The psychology of nonbelievers

Abstract

Nonbelief ostensibly develops from mechanisms (e.g., open-minded and analytic thinking styles) that differ from those undergirding religious cognition, and likely interacts with cultural influences. • Nonbelievers endorse a variety of beliefs and worldviews, such as rationalistic and humanistic ideologies that may serve compensatory functions. • Nonbelievers report meaningful and healthy lives comparable to those of believers. The (non)religion-health curvilinear relationship is supported across several national, ethnic, and religious contexts. • Nonbelievers can show prejudice toward ideological opponents, but its scope is contextual and limited.

Nonreligion, Atheism, & Mental Health

“…There is now a corpus of research showing that atheists and agnostics endorse a variety of ontological, epistemological, and ethical beliefs about reality. 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.…”

“…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. Humanism, Positivism, Existentialism, Marxism, Transhumanism are other well-known examples of nonreligious belief systems within Western culture.…”

“…How any of these beliefs interact with health is unknown. 88 We have clearly come a long way from when atheists were classified by personality psychologists as adherents of 'extremes of social, political, and religious outlook' like fundamentalists and communists. 9 However, as we describe below, the stereotypes about the lack of moral qualities in atheists are very much alive.…”

Preliminary Validation Study of the Intrinsic Religious Motivation Scale and the Centrality of Religiosity Scale for the Portuguese Population

“…The psychology of religion is not just dedicated to studying religious identity, religious practice, and beliefs. It is also dedicated to studying non-believers and non-religion [ 2 , 17 ]. In fact, non-belief development is based on psychological mechanisms that support sceptical thinking and critical reasoning, reducing the plausibility of religious ideas [ 17 ].…”

“…It is also dedicated to studying non-believers and non-religion [ 2 , 17 ]. In fact, non-belief development is based on psychological mechanisms that support sceptical thinking and critical reasoning, reducing the plausibility of religious ideas [ 17 ]. According to Anczykand and Grzymała-Moszczyńska [ 18 ], contemporary psychology of religion faces many challenges, namely, cross-disciplinary interconnections, responses to societal challenges, and research methodology.…”