Skip to content
Culture & Religion —

Identity Issues

After three men who each believed he was Jesus Christ were made to live together as a psychological experiment, psychologists better understand the nature and limits of identity.
Sign up for Big Think on Substack
The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.

After three men who each believed he was Jesus Christ were made to live together as a psychological experiment, psychologists better understand the nature and limits of identity. “You oughta worship me, I’ll tell you that!” one of the Christs yelled. “Since there is only one Son of God, says the good book, anyone who believed himself to be Jesus would suffer a psychological affront by the very existence of another like him,” writes Vaughan Bell for Slate.com. The experiment, however, demonstrated the strength and rigidity of identity constructions.

Sign up for Big Think on Substack
The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.
Related
A bearded man wearing glasses and a plaid shirt speaks with a microphone clipped to his collar in front of a purple background with white dots.
The Well
How Rainn Wilson discovered sacredness
The hospital where Rainn Wilson’s wife and son nearly died became his own personal holy site. There, he discovered that the sacred can exist in places we least expect it. During his talk at A Night of Awe and Wonder, he explained how the awe we feel in moments of courage and love is moral beauty — and following it might be the start of our spiritual revolution.
▸
13 min
—
with
Rainn Wilson
Up Next