Slippery slope thinking links religiosity to punishment

Major contemporary religions tend to emphasize self-control and moral purity in their believers. Such belief systems may have implications for moral judgments and social predictions. One topic that has received attention—with mixed results—is the relative punitiveness of religious believers. In the present research, we examine whether religiosity predicts punitive attitudes and propose a novel mechanism: slippery slope thinking, in which small changes are predicted to have potentially disastrous consequences. In eight samples across three nations and religious traditions, we find that greater religiosity is associated with greater slippery slope thinking. This association is related to psychological tendencies to believe in karma and moralize matters of self-control. Furthermore, we find that slippery slope thinking helps explain why more religious people are more punitive, especially for relatively minor transgressions. This research provides insight into the psychology of religious beliefs and provides a cognitive mechanism (slippery slope thinking) linking religiosity and punishment.