Deprivatization of Disbelief?: Non-Religiosity and Anti-Religiosity in 14 Western European Countries

This article aims to move beyond media discourse about "new atheism" by mapping and explaining anti-religious zeal among the public at large in 14 Western European countries. We analyze data from the International Social Survey Program, Religion III, 2008, to test two theories about how co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Politics and religion
Authors: Ribberink, Egbert 1981- (Author) ; Achterberg, Peter H. J. 1977- (Author) ; Houtman, Dick 1963- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Cambridge Univ. Press [2013]
In: Politics and religion
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
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Summary:This article aims to move beyond media discourse about "new atheism" by mapping and explaining anti-religious zeal among the public at large in 14 Western European countries. We analyze data from the International Social Survey Program, Religion III, 2008, to test two theories about how country-level religiousness affects anti-religiosity and its social bases: a theory of rationalization and a theory of deprivatization of disbelief. Hypotheses derived from the former are contradicted, whereas those derived from the latter are largely confirmed. Anti-religiosity is strongest among disbelievers and among the higher educated in the most religious countries and among the older generations in today's most secularized countries.
ISSN:1755-0491
Contains:Enthalten in: Politics and religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/S1755048312000740