"I would kill in God's name:" role of sex, weekly church attendance, report of a religious experience, and limbic lability.
Perceptual and Motor Skills August 1, 1997 DOI: 10.2466/pms.1997.85.1.128 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1,482 |
| Population | University men and women |
| Key findings | 44% of men who attended church weekly, reported a religious experience, and had elevated complex partial epileptic-like signs said they would kill if God commanded it. |
Abstract
Data collected during the last 15 years for the Personal Philosophy Inventory from 1.48 thousand university men (n = 629) and women (n = 853) were analyzed to discern the response characteristics of individuals who stated "yes" to Item 136 "If God told me to kill, I would do it in His name." The percentage (7%, range between 2% and 8% per year) of affirmative responses did not change significantly over time. The odds ratio for men: women for an affirmative response was 1.4:1. As predicted a four-way interaction for sex, weekly church attendance, history of a religious experience, and elevated complex partial epileptic-like signs was statistically significant. Of the men who reported a religious experience, attended church weekly, and displayed elevated complex partial epileptic like signs (5.7% of all males), 44% stated they would kill another person if God told them to do so.