Atheists are nicer to Christians compared to the other way around if their religious identity is known, study claims

Atheists are more generous toward Christians than Christians are toward them, a new study has claimed.

Researchers at Ohio University asked participants to share monetary rewards with partners in a version of the “dictator game”, in which one person had no power to affect the division of the bounty.

When atheists were told of their partner’s religious beliefs, they “behaved impartially toward ingroup and outgroup partners,” the study’s authors wrote in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

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However, “Christians consistently demonstrated an ingroup bias”.

Lead author and PhD student, Colleen Cowgill, told the PsyPost news website that previous research had demonstrated that “the general population in America tends to stereotype atheists as being immoral and untrustworthy”.

She added that many atheists found this reputation “distressing”.

“My primary interest was in how atheists themselves respond to these negative stereotypes,” she said. “We often see that negative stereotypes about a group can lead members of that group to behave in compensatory ways that ostensibly seek to disconfirm that stereotype, such as when American immigrants strive to emphasise their American identity when it is threatened.

“We found in multiple studies that our atheist participants behaved more fairly towards partners they believed were Christians than our Christians participants behaved towards partners they believed were atheists.”

Whether this was specifically due to the wish to impress was not certain, she added.

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Four people were injured in the smash, Venice port authorities reported. It happened on the Giudecca Canal – a major thoroughfare that leads to Saint Mark’s Square – on Sunday morning at 8.30am AFP/Getty 28/50 1 June 2019 Supporters arrive at Wanda Metropolitano stadium for the Champions League final between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool in Madrid EPA 29/50 31 May 2019 A Palestinian girl cool off by water to beat the scorching heat, as others pray outside the Dome of the Rock at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem during the last Friday prayers of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan,31 May 2019. Israeli police Friday morning shot and killed a Palestinian young man following an alleged stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City. Muslims around the world celebrate the holy month of Ramadan by praying during the night time and abstaining from eating, drinking, and sexual acts daily between sunrise and sunset. 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As cold air from the north recedes, warm and humid air comes in from the sea and as the water near the coast is still rather cold, the warm and humid air may be cooled sufficiently by the underlying cold water EPA 46/50 14 May 2019 An Indian worker packs mangos for sale at a wholesale fruit market in Jammu, the winter capital of Kashmir. Mango is regarded as the national fruit of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines. India is one of the leading producers of tropical and subtropical fruits in the world and is said to be the world's largest mango producer EPA 47/50 13 May 2019 A nurse carries a newborn baby after a fire broke out on the terrace of a children's hospital building in Ahmedabad, India Reuters 48/50 12 May 2019 Members of the action group Extinction Rebellion hold banners in front of the Eiffel Tower after spilling fake blood on the Trocadero esplanade during a demonstration to alert on the state of decline of biodiversity, in Paris. Extinction Rebellion is an international movement that uses non-violent civil disobedience to achieve radical change in order to minimise the risk of human extinction and ecological collapse AFP/Getty 49/50 11 May 2019 An armed police officer greets members of the Muslim community in front of Al Noor mosque as they arrive for the iftar, the evening meal, in Christchurch, New Zealand. Muslims around the world are observing the holiest month of Ramadan, fasting from sunrise to sunset for a month. Ramadan this year will be slightly sombre for New Zealand Muslims - especially those in Christchurch - in the wake of the mosque terror attacks where 51 people died after a gunman opened fire during Friday prayers at Linwood and Al Noor Mosques on March 15 Getty 50/50 10 May 2019 Muslims perform prayers on a road outside a mosque on the first Friday of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Srinagar Reuters

The effect was “eliminated” when participants were told their religious beliefs, or lack thereof, were being kept a secret from their partners, the study found.

Earlier this year a study in Canada found a majority—76 per cent—of people did not believe being religious made someone a better citizen.

And more than half of those polled believed faith did more harm than good.

In Britain, more people now profess to be nonreligious than Christian, according to research, with deconversion, or the religious losing their faith, deemed a “major factor”.

It came as only 72 per cent of UK Christians said they believed in the resurrection of Christ—the central tenet of their faith. More than a tenth of “active” Christians told ComRes they did not believe there was an afterlife.