Thread: Romantic Rivalries Stir Religious Feelings

A new study, publicised ironically by uber-fascist nuclear-familyophilic absurd apostles of Christianism, FOX MOTHERFUCKIN NEWS, has emerged which effectively points out that when somebody is feeling at risk in terms of romantic rivalry, their religious zeal rises dramatically.

Tests were carried out on 269 college students, who were each shown pictures of 'fellow students' of varying levels of attractiveness. The students were then asked to state how far they agreed with a range of statements, such as "I believe in God," "We'd be better off if religion played a bigger role in people's lives," and "Religious beliefs are important to me in my everyday decisions."

Results showed that the students became more religious when showed attractive people of their own sex.

So what is the point of this? The more insecure you are within yourself, the more religious you become? The more chance there is that you will be pipped at the post to spread your seed, the more you stop believing in evolution?

According to the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, the findings illustrate that people may adjust their religious feelings to suit their current romantic goals. Their conclusion is this:

"It's our belief that religious behavior is linked to several different psychological mechanisms, but one plausible function of religious sanctions on sexuality is to maintain and defend a low-promiscuity, monogamous lifestyle," said researcher Douglas Kenrick at Arizona State University. "For that lifestyle, an abundance of attractive competitors is a threat."


"Our guess at this point is that seeing attractive members of one's sex makes it less likely that you will be able to play a fast and loose mating strategy, because the competition is likely to be too tough," Li said.

Interesting stuff in my book, but probably not in yours, and maybe that's the point.

That's pretty damn cool finding... I could totally see why it would correlate, just never really thought about it..