The Myth of the Angry Atheist

ABSTRACT

Atheists are often portrayed in the media and elsewhere as angry individuals. Although atheists disagree with the pillar of many religions, namely the existence of a God, it may not necessarily be the case that they are angry individuals. The prevalence and accuracy of angry-atheist perceptions were examined in 7 studies with 1,677 participants from multiple institutions and locations in the United States. Studies 1–3 revealed that people believe atheists are angrier than believers, people in general, and other minority groups, both explicitly and implicitly. Studies 4–7 then examined the accuracy of these beliefs. Belief in God, state anger, and trait anger were assessed in multiple ways and contexts. None of these studies supported the idea that atheists are particularly angry individuals. Rather, these results support the idea that people believe atheists are angry individuals, but they do not appear to be angrier than other individuals in reality.

Keywords:

• anger
• atheism
• atheist
• belief in God
• personality
• stereotypes

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Brian P. Meier

Brian P. Meier is an associate professor of psychology at Gettysburg College. His current research interests are aggression, embodiment, emotion, mindfulness, pro-social behavior, and religion.

Adam K. Fetterman

Adam K. Fetterman is a post-doctoral researcher at the Knowledge Media Research Center in Tübingen, Germany. His current research interests are metaphor, emotion, attitude change, rationality, religiosity, and motivation.

Michael D. Robinson

Michael D. Robinson is a professor of psychology at North Dakota State University. His current research interests are personality, cognition, emotion, embodiment, and well-being.

Courtney M. Lappas

Courtney M. Lappas is an assistant professor of biology at Lebanon Valley College. Her research interests are T lymphocyte biology, adenosine receptor signaling, and immunopharmacology.