Global evidence of extreme intuitive moral prejudice against atheists.
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2017 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Nature Human Behaviour |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-017-0151 |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41562-017-0151 |
| Field | Philosophy and religion |
| Keywords | Evolution; Human behaviour; Psychology; Atheism; Prejudice; Representativeness heuristic |
| Description | Mounting evidence supports longstanding claims that religions can extend cooperative networks. However, religious prosociality may have a strongly parochial component. Moreover, aspects of religion may promote or exacerbate conflict with those outside a given religious group, promoting regional violence, intergroup conflict and tacit prejudice against non-believers. Anti-atheist prejudice a growing concern in increasingly secular societies affects employment, elections, family life and broader social inclusion. Preliminary work in the United States suggests that anti-atheist prejudice stems, in part, from deeply rooted intu- itions about religion’s putatively necessary role in morality. However, the cross-cultural prevalence and magnitude — as well as intracultural demographic stability — of such intuitions, as manifested in intuitive associations of immorality with atheists, remain unclear. |
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