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. 2022 Jul 5:13:913508.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.913508. eCollection 2022.

Investigating the Role of Normative Support in Atheists' Perceptions of Meaning Following Reminders of Death

Melissa Soenke  1 , Kenneth E Vail 3rd  2 , Jeff Greenberg  3
Affiliations

Investigating the Role of Normative Support in Atheists' Perceptions of Meaning Following Reminders of Death

Melissa Soenke et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

According to terror management theory, humans rely on meaningful and permanence-promising cultural worldviews, like religion, to manage mortality concerns. Prior research indicates that, compared to religious individuals, atheists experience lower levels of meaning in life following reminders of death. The present study investigated whether reminders of death would change atheists' meaning in life after exposure to normative support for atheism. Atheists (N = 222) were either reminded of death or a control topic (dental pain) and exposed to information portraying atheism as either common or rare, and then asked to rate their perceived meaning in life. Results showed that reminders of death reduced meaning in life among atheists who were told that atheism is common. Results were consistent with the view that atheism reflects the rejection of religious faith rather than a meaningful secular terror managing worldview. Discussion considers implications for maintaining healthy existential wellbeing, identifies limitations, and highlights future research directions.

Keywords: atheism; meaning in life; mortality salience; normative support; terror management theory.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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