Terrorism, religion and self-control: An unexpected connection between conservative religious commitment and terrorist efficacy

ABSTRACTCorrelations between terrorism and the religious commitments of terrorist organizations and actors have been the subject of extensive scholarly investigation.1 Whilst the focus has often been on extreme Jihadist terrorism, other terrorist groups and individuals with religious commitments have been widely discussed such as Baruch Goldstein’s 1994 attack in Hebron, Christian Identity groups in the US, and Aum Shinrikyo in Japan.2 A number of theories have been advanced to explain the relationships between religious commitment and terrorism. For example, Atran has argued that many terrorists are “devoted actors”, and that members of deeply conservative religions are typically devoted actors.3 Whilst not denying that these factors may be important, this article draws attention to a further significant impact of religion on terrorism: the surprising connection between religion and self-control.4 Drawing on the large empirical literature establishing a link between religion (in particular deeply conserv...