Samenvatting

This article focuses on the theory put forward by Donald Caps in his The Depleted Self (Sin in a narcissis-tic age. Minneapolis: Fortress Pres, 1993) that there is a particular link between narcissisism and the commitment of particular deadly sins. The data in the research reported in this paper robustly validate the idea that the psychological consequences of the bureaucratic consumer society, understood as a lack of individual well-being leading to a narcissistic defense, show the theological relevance of the deadly sins understanding those conditions in society which on a global scale appear to threaten the individuality of the single person. Narcissism, both in its covert and overt mode, seems to be the most important variable in explaining the two factors of sin: resentment and desire.