Spiritual people are more likely to be aggressive when drunk - and the stronger their views, the more hostile they become, claims study

Home »Spiritual people are more likely to be aggressive when drunk - and the stronger their views, the more hostile they become, claims study

Spiritual people are more likely to be aggressive when drunk - and the stronger their views, the more hostile they become, claims study

Posted by sciencetech-blog on Friday, August 15, 2014 Label:

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Spirituality typically promotes ideas of peace, bliss, and inner calm.

But a new study claims that people who have spiritual and religious views are more likely to become aggressive and violent when drunk, compared to people without such beliefs.

A U.S. psychologist also claimed that in many cases, the stronger the person's views, the more hostile and aggressive they are when drinking.

A U.S. psychologist claims that in many cases, religious people are more aggressive than people without strong spiritual beliefs when they are drunk. A stock image of an aggressive conversation is pictured

The study found that violence decreased as spirituality increased in people who didn't drink alcohol. A stock image of a woman praying is shown

The correlation was discovered by Professor Peter Giancola of University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences.

He said: 'Oversimplifying - in many cases the more religious someone is, the more aggressive they will become after drinking alcohol.'

The researcher and his former graduate student, Aaron Duke, defined a spiritual person as someone who 'finds meaning in the sacred,' regardless of the doctrine they follow.

Professor Giancola said he was originally trying to create a profile of risk factors to predict alcohol-related violence.

He examined 520 people aged between 21 and 35 years old from the central Kentucky region.

Participants in the study were randomly given an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink, after being quizzed on the degree of their spiritual beliefs.

Professor Giancola found that violence decreased as spirituality increased in people who didn't drink alcohol.

But, he said he was surprised to discover that violence increased as spirituality increased in people who drank alcohol.

He continued that the study indicated alcohol 'releases the beast within' in highly religious people, although the reasons for this are unknown.

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However, the psychologist also pointed out that his findings are preliminary and require further work to verify and explain them.

BUT RELIGION CUTS CRIME: CHURCH-GOERS ARE LESS LIKELY TO SHOPLIFT, TAKE DRUGS AND STEAL

People who regularly visit a place of worship are less likely to get involved in low level crime and delinquency, according to researchers.

A survey from Manchester University in January, found a direct correlation between higher visits to religious places and lower crime figures, especially in relation to shoplifting, drug use and music piracy.

Researchers believe this is because religion not only teaches people about 'moral and behavioural norms', but also spending time with like-minded people makes it less likely they'll get mixed up with the 'wrong crowd'.

As part of the project, more than 1,200 18 to 34-year-olds from across all the UK's major faiths were asked about their worshipping habits.

They were also asked about any past misdemeanours, and the likelihood they would commit low-level crimes in the future.

In total, researchers asked respondents about eight varying types of delinquency including littering, skipping school or work, using illegal drugs, fare dodging, shoplifting, music piracy, property damage and violence against the person.

Although the study found varying degrees of correlation between increased church visits and decreased crime rates, the most significant were seen in relation to shoplifting, the use of illegal drugs and music piracy.

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