With all the talk about a War on Christmas, and now a War on God, there remains far more prejudice against atheists than the religious in this country. PZ Myers uncovered one example. A study by Michigan State sociologist Ralph Pyle presented at this month’s joint meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and the Religious Research Association in Tampa, Florida compared levels of toleration versus prejudice among different groups. Among the findings:
The good news for religious groups: People who go to church regularly were less likely to be prejudiced, Pyle said. The bad news is people with no religious affiliation were also much less likely to be prejudiced than individuals showing modest levels of commitment to their faith, those who attend services monthly or less.
It is bad news that people with no religious affiliation are less likely to be prejudiced? The only explanation I can think of for this is that they see it as bad news because it contradicts their own prejudices.
