Guilt, Shame, and Religious Ingratiation: The Mediating Role of Prayer and the Moderating Role of Intrinsic Religious Orientation

Emotions are essential in many areas of human life, including religion. Religion can arouse emotions, for example, God’s closeness can be a source of joy and gratitude, while God’s silence can cause anger or disappointment. Furthermore, and vice versa, emotions can affect how people experience or refer to God. This study investigated guilt and shame in relation to prayer and ingratiatory behavior toward God. A moderated mediation model was tested in two samples of Polish adults (Sample 1: n = 321; 53.9% female, mean age = 37.07, and Sample 2: n = 344; 57.0% female, mean age = 37.07) to examine the mediating role of prayer and moderating role of religious orientation in the relationship between guilt and shame with religious ingratiation. The Guilt and Shame Proneness Scale, Religious Ingratiation Scale, Multidimensional Prayer Inventory, and Religious Orientation Scale were used in the study. Guilt and shame positively correlated with religious ingratiation. In both samples, the guilt and shame–religious ingratiation link was mediated through adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication, and reception prayer among those low in intrinsic religious orientation.