Anti-atheist stigma can even harm Christian political candidates

[Judi Lynn]

By ERIC W. DOLAN September 6, 2019

According to new research, religiously affiliated people tend to be less supportive of candidates who they believe are associated with atheism — even if the candidates are religious themselves. The findings have been published in Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied.

“Both anti-atheist bias and presidential politics have been consistently strong research interests for the duration of my academic career,” said study author Andrew Franks, a visiting assistant professor of psychology at Pacific Lutheran University.

“I have been conducting research at the intersection of these issues since early in graduate school, and my interest in the topic was initially sparked by public polling indicating that a majority of U.S. voters would categorically reject an atheist candidate for president.”

“More recently, I noticed trends in the Democratic Party’s decisions, such as continuing to use religious language in their party platforms, which suggested to me that they were attempting to downplay their party’s association with secular and non-religious individuals,” Franks said.

More:
https://www.psypost.org/2019/09/anti-atheist-stigma-can-even-harm-christian-political-candidates-54390

[BigmanPigman]

1. I am exactly the opposite.

ANY religious references by either party's candidates automatically puts them on my "I do not respect you as much now" list. If someone mentions anything connected to religion I am turned off A LOT! I believe in separation of church and state. In DOG I trust.

[Igel]

2. Two things.

1. People tend to vote for people like themselves in some way important to them. Perhaps race, perhaps religion, perhaps class. You can't approve of one without approving of the other, at least not without wallowing in a rather large mudpit of hypocrisy. (Overlay this on top of things like "strong chin" or "tall" for males, and other prejudices, unconscious and conscious.)

2. Atheists have a bad reputation. Many are militant. "How *dare* you make me aware that religion exists?!" My BIL was like that. Had acquaintances in grad school who was like that; I will not call them "friends".

Their open hostility didn't stop them from accepting help when a religious person offered it. Or from being too busy when asked for help. They were as piously self-righteous as your typical Baptist minister of stereotype fame. To my BIL's credit, it only took him a couple of years of becoming his Methodist mother's dependent again at age 45 to him to stop talking loudly at her as to why her religion was stupid, esp. for somebody with a doctorate in science. Did I mention that when he became her dependent he brought his wife and teenage kid with him? (Finally she told him that only her faith in Jesus and the strength from that face kept her from telling him to get a job and move out, even though he had an undiagnosed but diagnosable psychological disorder--he was driving *her* crazy.)

"Many" doesn't mean "a large percentage." Hence the problem. I've known many atheists who were decent people, not adamant in stamping out religion and anybody associated with one. Most didn't know they were atheists. They didn't believe and didn't feel like preaching atheism and trying to gain converts; to each his own, just don't preach at them and, if you do, take "no" for an answer the first time and let them be. In fact, I say "many" (the same word as for the clan of Obnoxes) mostly because I suspect that most atheists I've known have passed as unnoticed as most Methodists or Episcopalians or Jews or Muslims.

However, when I think back to interactions, it's the obnoxious loudmouths that come to mind, all too vividly and clearly and they seem a clear majority. Meaning that my view of atheists is colored, at the very least, by the availability heuristic. What I remember only seems to be what's dominant in reality, even though I can stop, think, and tell myself that it just ain't so. It's hard to fight cognitive biases.

[hatrack]

3. Like a plumber or lawyer or contractor with a fish on their sign or business card

Automatic dismissal from possibly hiring them.

[lagomorph777]

4. +1 When a person expresses belief in lies, I trust them less.

Theism is the biggest lie of all. It's a tool of oppression.