by Shawn Crawford
Oatmeal for breakfast. Kale salad for lunch. Surely a slice of pie with dinner won’t ruin the diet after you’ve been so disciplined all day?
Welcome to Moral Licensing, the term psychologists and researchers use to describe the process by which we use a “good” behavior to later justify a “bad” choice. Example? I voted for Obama, so let the racist remarks begin! Obviously the strategy proves more subtle, from Fox News insisting we had entered a post-racial society after President Obama’s election, to the refrain, “I don’t want to hear about racial inequality; we elected a black president.”
Moral licensing occurs in research studies regardless of age, gender, or economic situation. But what happens when religion gets introduced into the mix? In a study conducted by the neuroscientist Jean Decety, 1170 children aged 5-12 years old, from six countries (USA, Canada, China, Jordan, Turkey and South Africa) were given 30 stickers and asked to share as many as they liked with a child of similar age and background to create a “generosity score”. Most kids came from households that identified as Christian (24%), Muslim (43%) or not religious (28%).
The children from secular homes had the highest generosity scores. When parents were asked to score the empathy of their children in the study, the religious parents rated their children as very moral, far beyond the scores of the test.
To see just how powerful moral licensing can be in shaping behavior, consider that in a poll conducted by ChristiaNet.com, 50% of evangelical men and 20% of evangelical women said they were addicted to porn (which they consider sinful). The time of highest viewing? Sundays, after they had gone to church. Read more »