Tolerating the "doubting Thomas": how centrality of religious beliefs vs. practices influences prejudice against atheists.

ABSTRACT: Past research has found a robust effect of prejudice against atheists in largely Christian-dominated (belief-oriented) samples. We propose that religious centrality of beliefs vs. practices influences attitudes toward atheists, such that religious groups emphasizing beliefs perceive non-believers more negatively than believers, while groups emphasizing practices perceive non-practicing individuals more negatively than practicing individuals. Studies 1-2, in surveys of 41 countries, found that Muslims and Protestants (belief-oriented) had more negative attitudes toward atheists than did Jews and Hindus (practice-oriented). Study 3 experimentally manipulated a target individual's beliefs and practices. Protestants had more negative attitudes toward a non-believer (vs. a believer), whereas Je

SUBMITTER: Hughes J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4561750 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature