Psychological Surrogates for Supernatural Belief

: A Test of Form and Function

Abstract

What do the nonreligious believe and how do these beliefs function in their lives? The belief replacement hypothesis suggests that the nonreligious may have other meaningful beliefs (i.e., “surrogate beliefs”) that have salutary effects like religious beliefs. First, this thesis explores this question and related issues through critical reviews of psychometric issues affecting the nonreligious and shatters stereotypes that the nonreligious struggle with meaning in life and psychological health compared to the religious. Second, through four studies—the latter three preregistered on the Open Science Framework—the form and functionality of surrogate beliefs are evaluated through their interaction with the search for and presence of meaning in life in predicting psychological wellbeing. Using a mixed-methods approach, Study 1 asks nonreligious individuals (N = 432) directly, "if you don't believe in God, then what do you believe in?" Through thematic coding, 5 domains of surrogate beliefs were identified: science, moral realism, belief in one’s self, humanism, and nature. Study 2, (N = 502) tests (and revises in the exploratory analyses) a theoretical model of the relationship between surrogate beliefs, meaning in life, and wellbeing (e.g., death anxiety and perceived stress). In Study 3, (N = 526) the science belief construct is refined, and a new wellbeing variable is tested (satisfaction with life). Study 4 replicates and confirms Study 2’s exploratory serial mediation in a nationally representative sample of nonreligious Americans (N = 1,239) and ends by evaluating a complimentary model that analyzes the variables using structural equation modelling. In conclusion, this thesis adds to growing research on the functionality of nonreligious worldviews. Moreover, by successfully “pouring new wine into old wineskins,” this thesis casts further doubt that religious beliefs are neither necessary nor psychologically unique.

Date of Award	15 Oct 2021
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Coventry University
Supervisor	Jonathan Jong (Supervisor), Miguel Farias (Supervisor) & Valerie van Mulukom (Supervisor)