By Liz Hall
During times of uncertainty, atheists as well as strong religious believers have a tendency to cling to dogmatic beliefs to allay anxiety, yet increased dogma increases prejudice, suggests research.
Previous research has shown that dogmatic beliefs of strong religious believers can allay fears during uncertain times. Researchers at Jagiellonian University in Poland sought to investigate whether the same applies with atheists.
The study, led by Malgorzata Kossowska, suggests that during times of uncertainty, dogmatic atheists are also motivated by the need for certainty and are prejudiced towards groups with opposing views.
The study tested levels of dogmatic belief and intolerance of uncertainty in 201 participants. It found that an inability to cope with uncertainty (on the Need for Closure scale) correlated with dogmatic belief in religious people (Christians in this context), but also with dogmatic belief in atheists.
The study also tested the religious and atheistic beliefs and intolerance of 116 more participants, this time manipulating some of them to experience feelings of uncertainty, and testing prejudice towards different social groups. Not only did more dogma correlate with greater prejudice, but prejudice was increased when participants were primed to experience feelings of uncertainty.
The researchers say “dogmatic beliefs offer a global world view full of rules and explanations and thereby reduce the complexity of life and create a psychologically safe and predictable environment.”
The study, ‘Many faces of dogmatism: Prejudice as a way of protecting certainty against value violators among dogmatic believers and atheists’, was published in the British Journal of Psychology, February 2016.