Grandiose Narcissism and Religiosity

Abstract

This chapter reviews the modest literature on the relationship between grandiose narcissism and various aspects of religiosity. Current evidence suggests that grandiose narcissists tend to be less humble, less forgiving, less apologetic, and less empathetic but report similar levels of religiosity, including frequency of church attendance and prayer, as non-narcissists (contrary to conventional wisdom that religiosity should inhibit narcissism). Grandiose narcissism is associated with extrinsic rather than intrinsic motivation toward religion, with more conflict and anger in one’s spiritual life, and with more self-serving spiritual beliefs. Moreover, compared to those low in grandiose narcissism, they are less moved by their own wrongdoing to seek God and may not be as positively affected by certain spiritual practices (e.g., meditation). We suggest future directions for research and conclude that future research will benefit from examining different forms of narcissism, as well as the individual facets that underlying this multidimensional personality trait.