Atheists as distrusted as rapists. WTF?

Courtesy of CTVBC:

Atheists are distrusted to roughly the same degree as rapists, according to a new University of British Columbia study exploring distaste for disbelievers. 

The research, led by UBC psychology doctoral student Will Gervais, found distrust to be the central factor motivating antagonism toward atheists among the religious. 

"Where there are religious majorities – that is, in most of the world – atheists are among the least trusted people," Gervais said in a release. 

"With more than half a billion atheists worldwide, this prejudice has the potential to affect a substantial number of people." 

Researchers believe the negative perception of atheists may stem from some people's understanding of morality; a 2002 Pew poll suggests nearly half of Americans believe morality is impossible without belief in god.

For one part of Gervais' six-part study, researchers compared views of atheists, homosexual men and the general population, noting that the first two groups are "often described as threatening to majority religious values and morality." 

Both are explicitly denied membership to the Boy Scouts of America, the study adds.

A sample of 351 Americans between the ages of 18 and 82 were quizzed on their feelings for each group. Sixty-seven per cent or subjects were Christian while 14 per cent said they did not believe in god. 

The results suggested anti-atheist prejudice was characterized by distrust, while anti-gay prejudice was characterized by disgust. 

For another part of the study, 105 UBC students between the ages of 18 and 25 were presented with a description of an untrustworthy person – an "archetypal freerider" who committed selfish and illegal acts when he thought he could get away with it. 

Subjects were more likely to find the description representative of atheists than Christians, Muslims, gay men, feminists or Jewish people. Only rapists were similarly distrusted. 

"People did not significantly differentiate atheists from rapists," the study said. 

You know it is this kind of stuff that really chaps my ass.

The idea that an identified religious affiliation determines that person's morality is demonstrably untrue, and the kind of ridiculous propaganda that certain groups love to cite to make themselves feel special and to justify their illogical belief system.

For instance I don't believe that Muslims are more prone to terrorist acts, that Catholic priests are more prone to pedophilia, or that Fundamentalists are all as batshit crazy as Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin. (Okay on that last one I have to admit the jury is still out.)

One of my least favorite phrases is, "Oh we can trust him, he is a good Christian man."  That is usually followed, it seems, by the realization that someone has been swindled out of their life savings or the discovery of some dead bodies in the woods.  Trusting ANYBODY based on their proclaimed religious affiliation is a sure sign of severe mental impairment in my opinion.

Now speaking for myself, I can say that I am certainly no saint. However if you were to compare my life choices to those of Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, or John Edwards, all self identified Christians, I would certainly seem like one.

I don't lie, or cheat, or steal.

I am not a drug user, an alcoholic, or a wife beater.

I have worked with children my entire life, and have NEVER even been accused of any impropriety. (Despite the best efforts by the Palin-bots.) And in fact have received numerous commendations for my work.

And NO that has nothing to do with my lack of religious faith. It is just who I happen to be.

However if one were trying to measure the morality of certain segments of the population based on their belief system, one might look at data from the prison system. (Admittedly this is a little old, dating back to 1997, though I doubt it has changed much.)

The Federal Bureau of Prisons does have statistics on religious affiliations of inmates. The following are total number of inmates per religion category:

Catholic 29267 39.164% 
Protestant 26162 35.008% 
Muslim 5435 7.273% 
American Indian 2408 3.222% 
Nation 1734 2.320% 
Rasta 1485 1.987% 
Jewish 1325 1.773% 
Church of Christ 1303 1.744% 
Pentecostal 1093 1.463% 
Moorish 1066 1.426% 
Buddhist 882 1.180% 
Jehovah Witness 665 0.890% 
Adventist 621 0.831% 
Orthodox 375 0.502% 
Mormon 298 0.399% 
Scientology 190 0.254% 
Atheist 156 0.209% 
Hindu 119 0.159% 
Santeria 117 0.157% 
Sikh 14 0.019% 
Bahai 9 0.012% 
Krishna 7 0.009%

(For the sake of comparison the percentage of Atheists in this country stands at roughly 12%.)

Like I said it is not terribly intelligent to judge a person's morality based on their religious affiliation. But if I were, and based on the above data, I know who I WOULD and WOULD NOT trust.


Distrusting somebody based solely on their religious beliefs, or lack thereof, makes no more sense than trusting somebody based on the color of their skin, their gender, or their height. And in fact it is this "trust shortcut" that is a by product of a deep religious conviction that has allowed certain church members to find themselves victimized time and time again.