Reminders of secular authority reduce believers' distrust of atheists (minority, America, atheist)

[Brian.Pearson]

What's the group that least agrees with Americans' vision of their country? It's not Muslims, gays, feminists, or recent immigrants. It's atheists, according to many sociological surveys. In one survey conducted in 2006 by sociologist Penny Edgell and her colleagues, nearly half of respondents said they would disapprove if their child wanted to marry an atheist, and a majority would not vote for an atheist president of their preferred political party, the lowest social acceptance rates of any group that Americans are asked about.

"Sincere commitment to belief in God may be viewed as a signal for trustworthiness, particularly by religious believers who think that people behave better if they are under supernatural surveillance," says Norenzayan. "Atheists consider their disbelief as a matter of private conscience, while believers think atheists' absence of belief is a public threat to cooperation and honesty. However, this negative perception of atheists declines to the extent that people are reminded of secular means of social surveillance."

[ayahuasca_mike]

This is unfortunate but no surprise. The religious have waged an extremely successful campaign against non-believers that predates the Enlightenment period.

Another reason would be that we as atheist have had no need to congregate. We try to refrain from making atheism appear as a religion (because it is not).

Ultimately people are going to have a difficult time trusting someone who refutes the very fabric of their existence. We seem to do that quite well and I have no issue with being distrusted.

[Asheville Native]

Yea, makes me want to believe the trustworthiness of someone that believes in invisible friends and places and all of the insane magic that goes along with it. It just flies in the face of any rational reasoning.

[PoppySead]

It makes sense, if you didn't have a president in office that followed like a sheep how would lobbyists survive. It would be chaos in that big white house. There's agendas people, agendas! How could you run a country based on fact and fairness. Sounds ridiculous even thinking about it.

[baystater]

What's the group that least agrees with Americans' vision of their country? It's not Muslims, gays, feminists, or recent immigrants. It's atheists, according to many sociological surveys. In one survey conducted in 2006 by sociologist Penny Edgell and her colleagues, nearly half of respondents said they would disapprove if their child wanted to marry an atheist, and a majority would not vote for an atheist president of their preferred political party, the lowest social acceptance rates of any group that Americans are asked about.

It's a little odd that believers would dislike atheists so much, says Will Gervais, a graduate student at the University of British Columbia who did the new study with his advisor, Ara Norenzayan. Atheists are a small minority in America, they are not a visible or coherent group, and most aren't particularly noisy about their beliefs. Previous studies by the same authors have found that the dislike mostly comes from distrust. "It seemed like distrust was driven by the belief that people act better if they feel like they're being watched by God," Gervais says.

Well from my POV and only mine...I don't consider atheists a group. Atheists are individuals that just so happen to have one similar belief. This is that they don’t believe in deities. Other than that we/they may or may not have anything else in common with each other.

"Sincere commitment to belief in God may be viewed as a signal for trustworthiness, particularly by religious believers who think that people behave better if they are under supernatural surveillance," says Norenzayan. "Atheists consider their disbelief as a matter of private conscience, while believers think atheists' absence of belief is a public threat to cooperation and honesty. However, this negative perception of atheists declines to the extent that people are reminded of secular means of social surveillance. "

"There is evidence that gods and governments can fulfill similar roles," Gervais says. People want the world to be orderly and controlled, but it seems like the authority that keeps people in line can be religious or secular. There's some evidence that when people feel less confident in their government, they're more likely to seek out religion. Norenzayan and Gervais find that in countries where the government is more effective and stronger, atheists are both more common and more trusted.

Order + Control + Surveillance = Security+ Confidence

and

Security + Confidence = TRUST

I think that set of equations pretty much covers it. But.........?????.......where does freedom and privacy fit in the minds of the people??? Especially for the people of the western world.



Maybe the joker "plan" monologue had a point?


The Dark Knight - Hospital Scene (Two-Face and Joker) - YouTube

[Brian.Pearson]

I've never (well in the 99% of the time) had any problem gaining the trust of other people. But if I ran for office, there would be a big problem...Somebody would find out and ruin everything.

It's funny--My wife was talking to our doctor. He was talking to her and saying I was a "Lincolnesque personality," that I was the genuine person and things like that.

But I wouldn't be able to be President.