# Formerly religious individuals exhibit the highest levels of left-wing authoritarianism

Source: [PsyPost – Psychology News](https://www.psypost.org/the-strict-mindset-of-religious-fundamentalism-often-survives-deconversion/) · 2026-11-08 · Mind
Page: https://themorning.science/story/formerly-religious-individuals-exhibit-the-highest-levels-of-left-wing-authorita-4d5baf5d154061b8
Kind: research · Impact: low

## In 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.

## Coverage

- [Formerly religious individuals exhibit the highest levels of left-wing authoritarianism](https://www.psypost.org/the-strict-mindset-of-religious-fundamentalism-often-survives-deconversion/) — PsyPost – Psychology News, 2026-11-08

Tags: psychology, authoritarianism, religion, deconversion, political-psychology

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Brief generated by AI (claude-haiku-5-5) from the reporting listed under Coverage. Headlines belong to their publishers. The Morning Science – https://themorning.science