It's become fashionable in some Christian circles to claim that there are no atheists, since supposed "atheists" really believe in God. Some apologists, such as Sye Ten Bruggencate, justify this claim by appeal to Romans 1:18-20. Conversely, some theists abuse scientific research to support this conclusion. This has occurred again with a recent scientific paper (ex: here and here). But, as usual, the research paper does not show that atheists secretly belief in God.
The research paper in question distinguishes between beliefs and emotional attitudes. For example, I may not believe that Sauron exists, even if I have a negative emotional response to idea of Sauron. In this case, my lack of belief is in tension with what I desire. That's the point of the research paper: atheists have emotional responses to statements about God, where those emotions conflict with the atheist's lack of belief in God. But that doesn't tell mean that atheists secretly believe in God, anymore than the fact that my brother has a different emotional response to Sauron statements than I do implies that I believe that Sauron exists.
Anyway, here's the research paper in question, for when more people invariably start to misrepresent it:
The research paper in question distinguishes between beliefs and emotional attitudes. For example, I may not believe that Sauron exists, even if I have a negative emotional response to idea of Sauron. In this case, my lack of belief is in tension with what I desire. That's the point of the research paper: atheists have emotional responses to statements about God, where those emotions conflict with the atheist's lack of belief in God. But that doesn't tell mean that atheists secretly believe in God, anymore than the fact that my brother has a different emotional response to Sauron statements than I do implies that I believe that Sauron exists.
Anyway, here's the research paper in question, for when more people invariably start to misrepresent it:
"Atheists Become Emotionally Aroused When Daring God to Do Terrible Things"
"We hypothesized that the physiological reactions of individuals who reject belief in God (labeled here atheists) toward the statements should contradict their explicit attitudes towards the statements (H1), that saying aloud the statements should stress the atheists at least as much as saying aloud other kinds of offensive statements (H2), and that saying aloud the statements should stress atheists as much as it would stress religious people (H3).
[...]
In conclusion, the results indicate that even atheists have difficulty daring God to harm themselves and their loved ones. The results do not necessarily mean that atheists do not mean it when they say they do not believe in God or that daring God is emotionally arousing for atheists and religious individuals for similar reasons. Rather, the results suggest that atheists' explicitly stated beliefs and affective reactions regarding God are of opposite valence."
[...]
In conclusion, the results indicate that even atheists have difficulty daring God to harm themselves and their loved ones. The results do not necessarily mean that atheists do not mean it when they say they do not believe in God or that daring God is emotionally arousing for atheists and religious individuals for similar reasons. Rather, the results suggest that atheists' explicitly stated beliefs and affective reactions regarding God are of opposite valence."
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