Those religious (but not secular) that self-enhance saying they have more religious knowledge ("religious overclaiming") show more support for, and willingness to engage in, religious aggression

Religious Overclaiming and Support for Religious Aggression. Daniel N. Jones et al. Social Psychological and Personality Science, April 14, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550620912880

Abstract: Agentic self-enhancement consists of self-protective and self-advancing tendencies that can lead to aggression, especially when challenged. Because self-enhancers often endorse aggression to defend or enhance the self-concept, religious self-enhancement should lead to endorsing aggression to defend or enhance one’s religion. We recruited three samples (N = 969) from Mechanical Turk (n = 409), Iran (n = 351), and the U.S.–Mexico border region (n = 209). We found that religious (but not secular) self-enhancement in the form of religious overclaiming predicted support for, and willingness to engage in, religious aggression. In contrast, accuracy in religious knowledge had mostly negative associations with aggression-relevant outcomes. These results emerged across two separate religions (Christianity and Islam) and across three different cultures (the United States, Iran, and the U.S.–Mexico border region). Thus, religious overclaiming is a promising new direction for studying support for religious aggression and identifying those who may become aggressive in the name of God.

Keywords: violence, terrorism, aggression, overclaiming, self-deceptive enhancement