An introduction to atheism, agnosticism, and nonreligious worldviews.

Coleman, Thomas J.; Hood, Ralph W.; Streib, Heinz

doi:10.1037/rel0000213

Cited by 21 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 49 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This idea is, of course, cumbersome. What we mean by nonreligion is doubly relative (to religion, which is relative to context), which may explain why a small but growing number of influential scholars are suggesting that we move away from the religious/nonreligious terminology entirely and instead describe the sociology of religion and nonreligion as the sociology of existential cultures (Lee ) or worldviews (Coleman, Hood, and Streib ; Taves, Asprem, and Ihm ). In a sense, this represents a reinvigoration of historical debate about definitions.…”

Section: Defining Religion's Othermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Though still in early stages, some scholars are now focusing on the substantive and positive beliefs of atheists and nonreligious people (as opposed only to what they do not believe) as they construct meaning around “big questions” by examining the social contexts in which they develop their views (Baker and Smith ; Lee ), the ways in which identity, disposition, and sets of beliefs across cultures become constitutive of worldview (Coleman, Hood, and Streib ; Keller et al. ), as well as the relationship of nontheism and nonreligion to other worldview systems including humanism, existentialism, and even analytic philosophy (see Bullivant and Ruse ).…”

Section: Empirical Research On Religion's Othermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The nonreligious create systems of belief out of available cultural resources (e.g., normative structures, moral codes, scientific knowledge) and often in dialectic relationship with religion and its claims about the nature of the cosmos. As Coleman, Hood, and Streib () suggest, paying more attention to the empirical aspects of how nonreligious worldviews are made and sustained apart from, and in relation to, religious worldviews will lead to productive insights into the nature of both.…”

Section: Empirical Research On Religion's Othermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Today, there are numerous research articles, book‐length studies, and edited volumes on atheists, agnostics, and other self‐identified secular individuals (Beaman and Tomlins ; Bradley et al. ; Smith ), their organizing efforts (Cimino and Smith ; Cragun, Manning, and Fazzino ; Meagher ) and beliefs (Coleman, Hood, and Streib ; Sherkat ), the nones (Baker and Smith ; Kosmin et al. ), those who leave religion (Packard and Ferguson ; Streib et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Mapping Religion's Other: A Review of the Study of Nonreligion and Secularity

Smith

Cragun

2019

Scientific Study of Religion

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this article, we review the research literature on nonreligion, secularity, the nones, and other forms of "religion's other." As a relatively new area of sustained and still growing research activity, with its attendant theoretical and methodological implications continuing to take shape, our focus is on the social science research from the mid-2000s to the present. We consider the challenges of definition and perspective in this line of inquiry, highlight key arguments, and summarize the main findings from empirical studies of nonreligion and its relationship to topics including identity, health, family, and prejudice. After discussing the organizational and social movement aspects of nonreligious communities, as well as related developments in how scholars are studying these communities, we conclude our assessment of the state of this field by proffering questions relevant to both current efforts and whatever future directions are in store for research on religion's other.

show abstract

Section: Defining Religion's Othermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Empirical Research On Religion's Othermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Empirical Research On Religion's Othermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Mapping Religion's Other: A Review of the Study of Nonreligion and Secularity

Smith

Cragun

2019

Scientific Study of Religion

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In part, this is symptomatic of a more general problem across the social scientific study of nonreligion in which researchers tend to 1) conceptualize nonreligion as the mere opposite of religion (Coleman, Hood and Streib 2018), or 2) view all humans as implicitly theistic (cf.…”

Section: An Alternative View To Current Tmt and Atheism Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2019

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

Selfishness and consumer ethics: Does (non)religiosity matter?

Arli

Tjiptono

2022

Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

During the COVID-19 pandemic, frenzied selfishness and panic buying have dominated headlines around the globe. When people hoard supplies, others (including the needy and vulnerable people) cannot find necessities. Despite repeated calls from leaders, people worldwide continue to hoard supplies, and millions of people ignore coronavirus concerns, including churches. Hence, the purpose of this study is first to investigate the impact of consumers' (non) religiosity on selfishness and, subsequently, the impact of selfishness on consumers' ethical beliefs. Secondly, we explore do people's religiosity matters? Are religious people more ethical and less selfish than atheists or vice versa? This study uses the convenience sampling approach to investigate consumers' ethical beliefs. The sample was collected through Amazon M-Turk and totaled 235 responses. The results show that consumers' intrinsic religiosity did not significantly influence consumers' selfishness. Furthermore, extrinsic religiosity and atheism positively influence consumers' selfishness. Finally, the results show that selfishness is prevalent in every group irrespective of the group's belief or nonbelief status. The results indicate that when exploring consumer ethics, the key measure should not only focus on consumers' religiousness or lack of religiousness but, instead, it should also include consumers' selfishness. This study offers several implications for non-profit organizations dealing with ethical issues, and secondly, the study will have implications for ethical education among religious or non-religious consumers. Originality/value-This is one of the first few studies investigating the impact of consumers' religiosity on selfishness. In addition, this study investigates differences between religious and non-religious consumers on consumer ethics.

show abstract

An introduction to atheism, agnosticism, and nonreligious worldviews.

Abstract: for providing critical feedback for this introduction to the special issue. And last but not least, we are very much indebted to and thankful for the many scholars who assisted in the reviewing of articles.

Cited by 21 publications

References 49 publications

Mapping Religion's Other: A Review of the Study of Nonreligion and Secularity

Mapping Religion's Other: A Review of the Study of Nonreligion and Secularity

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

Selfishness and consumer ethics: Does (non)religiosity matter?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About