Atheism is perceived as a public threat to cooperation, not a private belief

Evidence

This is likely because although religious people might infer that ethnic outgroup members or gays hold norms that differ from their own, atheists might be seen as holding norms that are directly antithetical to their own. Or, it could be that atheists may be distrusted because people are unsure what exactly atheists believe. A Christian or a Hindu, for example, might be able to infer some of the norms of a Muslim, but an atheist might be viewed as a wildcard; religious people might distrust atheists not only for the norms they are perceived to follow, but also for their perceived lack of norms. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 295 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Belief-centered religions generate more prejudice against atheists than practice-centered ones; Cross-national correlations cannot establish causal direction for atheist distrust; Anti-atheist prejudice stems from trust concerns, not xenophobia or outgroup dislike (+2 more)

Related

• Belief-centered religions generate more prejudice against atheists than practice-centered ones (similarity 0.89)
• Anti-atheist prejudice stems from trust concerns, not xenophobia or outgroup dislike (similarity 0.88)
• Atheists are distrusted as norm-wildcards whose beliefs cannot be inferred (similarity 0.87)
• Cross-national correlations cannot establish causal direction for atheist distrust (similarity 0.87)
• Anti-atheist exclusion rises when trust matters critically in a role (similarity 0.87)
• Atheists are distrusted more than other stigmatized groups even amid rising tolerance (similarity 0.86)
• Atheist distrust stems specifically from moral distrust, not fear or disgust (similarity 0.85)
• Religious believers infer atheists threaten cooperation in large groups (similarity 0.85)
• Anti-atheist prejudice cannot be explained by xenophobia or general outgroup distrust. (similarity 0.85)
• Atheists are intuitively distrusted as much as convicted rapists (similarity 0.85)
• Distrust of atheists exceeds what warmth and competence stereotypes alone predict (similarity 0.85)
• Atheists generally do not distrust religious believers (similarity 0.85)
• Religiosity does not moderate fear of atheists the way it moderates racial views (similarity 0.84)
• Believers’ antagonism tracks perceived threat to group cooperation (similarity 0.84)
• Atheists are specifically distrusted as moral freeloaders, not disliked generally (similarity 0.84)

Broader Connections

• Anti-atheist prejudice stems from trust concerns, not xenophobia or outgroup dislike #expands (0.85)
• Atheists are distrusted as norm-wildcards whose beliefs cannot be inferred #expands (0.80) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 295
• Cross-national correlations cannot establish causal direction for atheist distrust #qualifies (0.75)