The moral contents of anti‐atheist prejudice (and why atheists should care about it)

Abstract

Anti‐atheist prejudice is pervasive worldwide. Past research indicates that this is driven by perceptions of atheist immorality, yet such perceptions have not been explored in detail. Using Moral Foundations Theory and samples of U.S. Christians, we investigated whether anti‐atheist prejudice is explained by atheists' perceived adherence to certain foundational moral values more than others. Study 1 participants completed measures of moral value endorsements from the perspective of a typical atheist. Study 2 participants read that either atheists or people in general strongly endorse one of five moral foundations. Anti‐atheist prejudice was consistently explained best by perceived atheist concern for values of caring/compassion rather than fairness/justice, loyalty, deferential respect, or purity/decency. Findings suggest that efforts to reduce anti‐atheist prejudice should emphasize atheists' capacity for kindness and caring.

Improving the Electability of Atheists in the United States: A Preliminary Examination

“…Study 1 provides initial evidence that informational manipulations such as the inclusion of secular policy statements can increase voter support for atheist political candidates, perhaps in large part due to concurrent increases in perceptions that the target candidate was honest and trustworthy. This interpretation of the results is consistent with the secular morality hypothesis as well as the findings of Simpson and Rios (2016b), who showed that anti-atheist prejudice was more pronounced among those perceiving atheists to lack a moral concern for the welfare of others. While Study 1 offers encouragement for groups and individuals who wish to increase support for atheist candidates, these results are not without qualification.…”

“…Because a perceived lack of morality may be motivating distrust and prejudicial attitudes toward atheists, one way to increase political acceptance of an atheist candidate among religiously affiliated voters may be for a candidate to express broadly popular secular moral values. The degree to which an individual perceives atheists to have a moral concern for the welfare of others was found to be especially predictive of anti-atheist prejudice (Simpson and Rios 2016b). Study 1 tests the hypothesis that an atheist political candidate would receive a boost in voting intentions, trustworthiness ratings, and morality ratings from participants when the candidate expressed policy positions reflecting popular secular moral values.…”

Spiritual Struggles among Atheists: Links to Psychological Distress and Well-Being

“…Indeed, atheists' experiences might very well produce struggles in these areas, especially where atheists are a minority. Regarding interpersonal struggles, studies using U.S. participants have found that atheists are consistently rated as immoral (e.g., Gervais 2014), uncaring (Simpson and Rios 2017), and even un-American (Edgell et al 2006;Edgell et al 2016). These attitudes may lead to anti-atheist behavior, as many atheists report experiences of anti-atheist discrimination (e.g., Brewster et al 2016).…”

Atheists

“…These results corroborate similar findings of atheists being the most frequently thought to violate moral foundations (Gervais, ). Although Christians consider atheists less likely to endorse moral foundations, perceptions of how caring, kind, and compassionate atheists are significantly predict prejudice towards them (Simpson & Rios, ). Atheists could thus be considered threatening not simply to an individual, but threatening the loyalty, authority, and sanctity foundational to closely knit moral communities (Graham & Haidt, ).…”