Atheism Flashcards
6 branches of atheism
- Agnosticism
- Humanism
- Naturalism
- Secularism
- Transhumanism
- Materialism
Humanism definition (Hobson and Jennings)
Those who reject the supernatural views of Christianity and concentrate on searching for seasoned answers to issues in their lives.
The Brights
A Bright is a person who has a naturalistic worldview
A Bright’s worldview is free of supernatural and mystical elements
The ethics and actions of a bright are based on a naturalistic worldview
Problems with demographics in atheism studies (Zuckerman, 2007)
Census surveys might ‘under-report’ prevalence.
Methodological problems
* Low response rates
* Non-random samples
* Adverse political / cultural climates
Census (2001)
15% not religious
Census (2011)
25% non-religious
Census (2021)
37.2% not religious
BBC (2004)
44% not religious
Norris and Ingleheart (2003)
39% not religious
Bruce (2002)
21% not religious, 8% atheist, 10% agnostic
Greenley (2003)
31% not religious, 10% atheist
Froese (2001)
32% schist or agnostic
Hayes (2000)
34% atheist or agnostic
ARIS (2008)
15% not religious
Gervais et al (2018)
26% atheist or agnostic
The religious “nones” (Vernon, 1968)
- Reject membership in formal religion
- May have mystical experiences
- Are ethical and moral
- There are subcategories
Religious independents (Hayes, 2000)
- Less likely to hold religious conviction than affiliates
- Male, non-married, young, highly educated
Jagodzinksi and Greenley (nd)
Hardcore atheists are more likely to be male
A psychological profile of atheism (Beit-Hallahmi)
- Male
- Intellectual orientation
- Distant relations to parents
- Avoidant attachment style
- Liberal and tolerant
- No clear evidence of deficits in mental health
- No clear evidence of immorality and crime
Exploring Atheist Personality (Caldwell-Harris et al, 2011)
- No difference to Buddhist’s and Christians on measures of well-being and empathy.
- Differed on magical ideation and spirituality.
- But Atheists experience awe and joy in the presence of “nature”, “art/music” and “human cooperation”.
Gervais et al (2011)
Distrust is central to anti-atheist prejudice
J.Brown-Januzzi et al (2018)
Mental images of theists are associated with more positive attributes
The psychology of non-believers (Uzarevice and Coleman III, 2021)
Not just a lack of belief.
Accompanied by scientific and liberal worldviews (at least in the West)
Analytical and open-minded disposition
Positive aspects of ideological thinking; Well-being
Negative aspects: outgroup prejudice
Both highly religious and highly non-religious people report high wellbeing
Explanations of Atheism
- Naturalness of Religion and Unnaturalness of Science (McCauley, 2000)
- Barrett (2004): Atheism thrives under certain, narrow environmental conditions (only really industrial societies).
- Saler and Ziegler (2006): Atheism and the Apotheosis (the process of becoming a God) of Agency
