Psychology, 2014, 5, 986-992 Published Online June 2014 in SciRes. http://www.scirp.org/journal/psych http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/psych.2014.58109 How to cite this paper: Fasahati, S., & Kalantarkousheh, S. M. (2014). Perception of God and Paranoia among Iranian Uni- versity Students. Psychology, 5, 986-992. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/psych.2014.58109 Perception of God and Paranoia among Iranian University Students Shideh Fasahati, Seyed Mohammad Kalantarkousheh Department of Counseling, Faculty of Psychology and Education, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran Email: fasahati@gmail.com , Kalantar.counseling@gmail.com Received 8 April 2014; revised 6 May 2014; accepted 1 June 2014 Copyright © 2014 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Abstract This study examined the correlation between types of perception of God and paranoid thoughts among 312 randomly sampled students—175 female and 137 male—in the Azad Islamic Univer- sity of Tehran in Iran. Two survey questionnaires were administered to the participants through the University’s website—one assessing their perception of God (Lawrence, 1997), and the other to assess the occurrence of paranoid thoughts among them (Derogatis, Lipman, & Covi, 1973). Data were analyzed using correlation coefficients and regression methods. The results show that only the negative perception of God correlates with paranoia in both males and females, while the per- ception of God’s blessings in one’s life correlates with paranoid thoughts only among male stu- dents. Students with a positive perception of God experience less paranoia than students with negative perception of God—a finding that may actually suggest that positive spirituality/reli- giosity holds positive and therapeutic benefits for the paranoid. Keywords Paranoia, Paranoid Thoughts, Negative Thoughts, Perception of God, Iranian Students 1. Introduction Through the spiritual chronicles of time, it appears that the most forgiving and loving of men had built their psycho-spiritual nature on the basis of first acknowledging and viewing God as the epitome of infinite mercy, kindness and love. It is no wonder, then, that many religious texts emphasize that one’s terms of endearment with God is a significant determinant and motivation in offering one’s best to others, in all relationships (Brown & Miller, 2005), since “the love of God”—much more than only “the fear of God”—would cause one to develop a “merciful” view of others, by natural extension of the Divine love one feels within one’s core. As Imam Ali (A.S.) once said: “The one who amends his/her relationship with God, God will also help them to have better