Trait Narcissism and Contemporary Religious Trends

In a large sample of adult Americans, we examined trait narcissism among those who identify as nonreligious, traditionally religious, or “spiritual but not religious” ( SBNR ). Our study reveals that: 1) those who identify as traditionally religious and those who identify as SBNR exhibit fairly similar levels of narcissism; 2) contrary to conventional wisdom, nonreligious Americans are lower in narcissism than religious/spiritual Americans (with nonreligious individuals particularly lower in the NPI subscales of self-absorption/self-admiration); and 3) higher levels of church attendance are not associated with lower NPI scores, though higher levels of church attendance are associated with higher NPI scores in SBNR individuals.