Religious divine forgiveness reduces guilt more than it increases it

Evidence

Ultimately, then, all of this makes sense: religious training probably gives you more grounds for considering yourself a “sinner,” but it also gives you a way of getting rid of your sins that nonbelievers lack: divine forgiveness. The feeling of being cleansed by God’s mercy explains why Highs carry less guilt than others. They have put their sins behind them. — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 1911

Categorization

• XREF: Directly connects to vault claims about religion and authoritarian morality; gives causal mechanism for why religious authoritarians act self-righteously despite their own wrongdoings.