Hardline atheists more likely to see conflict with religion

Hardline atheists are more likely to see conflict between science and faith than religious people, a University of Essex study has found.

The Department of Psychology research found people with strong religious beliefs perceive science and faith as working together.

Led by Dr Natalia Zarzeczna the study, published in Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, showed people with strong faith often felt that science and religion could explain life's big questions, like where the universe came from.

However, those with a strong belief in science were more likely to see theology as opposing their ideals.

Dr Zarzeczna, the lead author from the University of Essex, said science and religion help people find meaning in life but in different ways.

'Finding meaning'

Dr Zarzeczna said: “In general, our findings demonstrate that religious believers and believers in science disagree on the extent to which science and religion are compatible.

“Specifically, this disagreement may stem from the way each belief group finds meaning.

“Our findings imply that religious individuals can combine multiple sources of meaning and use science and religion to satisfy epistemic and existential needs.

“In contrast, believers in science seemingly only use science and possibly need to look for additional sources of meaning elsewhere.”

Religious backgrounds

Researchers examined 684 people from the UK, the Netherlands, and Kazakhstan – with the nations chosen for their different cultural and religious backgrounds.

The UK and the Netherlands are mostly secular, while Kazakhstan is a Muslim-majority state.

A strong connection between religious beliefs and science compatibility was found across all the countries.

And the more someone believes in science the more conflict they see with religion.

The amount of conflict between faith and science varies, but religious people care more about compatibility.

It is hoped the research will stimulate more interest in understanding how beliefs in science and religion relate to science perceptions.

Dr Zarzeczna added: “We are currently investigating whether perceptions of science-religion compatibility are an important part of the ideology of religious individuals and how motivated they are to defend this view when threatened.

“We will also test whether compatibility beliefs protect people from existential threats by combining multiple meaning-making frameworks to find meaning in life.”