Changes

The abstract of a 2014 peer-reviewed study entitled ''Everything Is Permitted? People Intuitively Judge Immorality as Representative of Atheists'' which was published in the journal'' Plos One'' reported:

The abstract of a 2014 peer-reviewed study entitled ''Everything Is Permitted? People Intuitively Judge Immorality as Representative of Atheists'' which was published in the journal'' Plos One'' reported:

{{cquote|American participants intuitively judged a wide variety of immoral acts (e.g., serial murder, consensual incest, necrobestiality, cannibalism) as representative of [[Atheism|atheists]], but not of eleven other religious, ethnic, and cultural groups. Even atheist participants judged immoral acts as more representative of atheists than of other groups. These findings demonstrate a prevalent intuition that belief in God serves a necessary function in inhibiting immoral conduct, and may help explain persistent negative perceptions of atheists.<ref>[http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0092302 Everything Is Permitted? People Intuitively Judge Immorality as Representative of Atheists]</ref>}}

{{cquote|American participants intuitively judged a wide variety of immoral acts (e.g., serial murder, consensual incest, necrobestiality, cannibalism) as representative of [[Atheism|atheists]], but not of eleven other religious, ethnic, and cultural groups. Even atheist participants judged immoral acts as more representative of atheists than of other groups. These findings demonstrate a prevalent intuition that belief in God serves a necessary function in inhibiting immoral conduct, and may help explain persistent negative perceptions of atheists.<ref>[http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0092302 Everything Is Permitted? People Intuitively Judge Immorality as Representative of Atheists]</ref>}}

 

Citing [[Distrust of atheists#Science journal article in Nature on distrusts of atheism in countries|a study]], which was published in the science journal ''Nature'', on the public's perception of atheists the Smithsonian declares:

Citing [[Distrust of atheists#Science journal article in Nature on distrusts of atheism in countries|a study]], which was published in the science journal ''Nature'', on the public's perception of atheists the Smithsonian declares:

{{Cquote|“It is striking that even atheists appear to hold the same intuitive anti-atheist bias,” study co-author Will Gervais, psychology professor at the University of Kentucky, tells AFP. “I suspect that this stems from the prevalence of deeply entrenched pro-religious norms. Even in places that are currently quite overtly secular, people still seem to intuitively hold on to the belief that religion is a moral safeguard.”<ref>[https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/theres-strong-bias-against-atheists-around-world-180964382/?webSyncID=211eb333-156c-0333-a14e-a3032acab9c7&sessionGUID=86b53230-ad61-5844-3049-43cc84645ee9 Survey Finds Most People Are Biased Against Atheists, Including Atheists] By Jason Daley, AUGUST 9, 2017, smithsonian.com</ref>}}

{{Cquote|“It is striking that even atheists appear to hold the same intuitive anti-atheist bias,” study co-author Will Gervais, psychology professor at the University of Kentucky, tells AFP. “I suspect that this stems from the prevalence of deeply entrenched pro-religious norms. Even in places that are currently quite overtly secular, people still seem to intuitively hold on to the belief that religion is a moral safeguard.”<ref>[https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/theres-strong-bias-against-atheists-around-world-180964382/?webSyncID=211eb333-156c-0333-a14e-a3032acab9c7&sessionGUID=86b53230-ad61-5844-3049-43cc84645ee9 Survey Finds Most People Are Biased Against Atheists, Including Atheists] By Jason Daley, AUGUST 9, 2017, smithsonian.com</ref>}}