Research
Formerly religious individuals exhibit the highest levels of left-wing authoritarianism
PsyPost · By Karina Petrova ·
The Brief
- A recent study found that formerly religious individuals show the highest levels of left-wing authoritarianism.
- People who leave their religion often drop the conservative attitudes linked to their former faith.
- They may keep the strict, authoritarian style they used to hold those beliefs.
Why it matters
The finding suggests that deconversion may not remove an authoritarian thinking style, which can persist even when the content of beliefs changes. This matters for research on how ideology and psychological style relate.
- #psychology
- #authoritarianism
- #religion
- #deconversion
- #political-psychology
People who leave their religion often abandon the conservative attitudes associated with their former faith, but they may retain the strict, authoritarian style of holding those beliefs. A recent study found that formerly religious individuals exhibit the highest levels of…