Do you believe in atheists? Distrust is central to anti-atheist prejudice.
Abstract
Recent polls indicate that atheists are among the least liked people in areas with religious majorities (i.e., in most of the world). The sociofunctional approach to prejudice, combined with a cultural evolutionary theory of religion's effects on cooperation, suggest that anti-atheist prejudice is particularly motivated by distrust. Consistent with this theoretical framework, a broad sample of American adults revealed that distrust characterized anti-atheist prejudice but not anti-gay prejudice (Study 1). In subsequent studies, distrust of atheists generalized even to participants from more liberal, secular populations. A description of a criminally untrustworthy individual was seen as comparably representative of atheists and rapists but not representative of Christians, Muslims, Jewish people, feminists, or homosexuals (Studies 2-4). In addition, results were consistent with the hypothesis that the relationship between belief in God and atheist distrust was fully mediated by the belief that people behave better if they feel that God is watching them (Study 4). In implicit measures, participants strongly associated atheists with distrust, and belief in God was more strongly associated with implicit distrust of atheists than with implicit dislike of atheists (Study 5). Finally, atheists were systematically socially excluded only in high-trust domains; belief in God, but not authoritarianism, predicted this discriminatory decision-making against atheists in high trust domains (Study 6). These 6 studies are the first to systematically explore the social psychological underpinnings of anti-atheist prejudice, and converge to indicate the centrality of distrust in this phenomenon.
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Anti-atheist prejudice affects employment, elections, family life, and broader social inclusion.
“Anti-atheist prejudice-a growing concern in increasingly secular societies 14 -affects employment, elections, family life, and broader social inclusion 12,13 .”
From Global evidence of extreme intuitive moral prejudice against atheists (2017) · cites this paper as [13]
Aspects of religion may promote or exacerbate conflict with those outside a given religious group, including regional violence, intergroup conflict, and tacit prejudice against nonbelievers.
“Moreover, aspects of religion may promote or exacerbate conflict with those outside a given religious group, promoting regional violence 10 , intergroup conflict 11 , as well as tacit prejudice against nonbelievers 12,13 .”
From Global evidence of extreme intuitive moral prejudice against atheists (2017) · cites this paper as [13]
Recent small sample studies in North America suggest deep moral suspicion of individuals who do not believe in gods.
“Modern investigations reflect this perceived link between belief in gods and morality, as recent small sample studies in North America suggest deep moral suspicion of individuals who do not believe in gods 13,19 .”
From Global evidence of extreme intuitive moral prejudice against atheists (2017) · cites this paper as [13]
Religions promote distrust of nonbelievers, who are excluded from religious moral communities.
“Religions underpin large-scale intragroup cooperation 3 , but also promote distrust of nonbelievers 13,19 who are excluded from such religious moral communities 3,25 .”
From Global evidence of extreme intuitive moral prejudice against atheists (2017) · cites this paper as [13]
Prejudice against atheists is driven by distrust.
“Psychologists have recently started to examine why people have such antipathy toward atheists, and the findings strongly suggest that prejudice against atheists is driven by distrust [4–8].”
From The amoral atheist? A cross-national examination of cultural, motivational, and cognitive antecedents of disbelief, and their implications for morality (2021) · cites this paper as [7]
There is a widespread cross-cultural stereotype that atheists are untrustworthy and lack a moral compass.
“There is a widespread cross-cultural stereotype suggesting that atheists are untrustworthy and lack a moral compass.”
From The amoral atheist? A cross-national examination of cultural, motivational, and cognitive antecedents of disbelief, and their implications for morality (2021) · cites this paper as [7]
Religiosity is positively related to antipathy toward atheists, racial minorities, and homosexuals.
“Specifically, religiosity is positively related to antipathy toward atheists [7, 8], racial minorities [12], and homosexuals [14].”
From The amoral atheist? A cross-national examination of cultural, motivational, and cognitive antecedents of disbelief, and their implications for morality (2021) · cites this paper as [7]
Homosexuals may be perceived as a threat to traditional moral values about marriage and sex, whereas atheists may be perceived as a threat to the religious moral community more generally.
“For example, homosexuals may be perceived as a threat to traditional moral values about marriage and sex [26], whereas atheists may be perceived as a threat to the religious moral community more generally [1, 7].”
From The amoral atheist? A cross-national examination of cultural, motivational, and cognitive antecedents of disbelief, and their implications for morality (2021) · cites this paper as [7]
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- Authors
- Gervais, W. M., Shariff, A. F., & Norenzayan, A.
- Affiliations
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- University of Oregon (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
- Published
- 2011
- Volume
- 101
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 1189-1206
- ISSN
- 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1315
- OpenAlex
- W2099173285
- Cited by
- 495
- References
- 14
- Citations by year
- 2026: 26 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 104 · 2020: 44 · 2019: 33 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 50 · 2016: 36 · 2015: 29 · 2014: 29 · 2013: 27 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 77.07
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Religion and Society Interactions
- Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
- Keywords
- distrust, atheists, belief in God, social exclusion, implicit attitudes, anti-gay prejudice, authoritarianism, religious majorities
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Analysis of Variance, Authoritarianism, Female, Homosexuality, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Middle Aged, Motivation, Prejudice, Religion and Psychology, Social Desirability, Trust, Young Adult
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