The Cognitive Science Colloquium series presents:
Will Gervais, Assistant Professor of Psychology at University of Kentucky:
Moral distrust of atheists, and how it screws up basic theory on the psychology of religion
The majority of people on earth view religious belief as a necessary component of morality, leading to moral distrust of atheists. To paraphrase Dostoevsky, without belief in gods, isn’t everything permitted? Gervais will present studies exploring the degree to which people intuitively view atheists as capable of committing various heinous and immoral actions.
Indeed, across 13 countries on five continents, people—even atheists themselves—view moral depravity as representative of atheists. Extreme moral prejudice against atheists may skew data essential to theorizing about religion, as basic theory requires accurate assessment of the prevalence of both religious belief and disbelief. Yet, existing large-scale polls typically require individuals to verbally disclose their atheism to strangers over the phone. Indirect measurements indicate that atheism is far more prevalent than previously assumed, suggesting that many promising theories of religious cognition may be in need of heavy revision, if not abandonment.
March 23, 2018 at 4pm in OAK Hall, rm 109
For more information, contact: Brandy at Ciraldo