Belief in Divine Support and Sense of Mattering: The Image of God as a Moderator?

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine how belief in divine support is associated with sense of mattering, and how this association is contingent upon various images of God including authoritative, benevolent, critical, and distant God. Employing OLS regression analyses with data from the 2017 Baylor Religion Survey ( n = 1,375), this study demonstrates that belief in divine support is positively associated with sense of mattering. Yet, a distant God image moderates this association. Specifically, the positive association between belief in divine support and sense of mattering is weaker for individuals who endorse images of God as distant. The findings suggest that while the sense of divine support has beneficial effects on mattering, these psychological benefits are smaller for those who see God as distant. This study contributes to the literature on religion and mattering by underscoring the importance of divine beliefs and their differential effects based on one’s ideas about the nature of God.