Atheists are specifically distrusted as moral freeloaders, not disliked generally

Evidence

These experimental studies, together with the survey findings, begin to paint a picture of the origins of one of the least appreciated or understood prejudices in the modern world—prejudice against atheists. We found repeatedly, using a variety of methods, that there is a specific threat that atheists are perceived to pose. That threat is moral distrust. It is not fear or disgust, and not general feelings of dislike. In short, freethinkers are seen as freeriders. Moreover, we found that the single most powerful predictor of atheist distrust is religious belief. In contrast, when it comes to ethnic or racial prejudice, belief in God is not a reliable predictor and may under some conditions be associated with less prejudice (if more coalitional aspects of religious involvement, such as religious attendance or fundamentalist beliefs, which are related to more prejudice, are controlled for). These findings once again reinforce the point that atheist distrust is both deep and narrow: it is deeply rooted in involvement in prosocial religions, and at the same time is narrowly context-specific. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 286

Categorization

• XREF: Connects directly to the reader’s stated purpose: the moral-distrust-of-atheists mechanism parallels how the Japanese authorities cast Rodrigues’ faith as antisocial, framing apostasy as restoring the social contract.
• DEFINE: Defines the specific content of anti-atheist prejudice: moral distrust rooted in perceived freeriding, distinct from fear, disgust, or general dislike.