RELIGIOUS ORIENTATION, GUILT, CONFESSION, AND FORGIVENESS

Religious orientation and psychological functioning were investigated in an analog study with 83 participants. After completing the Religiou s Orientation Scale (Allport & Ross, 1967), participants read a contin uous narrative with three scenarios in which they first committed a di shonest act, and then felt compelled to confess what they had done. Th e final scenario contained ct manipulation of grace or no-grace, in wh ich half of the participants were forgiven for their act and half were not. Following each scenario, participants were tested for feelings o f guilt and related behavioral and emotional responses. Intrinsically religious participants were more prone to guilt, more likely to confes s their wrongdoing, and more likely to forgive themselves than extrins ically religious subjects. Guilt was found to have a mediating effect between intrinsic religiousness and some, but not all, outcome variabl es. The potentially beneficial consequences of guilt are discussed.