Narcissistic characteristics seem to conflict with traditional religious values, such as humility or compassion, which is reflected in laypeople’s tendency to attribute more narcissistic traits to atheists. However, religious individuals may score higher on narcissism scales than nonreligious ones. Although the link between narcissism and religiosity appears ambiguous, a more nuanced approach to both constructs may reveal specific patterns. The present work organizes previous findings within motivational, affective, and cognitive dimensions and extends them by examining links between distinct facets of narcissism and various aspects of religiosity across three questionnaire studies. Study 1 focused on the motivational domain and revealed that all facets of narcissism (agentic, antagonistic, neurotic, communal) were associated with extrinsic religious orientation, indicating a stronger desire to engage in religious practices driven by instrumental motives. In Study 2, agentic and antagonistic narcissism were related to a punitive God’s image, whereas the antagonistic facet was also inversely related to positive religious coping, loving God image, and general religiosity. In Study 3, divine entitlement (beliefs of privilege and demands in relation to a deity) was positively related to grandiose aspects of narcissism. Taken together, these findings suggest that the relationship between narcissism and religiosity becomes clearer when examined at the level of specific dimensions. Importantly, different facets of narcissism may be linked to aspects of religiosity in systematically distinct ways. This provides a better understanding of motivations behind religious engagement in individuals with narcissistic traits and functions religiosity may serve for them.
Between ego and faith: Motivational, affective, and cognitive dimensions of religious engagement in narcissism