Belief in God Reduces Motivation

A team of scientists at the University of Waterloo, in Canada, say that their latest study on the effects of faith on daily behaviors and lifestyle choices appears to indicate the those who believe in God tend to become less motivated to achieve something in their lives.

Experts noticed in a series of experiments that participants who were reminded about the concept of God tended to exhibit far less ambition and motivation than when put through the same tests without the investigators mentioning anything related to divinity.

During the same investigation, researchers found out that people who professed to have faith in God also tended to believe that divinity was protecting them against temptation, allowing them to ensure without compromising themselves.

“This is the first empirical evidence that simple reminders of God can diminish some types of self-regulation, such as pursuing one’s goals, yet can improve others, such as resisting temptation,” says UW expert and lead study author Kristin Laurin, PhD, quoted by PsychCentral.