God Perfectionism as a Mediator of Intrinsic Religiosity and Life Satisfaction: A Christian Sample of Young Adults.

This article examines the relationship between intrinsic religiosity—defined as practicing religion for its own sake—and life satisfaction among Christian college students, focusing on the mediating role of God perfectionism, which refers to perfectionistic standards perceived as coming from a higher power. Using survey data from 125 primarily evangelical Protestant students, the study found that intrinsic religiosity is positively associated with life satisfaction and that this relationship is mediated by lower levels of perceived discrepancy-based God perfectionism (the gap between God's standards and one’s performance), but not by standards-based God perfectionism (the perceived high standards set by God). These findings suggest that perceiving God as less punitive or discrepant may enhance life satisfaction among intrinsically religious individuals. The study highlights the importance of distinguishing adaptive and maladaptive aspects of God perfectionism and calls for further research on how religiosity influences well-being across diverse populations and social contexts.