Narcissism and Spirituality:
Intersections of Self, Superiority,
and the Search for the Sacred
Joshua B. Grubbs, Nicholas Stauner,
Joshua A. Wilt, and Julie J. Exline
Abstract
Narcissism and narcissistic traits are known to
affect various aspects of human functioning,
with such traits often being associated with
problematic outcomes in social, professional,
and interpersonal domains. Another area in
which narcissism seems to have some nega-
tive consequences is in spiritual functioning.
Oftentimes, individuals, regardless of narcis-
sistic traits, may experience difficulties in reli-
gious and spiritual functioning, known as
religious and spiritual struggles. Although
research in this domain is still burgeoning,
recent research suggests that narcissism and
narcissistic traits—especially trait entitle-
ment—are associated with difficulties in reli-
gious and spiritual functioning such as
religious and spiritual struggles. The present
chapter reviews existing literature related to
narcissism and religious and spiritual func-
tioning, with a specific focus on how religious
and spiritual struggles are associated with
such traits. Links between narcissism and spe-
cific struggles (i.e., struggles with deity such
J. B. Grubbs (*)
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green,
OH, USA
e-mail: GrubbsJ@BGSU.edu
N. Stauner · J. A. Wilt · J. J. Exline
Case Western Reserve University,
Cleveland, OH, USA
© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018
A. D. Hermann et al. (eds.), Handbook of Trait Narcissism,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92171-6_42
42
as anger at God; interpersonal religious and
spiritual struggles, such as conflicts over reli-
gion) are explored, and directions for future
research are posited.
Keywords
Spiritual struggle · Religion · Entitlement ·
Anger at God · Humility
The evidence is clear: Narcissism has risen signifi-
cantly among recent generations (Twenge &
Foster, 2010), particularly in the Western world
(Foster, Campbell, & Twenge, 2003). Scores on
the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (Twenge,
Konrath, Foster, Keith Campbell, & Bushman,
2008), pronoun usage in popular literature
(Twenge, Campbell, & Gentile, 2012), and even
the lyrics of popular songs (DeWall, Pond,
Campbell, & Twenge, 2011) all point to steady
and meaningful increases in narcissism over recent
decades. This evidence is so convincing that even
those critical of the general hypothesis that narcis-
sism is rising (Trzesniewski, Donnellan, & Robins,
2008) admit that aspects of narcissism—entitle-
ment in particular—have risen somewhat. As
such, it is reasonable to contend that understand-
ing narcissism’s various influences on human
functioning is more important now than ever.
Narcissism—generally thought of as a multi-
faceted trait characterized by grandiosity, inflated
389
390
entitlement, vanity, and exploitative tendencies
(Cain, Pincus, & Ansell, 2008)—has profound
influences on a variety of social relationships
(e.g., Brown, Budzek, & Tamborski, 2009;
Campbell, Bush, Brunell, & Shelton, 2005;
Campbell & Campbell, 2009). Research has
linked narcissism to higher levels of aggression
(Bushman & Baumeister, 1998; Twenge &
Campbell, 2003), infidelity (McNulty & Widman,
2014), and anger (Stucke & Sporer, 2002).
Notably, the majority of these costs have been
attributed to one specific facet of narcissism: trait
entitlement (for a review, see Grubbs & Exline,
2016). Building on these findings, the purpose of
the present work is to review another domain in
which narcissism and trait entitlement might pre-
dict relational struggles: religious and spiritual
life. To accomplish this goal, we seek to briefly
define and describe religious and spiritual strug-
gles, explore conceptually why narcissism might
be related to such struggles, and examine prior
work demonstrating associations between these
domains. We conclude with a discussion of the
implications of our review and future directions
for research in this domain.
Religious and Spiritual Struggle
Religion and spirituality (hereafter, R/S), though
theoretically distinct constructs (e.g., Hill &
Pargament, 2008), are highly related aspects of
human functioning that both involve implicitly
and explicitly relational components (Mahoney,
2010). These components may include social
identity (Ysseldyk, Matheson, & Anisman,
2010), corporate practices (Sosis & Ruffle, 2003),
and relational expressions (Desrosiers, Kelley, &
Miller, 2011; Mahoney, 2013). Additionally,
beyond just interpersonal relationships, both R/S
often involve relationships with some sort of
supernatural agent in which individuals believe
themselves to be connected to a higher being
(Beck & McDonald, 2004) or to others and the
universe in general (Piedmont, 1999).
Oftentimes, the relational aspects of R/S are
seen as the driving factors in the benefits that
individuals may experience from their belief sys-
J. B. Grubbs et al.
tems. Members of tightly knit religious commu-
nities often report a greater sense of purpose,
deeper feelings of belonging, and generally
higher levels of well-being than the general pop-
ulation (Ellison, 1991; Greenfield & Marks,
2007). Additionally, religious communities may
more easily provide interpersonal connection
than secular or nonreligious community groups
(Lim & Putnam, 2010). Moving beyond peer
relationships, religious individuals often describe
interacting with a deity in relational terms to cope
with difficulties or struggles in life (Beck, 2006a,
2006b; Hall & Edwards, 2002; Pargament et al.,
1988) and to seek guidance in various life situa-
tions (Granqvist & Kirkpatrick, 2013;
Kirkpatrick, 1998; Laurin, Schumann, & Holmes,
2014; Pargament et al., 1990). In short, the rela-
tional aspects of R/S are often sources of great
benefit to individuals, particularly in times of dif-
ficulty. However, these relational aspects of R/S
may also present individuals with difficulties,
known as religious and spiritual struggles (Exline,
Pargament, Grubbs, & Yali, 2014).
Broadly speaking, R/S struggles refer to con-
flicts or problems focused on religious or spiritual
aspects of life (Exline, 2013). Anger at God, fear
of demonic forces, conflicts with religious people,
guilt or shame about moral failings, a lack of clear
purpose in life, and distress about religious doubts
are all different examples of such struggles
(Exline et al., 2014), although many more exam-
ples also exist (e.g., Homolka, 2017). Among this
variety of R/S struggles, struggles with deity—
divine struggles— may be of particular interest
when considering how the relational aspects of
R/S may present opportunities for difficulty.
People often report understanding God in
relational terms (Beck & McDonald, 2004); and
many religious believers, particularly those from
monotheistic traditions, report dynamic and
changing interactions with a deity that map well
onto human relationships (Rowatt & Kirkpatrick,
2002). Divine struggles arise when people per-
ceive conflict or distress in their perceived rela-
tionship with a deity or when they experience
negative emotions (anger, disappointment, fear)
focused on a deity (Exline et al., 2014). Given
these factors, divine struggles often tend to be
42 Narcissism and Spiritual Struggle
relational in nature, being described in terms of
interpersonal processes and emotions (Exline,
Park, Smyth, & Carey, 2011).
Importantly, divine struggles associate with a
wide range of negative outcomes (see Exline,
2013, for a review) such as suicidality (Exline,
Yali, & Sanderson, 2000; Rosmarin, Bigda-­
Peyton, Öngur, Pargament, & Björgvinsson,
2013), depression (Abu-Raiya, Pargament,
Krause, & Ironson, 2015), anxiety (Wilt, Grubbs,
Lindberg, Exline, & Pargament, 2017), and
poorer recovery from both illness (for a review,
see Exline, 2013) and trauma (Harris et al., 2008,
2012). Given these concerning outcomes, a grow-
ing body of research is dedicated to identifying
predictors of such struggles. A number of studies
have explicitly focused on environmental factors,
noting that significant life stressors may predict
divine struggles (e.g., Currier, Smith, & Kuhlman,
2017; Exline et al., 2011; Pargament, Smith,
Koenig, & Perez, 1998). Other studies have
focused on the role of personality in predicting
R/S struggles (e.g., Ano & Pargament, 2013;
Grubbs, Wilt, Stauner, Exline, & Pargament,
2016). Among such studies, narcissistic tenden-
cies—particularly trait entitlement—have gar-
nered some attention.
Narcissism, Entitlement,
and Religious/Spiritual Struggles
The relational impacts of narcissism and entitle-
ment are well-documented, with recent research
concluding that many of these costs are likely the
result of trait entitlement (e.g., Brown et al., 2009;
Grubbs & Exline, 2016). Entitlement—with its
attitudes of unmerited deservingness and crass
demandingness (see Campbell, Bonacci, Shelton,
Exline, & Bushman, 2004)—predicts interper-
sonal conflict (Moeller, Crocker, & Bushman,
2009), unforgiveness (Exline, Baumeister,
Bushman, Campbell, & Finkel, 2004), sexual
aggression (Baumeister, Catanese, & Wallace,
2002), and a host of other negative relational out-
comes. The links between narcissism, entitle-
ment, and struggles in interpersonal relationships
suggest that high levels of narcissistic traits may
391
be risk factors for relational struggle, which could
manifest in numerous R/S struggles. Given the
relational components of R/S—particularly one’s
perceived relationship with the divine—narcis-
sism and entitlement’s noxious roles may be rele-
vant to divine struggles.
Regarding divine struggles generally, trait
entitlement has demonstrated a cross-sectional,
positive, predictive relationship. In diverse sam-
ples of undergraduates, as well as adult samples,
psychological entitlement consistently predicts
divine struggles (Grubbs et al., 2016).
Furthermore, these predictive relationships are
independent of certain covariates (e.g., Big Five
factors), as well as low self-­esteem, which is a
robust predictor of divine struggles (Grubbs
et al., 2016).
Psychological entitlement also correlates pos-
itively with generalized anger and disappoint-
ment focused on God, above and beyond other
personality factors (Wood et al., 2010). Similarly,
in both undergraduate and adult samples, trait
entitlement predicts both generalized anger at
God and anger at God in response to suffering
(Grubbs, Exline, & Campbell, 2013). These find-
ings persist above and beyond the role of basic
personality structure (i.e., the Big Five) and trait
anger, strongly suggesting that entitlement plays
a unique role in divine struggles (Grubbs et al.,
2013). Further work has found that trait entitle-
ment predicts both generalized and suffering-­
specific anger at God above and beyond the
predictive role of religiousness more broadly (a
known predictor of such struggles; Exline et al.,
2011), social desirability, and humility (Grubbs
& Exline, 2014).
Moving beyond anger at God specifically,
there are also established links between entitle-
ment and religious fear and guilt, which relates to
fear of God’s condemnation or disapproval,
excessive guilt about personal transgressions, or
concern that one has committed sins too great to
be forgiven (Exline et al., 2000). In cross-­
sectional analyses, entitlement positively predicts
religious fear and guilt, and this link persists even
when other potential predictors are controlled
(e.g., agreeableness, religiousness, humility,
social desirability; Grubbs & Exline, 2014).
392 J. B. Grubbs et al.

There is also some very preliminary evidence Twenge, 2017). This construct refers to feelings
suggesting that narcissistic traits may be related of privilege, demandingness, and deservingness
to R/S struggles such as demonic struggles (feel- in one’s perceived relationship with a deity
ing attacked or sabotaged by evil spirits) and (Grubbs, 2016). People with higher levels of
interpersonal struggles (feeling in conflict with divine entitlement are more likely to report atti-
either religious others or others about religious tudes such as, “People like me deserve extra
topics; Grubbs et al., 2016). Specifically, across blessings from God,” and “I insist on getting
four samples involving over 5000 participants, what I want out of my spiritual life.” More sim-
small (e.g., aggregate r = 0.13–0.19) but signifi- ply, divine entitlement is characterized by the
cant associations were consistently observed idea, “God owes me” (Grubbs et al., 2017).
between psychological entitlement and those Developed and validated in diverse samples,
variables. Given that these associations were divine entitlement demonstrates a strong rela-
small and only cross-sectional in nature, defini- tionship with trait entitlement more generally
tive conclusions are not possible. However, such (r = 0.51–0.63; Grubbs et al., 2017). Furthermore,
associations do suggest that narcissistic traits divine entitlement fully mediates the previously
may be related to additional R/S struggles beyond discussed relationship between trait entitlement
the well-documented links between such traits and divine struggles more generally (Grubbs
and divine R/S struggles. et al., 2017) and demonstrates convincing and
sizable indirect effects on psychological distress
more generally, through divine struggles. In
Domain-Specific Manifestations short, divine entitlement is a robust, cross-­
of Narcissism and Entitlement sectional predictor of divine struggles, and
through that relationship, it is also a robust pre-
Prior literature has focused on the manner in dictor of psychological distress in general.
which entitlement and narcissism might be Beyond divine entitlement, there is also a the-
expressed in specific life domains. For example, ory of spiritual grandiosity (e.g., Hall & Edwards,
a number of studies have examined academic 1996, 2002). Related to narcissism more gener-
entitlement, which refers to a range of behaviors ally, spiritual grandiosity is a domain-restricted
and attitudes among students who generally form of narcissistic grandiosity characterized by
expect academic rewards (e.g., good grades) a sense of superiority and vanity in one’s per-
without commensurate effort (Chowning & ceived relationship with a deity (Hall & Edwards,
Campbell, 2009). Not surprisingly, academic 2002). Spiritually grandiose people often report
entitlement predicts a number of academic strug- feeling as if their perceived relationship with God
gles, including unmet expectations, academic is special or unique in comparison to other reli-
dishonesty, and disrespect toward instructors gious adherents. They may also report having a
(Kopp, Zinn, Finney, & Jurich, 2011). Similarly, special ability to influence or even manipulate
romantic entitlement (Tolmacz & Mikulincer, God through prayer or report that they are more
2011) and sexual narcissism and entitlement special to God than other believers might be. In
(McNulty & Widman, 2013) have been well-­ short, spiritual grandiosity is characterized by a
documented as domain-specific manifestations vain and self-centered conception of one’s own
of narcissism and entitlement more broadly, both unique and special connection with a deity (Hall
of which associate with various relational and & Edwards, 2002). Such an inflated self-view is
sexual struggles. Similar understandings of not without consequence, as some work (reviewed
domain-specific entitlement and narcissism may next) indicates that spiritual grandiosity may also
also apply to R/S aspects of people’s lives. be related to R/S struggles in the form of disor-
Recent work has validated a domain-specific dered or pathological attachments to a deity.
form of trait entitlement known as divine entitle- Much like human attachment, attachment to
ment (Grubbs, Exline, Pargament, Campbell, & God may also become conflicted, problematic, or
42 Narcissism and Spiritual Struggle
pathological (Beck & McDonald, 2004). In this
way, dysfunctional attachments to God may also
become forms of divine struggle. As would be
expected, disordered interpersonal attachment
styles often predict disordered attachments to
God (e.g., Sandage, Jankowski, Crabtree, &
Schweer, 2015). However, with this understand-
ing in mind, it is notable that spiritual grandiosity
seems to influence the relationship between dis-
ordered attachment in general and disordered
attachment to God (Sandage et al., 2015). At
higher levels of spiritual grandiosity, spiritual
instability more fully accounts for the link
between anxious adult attachment and anxious
God attachment. In technical terms, such an
effect is referred to as moderated mediation; spe-
cifically, spiritual grandiosity positively moder-
ates the mediating effect of spiritual instability on
the relationship between anxious adult attach-
ment and anxious God attachment. This suggests
that spiritual grandiosity might be a compensa-
tion for the distress associated with spiritual
instability (Sandage et al., 2015).
Finally, there has also been some conjecture
that narcissistic traits may express themselves
uniquely in the form of moral superiority (Shults
& Sandage, 2006). This tendency is thought to be
particularly likely among members of exces-
sively scrupulous faith traditions for whom the
maintenance and expression of moral purity or
spiritual integrity are especially important (Shults
& Sandage, 2006). Although such ideas have not
been extensively tested to date, they do represent
an area of potential interest, particularly in light
of the burgeoning body of literature on domain-­
specific manifestations of narcissism.
Summary and Implications
Consistent with the larger body of research on
narcissism and entitlement, the present review
suggests that the social costs of these traits may
very well extend to R/S domains. Across a body
of diverse samples, entitlement consistently
emerges as a robust predictor of R/S struggles
with the divine. More narcissistic and entitled
individuals report more anger at God in general,
393
more anger at God in response to difficult life cir-
cumstances, more disappointment with God, and
greater fears that God might be displeased with
them.
Importantly, the body of research reviewed
here points to the conclusion that the potential
influences of narcissism and entitlement should
not only be studied in the interpersonal domain.
R/S functioning tends to be one of the most
important domains of people’s well-being (Hill
& Pargament, 2003), and even those who deny
any specific religious affiliation may report that
spirituality or a perceived relationship with a
deity is important in their daily lives (Lim,
MacGregor, & Putnam, 2010). As such, it is rea-
sonable to conclude that, for a large percentage of
adults, having a fulfilling or meaningful religious
or spiritual life is part of total well-being (Cohen,
2002). Given this importance, the potential nega-
tive impacts of narcissism and entitlement on
such functioning warrant further examination.
Although prior literature and the present
review have primarily focused on the possibility
that entitlement and narcissism are promoting
greater experiences of anger at God and divine
struggle more generally, it is also plausible that,
for some individuals, both increased divine strug-
gle and increased entitlement—particularly
divine entitlement—may be the result of feeling
unjustly victimized by a deity. Such a possibility
is distinctly raised by literature suggesting that
feelings of victimization or unfair treatment actu-
ally reinforce or promote entitled beliefs (Zitek,
Jordan, Monin, & Leach, 2010). When individu-
als reflect upon times that they were victimized
or felt as if they were unfairly treated, they are
likely to report greater feelings of entitlement and
to conduct themselves in selfish or demanding
ways (Zitek et al., 2010). This response can be
seen as a defensive preservation of self-image
and gives way to the notion of a self-sustaining
cycle of struggle and entitlement.
Perhaps the most theoretically useful concep-
tualization of the relationships between
­narcissism/entitlement and divine struggle can be
extrapolated from prior works on the self-­
sustaining nature of these traits. Specifically, a
number of theoretical works have consistently
394
pointed out that narcissism (e.g., Campbell &
Campbell, 2009; Morf & Rhodewalt, 2001) and
entitlement (e.g., Grubbs & Exline, 2016) often
follow cyclical, self-sustaining patterns. With
entitlement specifically, this pattern involves a
cyclical experience of exaggerated entitled
demands being met with disappointments, which
are then interpreted as injustices or threats to ego,
resulting in volatile reactions that serve to bolster
the ego (Grubbs & Exline, 2016). A similar pat-
tern may be occurring in the specific relation-
ships between narcissism, entitlement, and R/S
struggles. Entitled expectations and demands in
one’s spiritual life are likely to be frequently
unmet, leading to disappointment. In the wake of
such disappointment, struggles—particularly
divine struggles, such as anger at God—may
arise and may then be used as part of a defensive
enhancement of ego that results in the reinforce-
ment of entitled beliefs. Future research that
explicitly tests such recursive links is needed.
Finally, although the links between facets of
narcissism (e.g., entitlement) and specific divine
struggles are very clear, it is likely that narcissism
is associated with religious functioning in other
ways as well. More nuanced approaches to study-
ing the overlaps in these domains are needed. It
is likely that aspects of narcissism, such as nar-
cissistic antagonism (e.g., Miller & Campbell,
2008), are related to the experience of interper-
sonal R/S struggles (i.e., conflicts with others
about religion; Exline et al., 2014). Similarly, the
well-documented tendencies for more narcissis-
tic individuals to blame others for their shortcom-
ings (Grubbs & Exline, 2016; Stucke, 2003) may
be related to a greater willingness to blame super-
natural agents for misfortune. These possibilities
suggest that more nuanced assessments of both
R/S struggles and narcissism may prove fruitful
in future research. Prior works examining asso-
ciations between narcissism and religion have
relied primarily on measures of entitlement (e.g.,
the Psychological Entitlement Scale; Campbell
et al., 2004; Narcissistic Personality Inventory—
Entitlement/Exploitativeness subscale), with
some work examining domain-specific mani-
festations (e.g., spiritual grandiosity, Hall &
J. B. Grubbs et al.
Edwards, 2002; divine entitlement, Grubbs et al.,
2017). Future work would be well-suited to exam-
ine narcissism more broadly, including particu-
larly problematic manifestations of narcissism,
as measured by scales such as the Pathological
Narcissism Inventory (Pincus et al., 2009) or the
Five Factor Narcissism Inventory (Glover, Miller,
Lynam, Crego, & Widiger, 2012).
Conclusion
Narcissism and entitlement are known to be asso-
ciated with a wide range of social difficulties, and
the present review highlights several ways in
which those associations may extend to R/S func-
tioning. Narcissism and entitlement are associ-
ated with greater anger at God, greater
disappointment with God, greater fear of divine
disapproval, and greater feelings of conflict with
God. These traits may also be expressed in
domain-specific ways in the form of divine enti-
tlement or spiritual grandiosity. Collectively,
these findings highlight the importance of under-
standing narcissistic traits as predictors of divine
struggles. Furthermore, given the well-­established
negative links between divine struggles and psy-
chosocial well-being, these findings also point to
another avenue by which narcissistic traits may
lead to personal difficulties.
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