Death Anxiety Increases Atheists’ Unconscious Belief in God | The Muslim Times: A Blog to Foster Universal Brotherhood
“When we put a loaded pistol to the heads of atheists, they suddenly told us that they believed in Allah”:
New University of Otago research suggests that when non-religious people think about their own death they become more consciously skeptical about religion, but unconsciously grow more receptive to religious belief.The Department of Psychology research also found that when religious people think about death, their religious beliefs appear to strengthen at both conscious and unconscious levels. The researchers believe the findings help explain why religion is such a durable feature of human society.In three studies, which involved 265 university students in total, religious and nonreligious participants were randomly assigned to “death priming” and control groups. Priming involved asking participants to write about their own death or, in the control condition, about watching TV.
