Religion shapes the nature of intergroup conflict, but conflict may also shape religion. Here, we report four multimethod studies that reveal the impact of conflict on religious belief: The threat of warfare and intergroup tensions increase the psychological need for order and obedience to rules, which leads people to view God as more punitive. Studies 1 (N = 372) and 2 (N = 911) showed that people’s concern about conflict correlates with belief in a punitive God. Study 3 (N = 1,065) found that experimentally increasing the salience of conflict increases people’s perceptions of the importance of a punitive God, and this effect is mediated by people’s support for a tightly regulated society. Study 4 showed that the severity of warfare predicted and preceded worldwide fluctuations in punitive-God belief between 1800 CE and 2000 CE. Our findings illustrate how conflict can change the nature of religious belief and add to a growing literature showing how cultural ecologies shape psychology.

中文翻译：

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冲突改变了人们对上帝的看法

宗教塑造了群体间冲突的性质，但冲突也可能塑造宗教。在这里，我们报告了四项揭示冲突对宗教信仰影响的多方法研究：战争的威胁和群体间的紧张关系增加了对秩序和遵守规则的心理需求，这导致人们认为上帝更具惩罚性。研究 1 (N = 372) 和 2 (N = 911) 表明，人们对冲突的担忧与对惩罚性上帝的信仰有关。研究 3 (N = 1,065) 发现，通过实验增加冲突的显着性会增加人们对惩罚性上帝重要性的看法，这种影响是通过人们对严格监管的社会的支持来调节的。研究 4 表明，在公元 1800 年至公元 2000 年之间，战争的严重程度预测并先于惩罚性上帝信仰的全球波动。