Religiosity and Awe: How does religious behavior influence a person’s intensity of emotion in response to experiencing an awe inducing event?

Religiosity and Awe: How does religious behavior influence a person’s intensity of emotion in response to experiencing an awe inducing event?

The aim of this research is to determine what specific factors influence emotional/cognitive/meaning-making reactions to an awe inducing experience, looking more closely at religiosity and humility, and how they can explain why someone may experience a stronger sense of emotional awe. While religiosity may promote a more intense emotional response to awe, it does so through the process of reducing a person's focus on self. Using data collected from a survey of over 1000 participants in which subjects reported emotional responses to the experience of awe, religiosity and humility were measured and looked at how well they accounted for and mediated the emotional, cognitive, and meaningmaking responses to the awe experience. While religiosity was a significant predictor of a more intense emotional experience, relation was better accounted for by self-focus, insofar as religiosity may promote a reduced sense of self, and that small self then leads to a more intense response to awe.