Supernatural monitoring beliefs drive atheist distrust even without ingroup membership

Evidence

This possibility is not a counterexplanation to the account I presented here. In fact, it complements it rather nicely because, even if atheists are believed to share one’s social norms, one might nonetheless be doubtful of the atheist’s commitment to uphold those norms given that atheists do not think they are being watched by gods. The perceived belief in supernatural monitoring, and the threat of supernatural punishment that comes with monitoring, may ensure the belief that a person of faith adheres to prosocial norms, but this motivation is seen to be lacking in an atheist. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 296

Although this possibility has some merit, there are two key findings predicted by the theory discussed here, but not a framework based on threats to ingroup morality. First, we have found that people who believe in God, but report having no religious affiliation (and therefore no religious ingroup to defend against moral threats), still distrust atheists. And even in this group of nonaffiliated individuals, greater belief in God still predicts greater distrust of atheists. Second, we have found that concerns about supernatural monitoring explain why believers distrust atheists. These concerns are basic to our explanations focusing on supernatural monitoring, but wholly absent from an approach that emphasizes threats to group morality. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 293

Categorization

• XREF: This is the reader’s core Big God mechanism stated directly: the omniscient-gaze enforcement logic that the fumi-e ritually destroys. — connects to: Trust in impartial institutions substitutes for supernatural monitoring of strangers.; Supernatural belief works through the same surveillance mechanism that generates prosocial behavior; Nonbelievers show mild trust toward believers while believers trust only their own (+8 more)
• DEFINE: Offers a precise statement of the supernatural-monitoring component of the Big God hypothesis as it applies to interpersonal trust.
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 296; Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 293

Broader Connections

• Atheists are distrusted as norm-wildcards whose beliefs cannot be inferred #contradicts (0.75) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 295
• An unlikely mechanism reduces atheist distrust even among believers #qualifies (0.72)