Belief in a controlling God rises when anxiety and low control combine.

Evidence

In particular, Laurin, Kay, and Moscovitch (2008) found that when individuals were asked to visualize a situation that produced high anxiety that also implied low personal control, they were more likely to believe in a controlling God. They conclude that one of the functions of a belief in God is to help restore order and a sense of control in situations in which low personal control is coupled with high anxiety (Laurin et al., 2008). — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 891

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 891