Atheism and emotional problems

Below is material on atheism and anger.

Emotional reactions of atheists may reveal echoes of belief

See also: Doubts that atheist exists and Atheists doubting atheism

The Pacific Standard reported:

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A recently published study from Finland finds that even atheists have a hard time asking God to harm their loved ones. The heads and hearts of atheists may not be on precisely the same page. That’s the implication of recently published research from Finland, which finds avowed non-believers become emotionally aroused when daring God to do terrible things. “The results imply that atheists’ attitudes toward God are ambivalent, in that their explicit beliefs conflict with their affective response,” concludes a research team led by University of Helsinki psychologist Marjaana Lindeman. Its study is published in the International Journal for the Psychology of Religion.

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"Emotional atheism": Atheism related to traumatic events

Various studies found that traumatic events in people's lives has a positive correlation with "emotional atheism". See also: Atheism and the problem of evil

Atheism and anger

See also: Atheism and anger

An angry atheist speaking to a woman with a Bible in her hand.

The Christian philosopher James S. Spiegel says the path from Christianity to atheism among several of his friends involved moral slippage such as resentment or unforgiveness. See: Atheism and unforgiveness

CNN reports:

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People unaffiliated with organized religion, atheists and agnostics also report anger toward God either in the past, or anger focused on a hypothetical image - that is, what they imagined God might be like - said lead study author Julie Exline, Case Western Reserve University psychologist. In studies on college students, atheists and agnostics reported more anger at God during their lifetimes than believers.

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The atheist, lesbian and leftist Greta Christina told the journalist Chris Mooney on the Point of Inquiry podcast, "there isn't one emotion" that affects atheists "but anger is one of the emotions that many of us have ...[it] drives others to participate in the movement".

The American philosopher and atheism advocate Peter Boghossian declared about atheists: “I think the faithful have been propagating a narrative of the angry atheist for so long, and I think that there’s some legitimacy to that... I think it’s really important to have civil, respectful dialogue with people, and we just haven’t been doing that...".

The agnostic Rodney Stark, co-director of Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion, commenting on the New Atheism movement said, “The religious people don’t care about the irreligious people, but the irreligious are prickly. I think they’re just angry.”

Theodore Beale declared:"...the age at which most people become atheists indicates that it is almost never an intellectual decision, but an emotional one."

The Christian apologist Ken Ammi concurs in his essay The Argument for Atheism from Immaturity and writes:

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It is widely known that some atheists rejected God in their childhood, based on child like reasons, have not matured beyond these childish notions and thus, maintain childish-emotional reactions toward the idea of God.

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Historically speaking, atheists have been the biggest mass murders in history (see: Atheism and mass murder and Abortion and atheism).

Atheism and negative emotions

To see relevant studies and historical data about the atheist population's highly unusual propensity to display negative emotions such as depression, anger, anxiety and boredom, please see:

Research suggests that irreligiousity is a causal factor for domestic violence. See: Irreligion and domestic violence and Secular Europe and domestic violence

1. Atheism and depression (Cites relevant studies about atheism increasing depression)

2. Atheism and suicide (Atheists have a higher suicide rate than the general public)

3. Atheism and loneliness (Cites studies and other relevant data)

4. Militant atheism and anger (Studies and historical information about atheism and anger)

5. Irreligion and domestic violence and Secular Europe and domestic violence (Research indicates that religiosity lowers one's propensity to engage in domestic violence)

6. Militant atheism (Historical information about atheism/violence/intolerance)

7. Atheism and emotional intelligence (Cites relevant studies about atheists having lower emotional intelligence). See also: Atheism and alcoholism

8. Atheism and social intelligence (Cites relevant studies and historical data showing lower interpersonal skills within the atheist population)

9.Atheists suffer from a variety of anxieties that often the religiously devout do not suffer from or rarely suffer from (see: Atheism and anxiety).

10. Atheism and death anxiety (Cites relevant studies and historical data related to atheism/death anxiety and related matters)

11. Atheism and feelings of meaninglessness (Cites relevant information from studies and history)

12. Atheism and irrationality (Cites studies on irreligion/irrationality/superstitious beliefs and other relevant information)

See also

• Atheism and emotional/intrapersonal intelligence
• Atheism and motivation
• Psychology of atheism
• Atheism and mental illness
• Atheism and grief
• Atheism and health
• Atheism and happiness
• Secular leftists and psychogenic illness