite self-enhancement permanently.Here, I apply for the first research program investigating the relation between self-enhancement and religiosity: (1) A meta-analysis will summarize existent indirect evidence in order to further validate the Self-Enhancement Increases Religiosity (SEIR) model. (2) Experimental analogs of the meta-analysis will test the causal assumptions of the SEIR model. (3) A three-wave longitudinal study will test for a complementary effect of religiosity on self-enhancement in the religious domain and this study will also seek to establish religious self-enhancement as a process explaining established religiosity effects.The present research is therefore relevant for the universality of self-enhancement and its implications. The present research is also relevant for a key question of the psychology of religion: Why does religiosity persist?