Perceptions of and behaviour toward religious people and atheists in Sweden and the USA

Perceptions of and behaviour toward religious people and atheists in Sweden and the USA
Author: Nathalie Hallin
Publisher: Linköping University Electronic Press
Total Pages: 82
Release: 2024-05-14
Genre:
ISBN: 9180756840

Religiosity has been present in societies throughout history and several theories hold that religion serves to foster trust and a sense of community within the religious ingroup. In many societies today, it is not uncommon to lack religious beliefs and religion is no longer a natural part of everyday life. The studies included in this thesis investigated how religious groups perceive each other or how generous they are to each other, both in the more secular Sweden and in the more religious USA. Paper 1 examined Swedes’ perceptions of atheists and religious people. Specifically, how often they associated atheists or religious people with extreme immoral behaviour by making a conjunction error. Previous studies using the same methodological paradigm have found that more people associate atheists, rather than religious people, with immoral behaviour. We found no significant association between target (atheist or religious person) and conjunction errors, indicating that Swedes do not associate immoral behaviour with atheists to a greater degree than they associate immoral behaviour with religious people. We compared the results to those presented in a previous study and found that the Swedish participants in our study made significantly fewer conjunction errors when the target was an atheist than a sample from the USA. They also made significantly more conjunction errors when the target was a religious person than a Finnish sample and the American sample. The results suggests that anti-atheist bias is lower in Sweden compared to the USA, but anti-religious bias is higher than in both Finland and the USA. However, it is also possible that the type of sample used affected the results – we recruited participants from social media while the other two samples were solely or mainly student samples. The study shows that the clear anti-atheist bias found in similar studies is not universal. Paper 2 investigated Christians’ and atheists’ perceptions of Christian, Muslim, and atheist job applicants in four studies, two with Swedish samples (studies 1 and 3) and two with samples from the USA (studies 2 and 4). Participants rated the perceived competence and likeability of a target applicant (Christian, Muslim, or atheist) and a control applicant (with no information about religious affiliation). In the last two studies, participants also specified if they would have hired the target or control applicant. Participants generally rated the control applicant as being more competent (USA) and more likeable (Sweden and USA) than the target applicant. Both Christian and atheist participants rated targets with the same religious affiliation higher in likeability than targets from one or both religious outgroups in two of the studies. The only significant difference in competence ratings between the targets were in study 3, where Christians rated Muslims as less competent than Christians. However, Christians’ likeability ratings in study 3 did not differ between targets. More atheists in study 3 hired the control applicant than the Christian applicant, but no other group differed in which applicant they hired. In conclusion, when people perceived one religious group to be more likeable, it was their ingroup. However, these results do not translate to perceptions of competence and seldom to hiring decisions. Paper 3 investigated generosity toward religious ingroup and outgroup members in three studies conducted in Sweden (study 1), the USA (study 2), and Egypt and Lebanon (study 3), using an adapted Dictator Game. Participants allocated a sum of money between themselves and three potential recipients. In the most relevant round, these were a Christian, a Muslim, and an atheist. We found that in studies 1 and 2, there was no significant difference in overall generosity between religious people, agnostics, and atheists in the rounds where they did not know the religious affiliation of the recipients. In the round where they knew the affiliation of recipients, religious people gave significantly more than atheists (studies 1 and 2) and agnostics (study 2). Study 3 had too few agnostics and atheists to compare their generosity to that of religious people. Christians, Muslims, and atheists in all three studies gave significantly more money to their respective religious ingroups than to the outgroup that was given the largest amount. This ingroup generosity was found in the other rounds as well. However, the ingroup minus outgroup amount was larger in the religion round compared to most other rounds. The exceptions were the ideology round in study 1 and 2, which did not differ significantly from the religion round. In study 2, the difference between ingroup and outgroup generosity was larger for Muslim participants than for Christians and atheists. In conclusion, religious people seem to be more generous only when they know the religious affiliation of recipients, but atheists, Muslims, and Christians are all more generous toward religious ingroup members than toward outgroup members. The papers together show that religious affiliation is an important group category that affects perceived likeability and generosity in several contexts. Religiositet har funnits i samhällen genom hela historien och flera teorier hävdar att religion bidrar till att främja förtroende och en känsla av gemenskap inom den religiösa ingruppen. I många samhällen idag är det vanligt att sakna religiösa övertygelser och religion är inte längre en naturlig del av vardagslivet. Studierna som ingår i denna avhandling undersökte hur religiösa grupper uppfattar varandra eller hur generösa de är mot varandra, både i det mer sekulära Sverige och i det mer religiösa USA. Papper 1 undersökte svenskars uppfattningar om ateister och religiösa människor. Specifikt hur ofta de associerade ateister eller religiösa människor med extremt omoraliskt beteende genom att göra ett konjunktionsfel. Tidigare studier som använt samma metodologiska paradigm har funnit att fler människor associerar ateister, snarare än religiösa människor, med omoraliskt beteende. Vi fann ingen signifikant koppling mellan target (ateist eller religiös person) och konjunktionsfel, vilket indikerar att svenskar inte associerar omoraliskt beteende med ateister i högre grad än de associerar omoraliskt beteende med religiösa människor. Vi jämförde resultaten med de som presenterades i en tidigare studie och fann att de svenska deltagarna i vår studie gjorde signifikant färre konjunktionsfel när target var en ateist jämfört med ett amerikanskt urval. De gjorde också signifikant fler konjunktionsfel när target var en religiös person än ett finskt urval och det amerikanska urvalet. Resultaten tyder på att anti-ateistisk bias är lägre i Sverige jämfört med USA, men anti-religiös bias är högre än i både Finland och USA. Det är dock också möjligt att urvalet påverkade resultaten – vi rekryterade deltagare från sociala medier medan de andra två urvalen enbart eller främst var studenturval. Studien visar att den tydliga anti-ateistiska biasen som hittats i liknande studier inte är universell. Papper 2 undersökte kristnas och ateisters uppfattningar om kristna, muslimska och ateistiska jobbkandidater i fyra studier, två med svenska urval (studier 1 och 3) och två med urval från USA (studier 2 och 4). Deltagarna bedömde hur kompetenta och likeable de uppfattade en target-kandidat (kristen, muslim eller ateist) och en kontroll-kandidat (utan information om religiös tillhörighet). I de två sista studierna specificerade deltagarna även om de skulle ha anställt target- eller kontroll-kandidaten. Deltagarna bedömde generellt kontroll-kandidaten som mer kompetent (USA) och mer likeable (Sverige och USA) än target-kandidaten. Både kristna och ateistiska deltagare bedömde targets med samma religiösa tillhörighet högre i likeability än target från en av eller båda religiösa utgrupper i två av studierna. Den enda signifikanta skillnaden i kompetensbedömningar mellan targets var i studie 3, där kristna bedömde muslimer som mindre kompetenta än kristna. Kristnas likeabilitybedömningar skilde sig dock inte mellan targets i studie 3. Fler ateister i studie 3 anställde kontrollkandidaten än den kristna kandidaten, men ingen annan grupp skilde sig åt i vilken kandidat de anställde. Sammanfattningsvis, när människor uppfattade en religiös grupp som mer likeable, var det deras ingrupp. Dessa resultat leder dock inte till motsvarande skillnader i bedömningar av kompetens eller i anställningsbeslut. Papper 3 undersökte generositet mot religiösa ingrupps- och utgruppsmedlemmar i tre studier utförda i Sverige (studie 1), USA (studie 2) samt Egypten och Libanon (studie 3), med ett anpassat diktatorspel. Deltagarna fördelade en summa pengar mellan sig själva och tre potentiella mottagare. I den mest relevanta omgången var dessa en kristen, en muslim och en ateist. Vi fann att i studie 1 och 2 fanns det ingen signifikant skillnad i övergripande generositet mellan religiösa människor, agnostiker och ateister i de omgångar där de inte visste mottagarnas religiösa tillhörighet. I omgången där de kände till tillhörigheten gav religiösa personer signifikant mer än ateister (studie 1 och 2) och agnostiker (studie 2). Studie 3 hade för få agnostiker och ateister för att kunna jämföra deras generositet med den hos religiösa personer. Kristna, muslimer och ateister i alla tre studierna gav signifikant mer pengar till sina respektive religiösa ingrupper än till utgruppen som fick det största beloppet. Denna ingruppsgenerositet fanns också i de andra omgångarna. Skillnaden mellan ingrupps-och utgruppsgenerositet var dock större i religionomgången jämfört med de flesta andra omgångar. Undantagen var ideologiomgången i studie 1 och 2, som inte skilde sig signifikant från religionomgången. I studie 2 var skillnaden mellan ingrupps och utgruppsgenerositet större för muslimska deltagare än för kristna och ateister. Sammanfattningsvis verkar religiösa människor vara mer generösa endast när de vet mottagarnas religiösa tillhörighet, men ateister, muslimer och kristna är alla mer generösa mot medlemmar av den religiösa ingruppen än mot utgruppsmedlemmar. Papperna tillsammans visar att religiös tillhörighet är en viktig gruppkategori som påverkar uppfattad likeability och generositet i flera sammanhang.

The Routledge International Handbook of Changes in Human Perceptions and Behaviors

The Routledge International Handbook of Changes in Human Perceptions and Behaviors
Author: Kanako Taku
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 603
Release: 2024-06-28
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1040039367

The Routledge International Handbook of Changes in Human Perceptions and Behaviors is the first edited volume to present multidisciplinary perspectives on various aspects of changes that humans experience. The handbook is designed to highlight the different contents, types, ways, meanings, applications, and moments of changes that have been recognized by experts in various fields within the life and social sciences. Comprised of four sections, the chapters address changes in a variety of contexts related to human perceptions and behaviors; the moment of change and fluctuations; changes in applied settings; and the meaning of changes, including resistance to change. Written by a range of expert international contributors, the book brings together discussions and insights about how different levels and types of changes in human perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, values, and behaviors have been studied and considered in diverse fields. It also explores the various mechanisms that account for changes, exploring how and when changes occur and what changes mean to humans. Relevant for empirical and theoretical work, the handbook will be of great interest to researchers, academics, and postgraduate students across psychology, behavioral sciences, and social sciences.

Religious Complexity in the Public Sphere

Religious Complexity in the Public Sphere
Author: Inger Furseth
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 358
Release: 2017-08-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 3319556789

This book is an empirical comparative study of the complexity of religion in the public spheres of the five Nordic countries. The result of a five-year collaborative research project, the work examines how increasingly religiously diverse Nordic societies regulate, debate, and negotiate religion in the state, the polity, the media, and civil society. The project finds that there are seemingly contradictory religious trends at different social levels: a growing secularization at the individual level, and a deprivatization of religion in politics, the media, and civil society. It offers a critique of the current theories of secularization and the return of religion, introducing religious complexity as an alternative concept to understand these paradoxes. This book is for scholars, students, and readers with an interest in understanding the public role of religion in the West.

God is Watching You

God is Watching You
Author: Dominic Johnson (Professor of Biopolitics)
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2016
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0199895635

The willingness to believe in some kind of payback or karma remains nearly universal. Retribution awaits those who commit bad deeds; rewards await those who do good. Johnson explores how this belief has developed over time, and how it has shaped the course of human evolution.

Big Gods

Big Gods
Author: Ara Norenzayan
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2015-08-25
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 0691169748

Examines how the belief in gods has lead to cooperation and sometimes conflict between groups. The author also looks at how some cooperative societies have developed without belief in gods.

The Changing Religious Landscape of Europe

The Changing Religious Landscape of Europe
Author: Hans Knippenberg
Publisher: Maklu
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2005
Genre: History
ISBN: 9789055892488

Twenty-first-century Europe has become the scene of very contrasting tendencies where religion is concerned. These include secularisation, religious revival, and the rise of immigrant religions, particularly Islam. Consequently, the traditional religious landscape is changing considerably and the current religious landscape exhibits a remarkable variety, which can be traced back to past and present political-geographical constraints. The book focuses on religious development in the different countries of Europe and includes case studies from ten countries. These case studies, written by local experts, look on three topics: the changing religious composition of the population; he geographical distribution of the religious communities involved; the changing state-church or state-religion relationships.

The Sociology of Religion

The Sociology of Religion
Author: G. E. Gorman
Publisher: Greenwood
Total Pages: 328
Release: 1986-10-21
Genre: Reference
ISBN:

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Atheism and Secularity

Atheism and Secularity
Author: Phil Zuckerman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 540
Release: 2009-12-21
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0313351821

This important two-volume contribution to the field of secular studies offers the first comprehensive examination of atheists and non-religious people around the world. Who are atheists? How does atheism relate to various aspects of our social world, such as politics, feminism, globalization, and the family? And what is the current state of atheism internationally? Atheism and Secularity addresses the growing interest in the non-religious world by exploring these and related questions. It is a comprehensive and compelling look at atheists and atheism both nationally and internationally, covering a range of topics often overlooked in other books on the subject. Atheism and Secularity is not a philosophical, polemic work, but rather an exploration of who atheists are, what they believe, how they relate to the world, and how the world relates to them. The first volume focuses on topics such as family life, gender, sexuality, politics, and social movements. The second volume looks at atheism and secularity around the world, exploring the lives of non-religious people in North America, Japan, China, India, Europe, the Arab World, and other locations.

Society Without God

Society Without God
Author: Phil Zuckerman
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 237
Release: 2010-06-07
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0814797237

Are lawyers, by their very nature, agents of the state, of capital, of institutions of power? Or are there ways in which they can work constructively or transformatively for the disempowered, the working class, the underprivileged? Lawyers in a Postmodern World explores how lawyers actively create the forms of power which they and others deploy. Through engaging case studies, the book examines how lawyers work within and for powerful institutions and provides suggestions--both general and practical--for ways in which the practice of law can be made to work with and for the powerless. Individuals chapters address such subjects as the contradictions of radical law practice; legal work in South Africa; the economics and politics of negotiating justice; feminist legal scholarship and women's gendered lives; the overlapping worlds of law, business, and politics; theories of legal practice; and how lawyers are constitutive of gender relations. Contributing to the book are Maureen Cain (University of West Indies), Yves Dezalay (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France), Martha Fineman (Columbia University), Sue Lees (University of North London), Doreen McBarnet (Wolfson College, Oxford), Frank Munger (SUNY, Buffalo), Wilfried Scharf (University of Cape Town), Stuart Scheingold (University of Washington), David Sugarman (Lancaster University), and Sally Wheeler (University of Nottingham).

Fighting God

Fighting God
Author: David Silverman
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 335
Release: 2015-12-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1466871288

Fighting God is a firebrand manifesto from one of the most recognizable faces of atheism. In his book, Silverman-a walking, talking atheist billboard known for his appearances on Fox News-discusses the effectiveness, ethics and impact of the in-your-face-atheist who refuses to be silent. Silverman argues that religion is more than just wrong: it is malevolent and does not deserve our respect. It is our duty to be outspoken and do what we can to bring religion down. Examining the mentality, methods and issues facing the firebrand atheist, Silverman presents an overwhelming argument for firebrand atheism and reveals: - All religion is cafeteria religion and almost all agnostics are atheists. - American society grants religion a privileged status, despite the intentions of the Founding Fathers. - Christian politicians have adversely (and un-Constitutionally) affected our society with regard to science, health, women's rights, and gay rights. - The notion of "atheist Jews" is a lie forced on us by religion. - It is not "Islamophobia" to observe dangerous teachings and disproportionate violence in Islam. - Atheists are slowly but surely winning the battle. Fighting God is a provocative, unapologetic book that takes religion to task and will give inspiration to non-believers and serve as the ultimate answer to apologists.