Conservative Catholicism and Instrumental Violence Against Animals. The Role of Religious Practices, Beliefs, and Collective Narcissism

From the Middle Ages to the modern era, Christianity and its traditional institution, the Catholic Church, have profoundly shaped Europe’s cultural traditions, social norms, and political structures, leaving a lasting influence on public and private life, including human–animal relationships across the continent. Based on the affiliative social-tuning hypothesis and collective narcissism theory, we tested in study 1 (n = 378, 75% women) whether Catholic affiliation or commitment to Catholic practices better predicts instrumental violence against animals. In study 2 (n = 866, 51% women), we examined whether Catholic beliefs about animals and collective narcissism are positively related to such violence. We also expected the relationship between Catholic collective narcissism and instrumental violence against animals to be moderated by gender and Catholic beliefs about animals. Both studies were conducted on Polish samples, where Catholicism is predominantly traditional and conservative, shaping culture, identity, and the political landscape. Results showed that people affiliated with Catholicism were more likely than atheists to accept violence against animals; however, commitment to religious practices was a better predictor than Catholic affiliation itself. Furthermore, we found that traditional Catholic beliefs about animals were positively associated with instrumental violence, while modern beliefs and beliefs about the animal soul were negatively associated. Finally, testing a moderation model, we found that Catholic collective narcissism was positively related to the acceptance of instrumental violence against animals among Catholics in Poland, but only when modern beliefs about animals were low; when these beliefs were high, the relationship was negative. Our findings provide new insights into human–animal relationships, highlighting the role of religious factors in attitudes toward animals. This understanding is critical for developing strategies to reduce violence against animals and promote ecological sustainability.