An Atheist Perspective on Self-Esteem and Meaning Making while under Death Awareness

Abstract

In accordance with Terror Management Theory research, secular beliefs can serve an important role for mitigating existential concerns by providing atheists with a method to attain personal meaning and bolster self-esteem. Although much research has suggested that religious beliefs are powerful defense mechanisms, these effects are limited or reveal more nuanced effects when attempting to explain atheists’ (non)belief structures. The possibility of nonbelief that provides meaning in the “here and now” is reinforced by the importance placed on scientific discovery, education, and social activism by many atheists. Thus, these values and ideologies can, and do, allow for empirically testable claims within a Terror Management framework. Although religious individuals can and largely do use religion as a defense strategy against existential concerns, purely secular ideologies are more effective for atheists providing evidence for a hierarchical approach and individual differences within worldview defenses. Evidence for and implications of these arguments are discussed.

Does a Science-Oriented Worldview Entail Unbelief?

“…Comments from participants suggest that a this-worldly orientation and the rejection of afterlife belief might partly account for the low scores in literal immortality from science in atheist respondents. Prior literature has associated atheist worldviews with the importance of the "here and now" that has even been suggested as the "Atheist Salvation" (Coleman and Arrowood 2015, 11, 19;Coleman et al 2019). However, this plausible reason for the low belief in literal continuity via science for atheists does not explain the low scores among theists and participants that are unsure of their God belief.…”

Dreaming On: Dying Behaviour and the Romantic-Individualist Ethos

“…This is also confirmed by a number of recent studies. Empirical findings in accordance with terror management theory (TMT) research have demonstrated that strong secular beliefs can serve the same role as religious faith in mitigating existential concerns (Coleman III et al, 2019;Feldmann et al, 2016;Sawyer et al, 2021;Wilkinson & Coleman, 2010;Zuckerman, 2008). 2 To date, atheists' perspectives in the area of dying and death have not been treated in much detail.…”

“…Yet more importantly, 'there is frequent mixing, like secularists who tell mystical stories, or religious individuals whose stories are entirely framed by luck' (ibid.). Secular schemas for achieving meaning in the 'here and now' might be the belief in science, education, or social activism (Coleman III et al, 2019). When it comes to existential matters, recent studies have shown that secular orientation and the lack of belief in life after death does not manifest itself in high levels of death anxiety (Cragun, 2013;Zuckerman, 2008).…”

Nonreligion, Atheism, & Mental Health

“…4,5,88 Experimental psychological research has uncovered that beliefs in science or in progress are strengthened when nonreligious individuals are exposed to high levels of uncertainty, existential anxiety, or stress, 6,7 suggesting that these are meaningful beliefs than nonreligious individuals cling to in times for need. 8 If this suggestion is correct, it radically changes our understanding of beliefs and its functional role: the benefits of beliefs are probably not driven by their supernatural content but by the process of believing which causally and meaningfully gives structure to the world and events in everyday life. 88 Belief in science or progress naturally does not exhaust the varieties of beliefs nonreligious individuals might espouse.…”