Anger, Exit, and Assertion: Do People See Protest Toward God as Morally Acceptable?

Abstract

Do people believe that it is morally acceptable to protest against God? This question was examined in Internet studies with two samples: undergraduates (n = 358) and a broad-based adult sample (n = 471), both from the United States. Analyses were limited to participants who reported some belief in God. As predicted, seeing protest toward God as acceptable was associated with lower religiosity and more negative views of God (e.g., harsh, distant, cruel). Participants also made moral distinctions between various forms of protest toward God: Assertive responses (questioning and complaint) were rated more acceptable than anger and associated negative feelings (frustration, disappointment). Negative feelings, in turn, were rated more acceptable than exit responses (rebellion, holding on to anger; rejecting God; questioning God's authority; terminating the relationship). To the extent that participants saw protest toward God as acceptable, they reported more anger toward God. On the surface, zero-order correlations suggested that positive emotions and attitudes regarding God were associated with seeing anger toward God as wrong; however, this association disappeared when exit and assertion were taken into account via regression. These regressions revealed that positive emotions and attitudes toward God were strongly linked with seeing exit as wrong but also (modestly but consistently) with seeing assertion as acceptable. These findings suggest a parallel between perceived relationships with God and human relationships: When such bonds are close and resilient, they often allow room for some questioning and complaint, provided that there is a clear commitment to preserve (i.e., not exit) the relationship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

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Anger, Exit, and Assertion: Do People See Protest Toward God as
Morally Acceptable?
Julie J. Exline
Case Western Reserve University
Kalman J. Kaplan
University of Illinois at Chicago College
of Medicine
Joshua B. Grubbs
Case Western Reserve University
Do people believe that it is morally acceptable to protest against God? This question
was examined in Internet studies with two samples: undergraduates (n⫽358) and a
broad-based adult sample (n⫽471), both from the United States. Analyses were
limited to participants who reported some belief in God. As predicted, seeing protest
toward God as acceptable was associated with lower religiosity and more negative
views of God (e.g., harsh, distant, cruel). Participants also made moral distinctions
between various forms of protest toward God: Assertive responses (questioning and
complaint) were rated more acceptable than anger and associated negative feelings
(frustration, disappointment). Negative feelings, in turn, were rated more acceptable
than exit responses (rebellion, holding on to anger; rejecting God; questioning God’s
authority; terminating the relationship). To the extent that participants saw protest
toward God as acceptable, they reported more anger toward God. On the surface,
zero-order correlations suggested that positive emotions and attitudes regarding God
were associated with seeing anger toward God as wrong; however, this association
disappeared when exit and assertion were taken into account via regression. These
regressions revealed that positive emotions and attitudes toward God were strongly
linked with seeing exit as wrong but also (modestly but consistently) with seeing
assertion as acceptable. These findings suggest a parallel between perceived relation-
ships with God and human relationships: When such bonds are close and resilient, they
often allow room for some questioning and complaint, provided that there is a clear
commitment to preserve (i.e., not exit) the relationship.
Keywords: God, anger, religion, spiritual struggle, assertiveness
When people experience negative life events
and attribute them to God, they may feel anger
in response (for reviews, see Exline, in press-b;
Exline & Martin, 2005). Anger is more likely
when God’s intentions are seen as cruel, when
harm is severe, and when people cannot find a
sense of meaning (Exline, Park, Smyth, &
Carey, 2011). More broadly speaking, people
who see God as responsible for suffering or
injustice may respond in several ways that in-
dicate protest, a statement or action expressing
disapproval or objection (Compact Oxford Eng-
lish Dictionary, 2010). Although protest often
takes behavioral forms such as rebellion or
complaint, we use the term broadly to incorpo-
rate emotions (e.g., anger, disappointment) as
well as actions.
Does protest toward God necessarily consti-
tute a problem? One way to address this ques-
tion would be to examine links with mental or
physical health. Many studies have shown that
This article was published Online First March 19, 2012.
Julie J. Exline and Joshua B. Grubbs, Department of
Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University;
Kalman J. Kaplan, Department of Psychiatry and Depart-
ment of Medical Education, University of Illinois at Chi-
cago College of Medicine.
We are grateful for funding support from the Fetzer
Institute.
Correspondence concerning this article should be ad-
dressed to Julie J. Exline, Department of Psychological
Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid
Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106-7123. E-mail: julie.exline@
case.edu
Psychology of Religion and Spirituality © 2012 American Psychological Association
2012, Vol. 4, No. 4, 264–277 1941-1022/12/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0027667
264
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