2021/03/05 by Will M. Gervais, Maxine B. Najle, Nava Caluori · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Psychology · #Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology #Religion and Society Interactions #Cultural Differences and Values #Psychology #Context (archaeology) #Social psychology #Atheism #Cognition #Odds #Cognitive science of religion #Cognitive style #Cultural transmission in animals #Epistemology #Philosophy
paper · doi:10.1177/1948550621994001
openalex publication_date 2021/03/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Widespread religious disbelief represents a key testing ground for theories of religion. We evaluated the predictions of three prominent theoretical approaches—secularization, cognitive byproduct, and dual inheritance—in a nationally representative (United States, N = 1,417) data set with preregistered analyses and found considerable support for the dual inheritance perspective. Of key predictors of religious disbelief, witnessing fewer credible cultural cues of religious commitment was the most potent, β = .28, followed distantly by reflective cognitive style, β = .13, and less advanced mentalizing, β = .05. Low cultural exposure predicted about 90% higher odds of atheism than did peak cognitive reflection, and cognitive reflection only predicted disbelief among those relatively low in cultural exposure to religion. This highlights the utility of considering both evolved intuitions and transmitted culture and emphasizes the dual roles of content- and context-biased social learning in the cultural transmission of disbelief (preprint https://psyarxiv.com/e29rt/ ).