Abstract
Psychological research has offered various explanations as to why individuals leave, disavow, or never become affiliated with organised religion. Contributing factors include cognitive, social-emotional, biological, and the extent to which people pursue meaning as it relates to their state of well-being. The scientific study of unbelief is still in its formative stages, so there are important limitations to these theories and respective methodologies. In particular, theories that explain unbelief often start with a default position based on the study of religion, instead of studying unbelief in its own right. The history of these perspectives is provided and future directions are proposed.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Handbook of Leaving Religion |
Editors | Daniel Enstedt, Göran Larsson, Teemu T. Mantsinen |
Publisher | Brill Academic Publishers |
Chapter | 25 |
Pages | 307-322 |
Number of pages | 16 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9789004331471 |
ISBN (Print) | 9789004330924 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 11 Feb 2020 |
Publication series
Name | Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion |
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Volume | 18 |
ISSN (Print) | 1874-6691 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2020 Brill Academic Publishers. All rights reserved.
Keywords
- atheism
- biology
- cognitive science of religion
- unbelief
- well-being
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Religious studies