Social identity threat predicts the concealment of nonreligious identity, study finds

BY ERIC W. DOLAN MAY 22, 2020

New research published in Group Processes & Intergroup Relations provides insight into what motivates some nonreligious individuals to conceal their lack of belief. The findings suggest that awareness of anti-atheist stigma is an important predictor of public identification as an atheist.

“This work is based on my Master’s thesis. I had noticed throughout the initial research process that there was a growing number of articles about how people felt toward the nonreligious in America, but not that many articles talked about how the nonreligious felt about being disliked by a majority of Americans,” said study author Cameron Mackey, doctoral student at Ohio University.

“I then turned to my own personal experience knowing nonreligious people in the Deep South and how almost all of them concealed their identity in one way or another.”

An initial survey of 1,249 non-religious American adults found that individuals living in the South felt more stigmatized about their lack of belief, were more likely to report concealing their nonreligious identity, and were less likely to publicly identify as atheists compared to those living in other parts of the United States. The researchers also found that feeling stigmatized about being nonreligious predicted a lower likelihood of self-identifying as “atheist” in public than in private.

More:
https://www.psypost.org/2020/05/social-identity-threat-predicts-the-concealment-of-nonreligious-identity-study-finds-56832