Religious people trust atheists as much as they trust rapists, study finds.
365 replies, posted
[img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/46805323/prayer.jpg[/img]
[quote]It’s no secret that many people — especially those with religious affiliations — have a lower level of trust for atheists and non-believers.
Perhaps it’s the notion that those who lack a faith have, from the view of believers, no basis from which to secure a moral framework. Or maybe it’s just a lack of familiarity with those who lack spiritual guidance. Either way, polls and studies continue to make this pattern evident.
Yet another round of research is corroborating this notion, but with a bizarre twist. A new Canadian study claims to be one of the first psychological looks into the prejudice that many say exists against atheists and non-believers.
According to National Journal, researchers at the University of British Columbia and the University of Oregon have conducted a series of studies that further expose the deep distrust that exists against atheists. Considering that non-believers are a growing minority, this is certainly an interesting trend.
A belief in a higher power, specifically one that is built on a moral code that is laid out in written form (i.e. the Bible), provides followers with moral parameters. Atheists, who lack such a code, are often seen as potentially being open to anything; they’re essentially “unpredictable” in the eyes of adherents. HotAir.com’s Allah Pundit, though, refutes this theory:
That logic, that nonbelievers are less trustworthy because there’s no fear of damnation keeping them on the straight and narrow, gets thrown at atheists a lot and it never fails to make me nervous about the person who’s throwing it. There always seems to be an implicit threat to it — that if that person should lose his faith and the accompanying dread of hellfire, he might be capable of anything. That’s not how it works for most of us atheists, but if you think that’s how it might work for you, give the rest of the population a heads up if/when you start to have religious doubts so that we can prepare for your impending rampage.
Some may contend that the discrimination that is purported to exist against atheists is overblown, but a Gallup poll (via Reason) from earlier this year seems to show an inherent bias — at least when it comes to electoral politics. People, as you will see below, are less likely to vote for atheists than they are for women, blacks, Baptists, Jews, Mormons and gays:
[img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/46805323/gallup-atheists.png[/img]
“There’s this persistent belief that people behave better if they feel like God is watching them,” said Will Gervais, a doctoral candidate in the social psychology department at UBC (he also was the lead author of the study). “So if you’re playing by those rules, you’re going to see other people’s religious beliefs as signals of how trustworthy they might be.”
The paper (PDF copy can be read here), which recaps Gervais’ research, is published in the current online issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The piece includes six studies, which are all designed to measure peoples’ perceptions regarding how trustworthy non-believers are.
National Journal reports:
The first study asked 351 Americans from across the country to compare the trustworthiness of an atheist and a gay man, since both represent groups often described as threatening to majority religious values. They rated atheists significantly higher than gay men on distrust, though lower on levels of disgust.
The second study recruited 105 UBC undergrads —they purposely targeted a more liberal sample from a less-religious nation — to test whether distrust of atheists is more pronounced than distrust of other groups, including Muslims. The students read a description of an untrustworthy man who pretended to leave insurance information after backing his car into a parked vehicle and were asked to say whether it was more likely the man was either a Christian, Muslim, rapist or an atheist. People were far more likely to say he was either an atheist or a rapist and not part of a religious group. They did not significantly differentiate atheists from rapists, something Mr. Gervais found disconcerting.
Gervais, who is an atheist, called these revelations “pretty shocking.”
“With rapists, they’re distrusted because they rape people. Atheists are viewed as sort of a moral wild card,” he explained.
One of the other six studies also apparently found that people are more likely to hire someone for a job that requires higher levels of trust if the applicants appear religious. Atheists, though, would be more likely, according to the study, to be hired for jobs that require a lower level of trust.[/quote]
[url]http://www.theblaze.com/stories/study-religious-people-trust-atheists-about-as-much-as-they-do-rapists/[/url]
That's because so many "believers" are uneducated. It's called modern prejudice.
Because not believing in something is the same as sexual assault, right?
Such a bigots, I trust everyone the same amount.
[i]I don't trust at all[/i]
And this is why I'm Anti-Religion.
Because of the bullshit it spreads and the danger it inflicts.
Not to mention the countless crimes ignored and constant demoralization and fear spread around the world.
The only thing I see as bad is that this study actually included Rapist as an option along with Muslim, Christian and Atheist.
I'm betting a better part of the group didn't take this very seriously after hearing the selections.
Awaiting Atheist Holocaust.
If Facepunch counts as an accurate representation of the atheist community, I don't blame them.
Because when I meet somebody, I immediately ask them if they're an atheist[/sarcasm]
But no.. Really. I don't trust anybody. (except for the people who I know EXTREMELY well)
[QUOTE=Hostel;33561464]Awaiting Atheist Holocaust.[/QUOTE]
Fuck that dude if some crazy evangelist group asked if I was an atheist, I'd say nope :v:
Society: Taking one step forward, fifty steps backwards.
[QUOTE=Alex_DeLarge;33561535]Fuck that dude if some crazy evangelist group asked if I was an atheist, I'd say nope :v:[/QUOTE]
I'd grab a gun and fight back. I fight for freedom of religion now, and I'd fight for mine then.
People wouldn't vote for a person based on something about them? Gasp, story of the century right here.
The title's a bit misleading... here's how they got the rapist part:
[quote] The students read a description of an untrustworthy man who pretended to leave insurance information after backing his car into a parked vehicle and were asked to say whether it was more likely the man was either a Christian, Muslim, rapist or an atheist. People were far more likely to say he was either an atheist or a rapist and not part of a religious group.[/quote]
Most people probably dismissed the Christian and Musilm options because they thought that they wouldn't want to do anything that would upset their god.
Funny how they would vote for black people the most, considering the bible is strictly hating on black skinned people last I checked
The only situations where I asked if someone was an atheist was so that I knew what subject to avoid when having a conversation. I have the same level of trust for anyone really.
well being an atheist is pretty much raping the truth, and the word of God, so yeah
[QUOTE=wingless;33561457]And this is why I'm Anti-Religion.
Because of the bullshit it spreads and the danger it inflicts.
Not to mention the countless crimes ignored and constant demoralization and fear spread around the world.[/QUOTE]
This is why I'm Anti-Atheist [sp]No, not really, I'm just trying to make a point[/sp]
Because of the bullshit it spreads
not to mention the countless instances of falsified evidence introduced to make your point sound better
Note how me saying I'm Anti-atheist sounds ridiculously bigoted to you
Take a look at how you said you're Anti-Religion from a perfectly normal person's perspective
You're being just as dumb as the people you dislike. Seriously, the Facepunch atheism circlejerk is so damn obnoxious.
I will say the only time I denied in a fashion to being an athiest was when I was on recruiter duty wearing my dress blues. I kinda didn't have a choice since I faced the possibility of marring the image the corps, so I just was as vague as possible when it came to what I believed in.
Damn women made a prayer circle around me...
I'm not surprised, I read somewhere that atheists are the least trusted minority (50% hold this belief, I think?)
Uhh, some of those numbers don't add up...
The Gay or Lesbian and Atheist numbers total to >100% (101% each).
[QUOTE=Cuon Alpinus;33561651]This is why I'm Anti-Atheist [sp]No, not really, I'm just trying to make a point[/sp]
Because of the bullshit it spreads
not to mention the countless instances of falsified evidence introduced to make your point sound better
Note how me saying I'm Anti-atheist sounds ridiculously bigoted to you
Take a look at how you said you're Anti-Religion from a perfectly normal person's perspective
You're being just as dumb as the people you dislike. Seriously, the Facepunch atheism circlejerk is so damn obnoxious.[/QUOTE]
Realize the difference though in the actions that those groups take. Religious people tend to single out atheists and attempt to humiliate them and turn everyone against them, while atheist tend to discredit the others beliefs and call them out for their hippocratic actions. There's a huge difference between publicly attacking and criticizing.
I used to be catholic/christian-fuckwhatever,
now I'm a athiest/fake satanist(act like satan will come to rule us all)
yesterday i scared some catholic girl by looking really quick at her and saying "I will eat your soul"
she nearly cried and I busted out laughing and felt bad afterwards
[QUOTE=VaSTinY;33561602]Funny how they would vote for black people the most, considering the bible is strictly hating on black skinned people last I checked[/QUOTE]
Funny, 'cause most black people are Christian.
[QUOTE=Roof;33561709]I used to be catholic/christian-fuckwhatever,
now I'm a athiest/fake satanist(act like satan will come to rule us all)
yesterday i scared some catholic girl by looking really quick at her and saying "I will eat your soul"
she nearly cried and I busted out laughing and felt bad afterwards[/QUOTE]
You're why athiest get bad names man
[QUOTE=UncleJimmema;33561699]Realize the difference though in the actions that those groups take. Religious people tend to single out atheists and attempt to humiliate them and turn everyone against them, while atheist tend to discredit the others beliefs and call them out for their hippocratic actions. There's a huge difference between publicly attacking and criticizing.[/QUOTE]
Yes, you're right, but then most of the atheists who outwardly try to debunk religion are just doing it to be assholes or to try and force their views on someone, which seems to be really hypocritical since that's a huge portion of complaints I hear from atheists. It'd be nice if both sides could stop being whiny little shits over someone else's beliefs.
[QUOTE=Cuon Alpinus;33561651]This is why I'm Anti-Atheist [sp]No, not really, I'm just trying to make a point[/sp]
Because of the bullshit it spreads
not to mention the countless instances of falsified evidence introduced to make your point sound better
Note how me saying I'm Anti-atheist sounds ridiculously bigoted to you
Take a look at how you said you're Anti-Religion from a perfectly normal person's perspective
You're being just as dumb as the people you dislike. Seriously, the Facepunch atheism circlejerk is so damn obnoxious.[/QUOTE]
Hey, thanks for putting words in my mouth.
No where did I say that I hate the religious people, just the doctrine and the dogma.
Good job. Dick.
(I just realized how stupid this was, I was wrong. Woops)
Atheists would rather trust a fellow atheist than a religious person.
Fact.
[QUOTE=wingless;33561740]Hey, thanks for putting words in my mouth.
No where did I say that I hate the religious people, just the doctrine and the dogma.
Good job. Dick.[/QUOTE]
I never said you hated religious people.
Stop putting words in my mouth.
But in all seriousness, when you say you're anti-whatever, you tend to think that whoever said that tends to dislike people who practice it and other things related to it.
[QUOTE=wingless;33561740]Hey, thanks for putting words in my mouth.
No where did I say that I hate the religious people, just the doctrine and the dogma.
Good job. Dick.[/QUOTE]
And I think he said he hates the doctrine and dogma of Atheism. Didn't see the word hate in any of your posts.
[QUOTE=Cuon Alpinus;33561737]Yes, you're right, but then most of the atheists who outwardly try to debunk religion are just doing it to be assholes or to try and force their views on someone, which seems to be really hypocritical since that's a huge portion of complaints I hear from atheists. It'd be nice if both sides could stop being whiny little shits over someone else's beliefs.[/QUOTE]
Those who try and debunk religion are typically speaking to an already atheist community, those who appear to be forcing their views on someone typically happens when their own views are attacked. A good example is The Amazing Atheist if you followed him for a long time and watch his "story" unfold.
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