Existential security, secular institutions, and group norms: Explaining the rise of non-theism
Principal Investigator
Dr. Martin Lang
Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion (LEVYNA)
Masaryk University
Start and end dates: 1 January 2023 – 30 June 2024
Award: £34,999
The central question of the proposed project is whether increased existential security causes non-theism. We will compare three competing explanations of the causal chain underlying the purported relationship between security and non-theism. Specifically, we will investigate 1) whether improving living conditions causes a shift in personal values that are incompatible with religious values; 2) whether the decline of religious belief is associated with the presence of strong secular institutions (e.g., police, juridical system) that overtake religion’s role in facilitating group coordination and cooperation; or 3) whether the decline in religious beliefs is driven by a general distaste for any normative institution. While proponents of these mechanism provide mostly correlation (and some causal) support for their theories, the lack of causal evidence allowing us to compare these three rivalling theories leaves the complex societal shifts underexplained. To fill this empirical lacuna, we will test the rival theories by analysing an existing longitudinal dataset and conducting two experiments with non-theists in the Czech Republic and the USA. By combining the investigation of individual-level motivations with group dynamics under insecurity, this project will provide significant insights into the complex social processes underlying the rise of non-theism in Western societies.
