Authoritarians criticize their religious beliefs as capably as others when motivated

Evidence

In September 1995 I gave my introductory psychology students two optional extra credit assignments: to critique the account of Noah and the flood in the Bible, and to criticize Darwin’s theory of evolution. Contrary to my expectation, Highs proved as willing as Lows to find fault with the story of Noah (and the theory of evolution, too, of course). Moreover, they made as many valid criticisms of the biblical account as Lows did—at least in my judgment. These results indicate that authoritarians can criticize their religious beliefs, if motivated. — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 4120

Categorization

• XREF: Relevant for the reader’s ‘Christian nationalism’ focus: authoritarian submission to religion is competence-driven, not capacity-limited.