The Attitudes of Deconverted and Lifelong Atheists Towards Religious Groups: The Role of Religious and Spiritual Identity

Increasing atheism, or the view that there is no God, is a major trend affecting the Western religious landscape. Scholarly interest in atheists has grown together with their number, but unanswered questions abound. In this study, we present survey data (N = 758) collected from deconverted and lifel...

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Authors: Pauha, Teemu (Author) ; Eskelinen, Viivi (Author) ; Jasinskaja-Lahti, Inga (Author) ; Jetten, Jolanda 1970- (Author) ; Kunst, Jonas R. (Author) ; Noll, Jolanda van der (Author) ; Renvik, Tuuli Anna (Author) ; Rohmann, Anette 1972- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group [2020]
In: The international journal for the psychology of religion
Year: 2020, Volume: 30, Issue: 4, Pages: 246-264
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Western world / Atheism / Spirituality / Religiosity / Religious group
RelBib Classification:AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism
AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
AG Religious life; material religion
AX Inter-religious relations
KBB German language area
KBE Northern Europe; Scandinavia
KBS Australia; Oceania
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Summary:Increasing atheism, or the view that there is no God, is a major trend affecting the Western religious landscape. Scholarly interest in atheists has grown together with their number, but unanswered questions abound. In this study, we present survey data (N = 758) collected from deconverted and lifelong atheists in four countries (Australia, Finland, Germany, and Norway), and investigate the relationships between deconversion, religious identity, spiritual identity, and interreligious attitudes. We show that retaining a low level of religious or spiritual identity is more typical for deconverts than life-long atheists. Furthermore, we demonstrate that higher religious or spiritual identity among deconverts is associated with more positive attitudes toward different religious groups (national religious majority, religious minorities in general, and Muslims specifically).
ISSN:1532-7582
Contains:Enthalten in: The international journal for the psychology of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/10508619.2020.1774206