Beliefs in the end of the world, justice, religiosity and system preservation: a psychological study of how the ‘end of the world’ could match common belief systems. Jugel, M. & Lecigne, A. Journal of Beliefs and Values, 36(2):175–189, May, 2015.
doi  abstract   bibtex   
While historical research has shown that Beliefs in the End of the World (BEW) are present in human culture, no psychological study has yet explored why people endorse one BEW rather than another. The aim of this study is to understand how the BEWs are linked to other beliefs. Three BEWs were studied: Human Deserved End of the World (HDEW) (ecological view of the end of the world); AOW (an external and total end of the world); and Religious End of the World (RSEW) (end of the world caused by a God). Several common beliefs were hypothetically linked to them: Immanent and Ultimate Justice (two dimensions of the Belief in a Just World [BJW]); System Justification (SJ); and Religiosity. Eight hundred and eighty-one participants answered our questionnaires on general Internet forums. Results showed that: (1) HDEW is explained positively by Immanent Justice and negatively by SJs; (2) Annihilation of the World (AOW) is explained negatively by Ultimate Justice and Religiosity, and positively by SJ; and (3) RSEW is explained positively by Religiosity and Ultimate Justice. Justice, Religiosity and preservation of one’s way of life (SJ) seem to be ways to cope with the symbolic threat that is represented by the End of the World. Some perspectives for a psychological study of BEWs are presented.
@article{jugel_beliefs_2015,
	title = {Beliefs in the end of the world, justice, religiosity and system preservation: a psychological study of how the ‘end of the world’ could match common belief systems},
	volume = {36},
	doi = {10.1080/13617672.2015.1041788},
	abstract = {While historical research has shown that Beliefs in the End of the World (BEW) are present in human culture, no psychological study has yet explored why people endorse one BEW rather than another. The aim of this study is to understand how the BEWs are linked to other beliefs. Three BEWs were studied: Human Deserved End of the World (HDEW) (ecological view of the end of the world); AOW (an external and total end of the world); and Religious End of the World (RSEW) (end of the world caused by a God). Several common beliefs were hypothetically linked to them: Immanent and Ultimate Justice (two dimensions of the Belief in a Just World [BJW]); System Justification (SJ); and Religiosity. Eight hundred and eighty-one participants answered our questionnaires on general Internet forums. Results showed that: (1) HDEW is explained positively by Immanent Justice and negatively by SJs; (2) Annihilation of the World (AOW) is explained negatively by Ultimate Justice and Religiosity, and positively by SJ; and (3) RSEW is explained positively by Religiosity and Ultimate Justice. Justice, Religiosity and preservation of one’s way of life (SJ) seem to be ways to cope with the symbolic threat that is represented by the End of the World. Some perspectives for a psychological study of BEWs are presented.},
	number = {2},
	journal = {Journal of Beliefs and Values},
	author = {Jugel, Milena and Lecigne, André},
	month = may,
	year = {2015},
	keywords = {psychology, collapse, beliefs},
	pages = {175--189},
	file = {Jugel and Lecigne - 2015 - Beliefs in the end of the world, justice, religios.pdf:C\:\\Users\\rsrs\\Documents\\Zotero Database\\storage\\I32IADFT\\Jugel and Lecigne - 2015 - Beliefs in the end of the world, justice, religios.pdf:application/pdf}
}

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