"Understanding Unbelief" Study Debunks Common Atheist Stereotypes

[T_aquaticus]

A multidisciplinary study out of the University of Kent sought to learn about the atheist community. What they found is that many of the common stereotypes of atheists simply don’t pan out.

Key findings from the research include:

• Unbelievers exhibit significant diversity both within, and between, different countries
• In all six countries, majorities of unbelievers identify as having ‘no religion’
• Relatively few select ‘atheist’ or ‘agnostic’ as their preferred (non)religious or secular identity
• Popular assumptions about ‘convinced, dogmatic atheists’ do not stand up to scrutiny
• Unbelief in God doesn’t necessarily entail unbelief in other supernatural phenomena and the majority of unbelievers in all countries surveyed expressed belief in one or more supernatural phenomena
• A common supposition - that of the purposeless unbeliever, lacking anything to ascribe ultimate meaning to the universe - does not bear scrutiny
• Most unbelievers endorse objective moral values, human dignity and attendant rights, and the ‘deep value’ of nature, at similar rates to the general populations in their countries
• Unbelievers and general populations show high agreement concerning the values most important for ‘finding meaning in the world and your own life’. ‘Family’ and ‘freedom’ ranked highly for all.
  https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-05/uok-vhm052319.php

To many atheists, this doesn’t come as a surprise. Hopefully, this study can open up some common ground between theists and atheists, and show that we really aren’t that different when it comes to our views on how society should work and on life in general.