Rate the sin/love the sinner, or love the hater? Intrinsic religion and responses to partner abuse

Traditional religion is often assumed to contribute to partner abuse, altho ugh empirical tests of this assumption have been hampered by coarse measure ment of religion, socially desirable responding, and neglect of contextual moderators, such as whether an abuse victim's behavior upholds or violates religious values. In an attempt to address these issues, we asked 90 underg raduates to complete measures of religious orientation, then read about a w oman who was abused by her boyfriend after she refused his marriage proposa l because she wished not to marry outside her faith (value-affirming), was not sure that she loved him (value-neutral), or thought that she might be a lesbian (value-violating), Intrinsic religious orientation predicted likin g for the victim and justification of her behavior when she upheld religiou s values, whereas it predicted liking for the abuser and sympathetic attrib utions for his behavior when the victim violated religious values. Thus, wh ether religion discourages or encourages tolerance for abuse may depend on who is being abused.