Abstract

Past research suggests that intrinsic religious orientation (IRO) and religious fundamentalism predict legal attitudes, but few studies investigate why. Nor do studies investigate the relationship between these two variables. This study investigated how these characteristics predict legal attitudes about laws which address family-related behavior relevant to religious values. The primary goal of this study was to explain why the motivation to pursue religious experience for its own sake (i.e., IRO) predicts prejudice against others who violate values, but tolerance of value-consistent others. Our model suggests that people high in IRO interpret religious teachings as inerrant and unambiguous (i.e., fundamentalist beliefs) because these people are motivated to internalize religion. Results support a mediation model tested with 248 American college undergraduates from a medium sized university, showing that: IRO predicts support for laws restricting same-sex marriage, same-sex adoption, abortion, adultery, birth control, and testing for sexually transmitted infections—and these relationships are mediated by fundamentalism. The model provides a novel motivational perspective on the relationship between religious characteristics and legal attitudes.