Atheists are nicer to Christians than Christians are to atheists, study finds

Visual representation of a study examining how belief influences social and economic behaviour.

A study from Ohio University found that atheists often treat Christians more fairly than Christians treat atheists. They used a simple money-sharing game: one person decides how to split some money, and the other just accepts it. This experiment measures generosity; researchers discovered that atheists gave more to Christian partners than Christians gave to atheist partners.

When religious identity was hidden, both groups favoured their own, suggesting atheists’ fairness may come from wanting to counter negative stereotypes rather than from a lack of bias .

The study shows how religious identity and societal perceptions can influence how people treat one another.

Reference:

Cowgill, C. M., Rios, K., & Simpson, A. (2017). Generous heathens? Reputational concerns and atheists’ behavior toward Christians in economic games. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 73, 169–179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2017.06.015