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ATHEISM AND THE EFFECTS OF MORTALITY SALIENCE AND LIMITED ANALYTIC PROCESSING ABILITY ON RELIGIOUS FAITH AND TELEOLOGICAL THINKIN

Waggoner, Brett Jordan,
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1530473668176033

Abstract Details

2018, Master of Arts in Psychology, Cleveland State University, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.
The scenario of the atheist in the proverbial foxhole has been a topic of discussion in religious circles for centuries. Building on prior research utilizing terror management theory (TMT), a dual process model of cognition, and previous work suggesting that humans are intuitively wired for teleological and religious concepts, the researchers set out to examine atheist’s religiosity when confronted with the reality of one’s impermanence. To explore this idea, the present experiment recruited a sample of atheists, manipulated their awareness of mortality, manipulated their ability to employ analytic thinking, and measured various intuitive cognitions (e.g., teleological reasoning) alongside religious belief. Results suggest that atheists in the speeded conditions reported higher agreement with teleological items; but the same did not happen for religious items. Additionally, atheists primed with mortality salience (vs. control) reported lower agreement with religious items in the un-speeded condition, but not in the speeded condition; a similar interaction was not observed for the teleology items. Limitations and potential directions for future research are discussed.
Kenneth Vail (Advisor)
61 p.
Experimental Psychology
Atheism; Mortality Salience; Religiosity; Teleology; Dual Process Model of Cognition; Terror Management Theory

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Waggoner, , B. J. (2018). ATHEISM AND THE EFFECTS OF MORTALITY SALIENCE AND LIMITED ANALYTIC PROCESSING ABILITY ON RELIGIOUS FAITH AND TELEOLOGICAL THINKIN [Master's thesis, Cleveland State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1530473668176033

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Waggoner, , Brett. ATHEISM AND THE EFFECTS OF MORTALITY SALIENCE AND LIMITED ANALYTIC PROCESSING ABILITY ON RELIGIOUS FAITH AND TELEOLOGICAL THINKIN. 2018. Cleveland State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1530473668176033.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Waggoner, , Brett. "ATHEISM AND THE EFFECTS OF MORTALITY SALIENCE AND LIMITED ANALYTIC PROCESSING ABILITY ON RELIGIOUS FAITH AND TELEOLOGICAL THINKIN." Master's thesis, Cleveland State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1530473668176033

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by Cleveland State University and OhioLINK.