A Construal Level Account of the Impact of Religion and God on Prosociality

This research shows that the two most prevalent religious constructs—God and religion—differentially impact cognition. Activating thoughts about God (vs. religion) induces a relatively more abstract (vs. concrete) mindset (Studies 1a–1c). Consequently, time donation intentions (Study 2) and actual monetary donations (Study 3) after a God (vs. religion) prime increase when people are presented an abstractly (vs. concretely) framed donation appeal. Similarly, people donate more money to distant (vs. close) donation targets, which are construed relatively abstractly (vs. concretely), when a religious speech activates predominantly God-specific (vs. religion-specific) thoughts (Study 4). These effects are mediated by “feeling right” under construal level fit (Study 3). Overall, this research significantly advances extant knowledge on religious cognition and past research on the link between religion and prosociality.