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Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free _Mother Jones Daily_. Chris Mooney writes today about research from Ara Norenzayan that
isolates some of the cognitive traits that seem to be associated with atheists: > LESS “MENTALIZING.” One of the most surprising scientific > findings of the research on the causes of
religiosity (or the lack > thereof) involves a trait called “mentalizing.”….On a social > level, mentalizing helps you connect with and relate to others….As > for atheists?
Norenzayan’s research suggests they tend toward less > mentalizing, which makes religious beliefs less intuitive to them. > > ….ANALYTICAL THINKING STYLE. In addition to
mentalizing, a number > of other basic cognitive traits have also been shown to promote > religiosity. One very important one is having an intuitive style of > thinking, as opposed
to an analytic, contemplative style that favors > in-depth, effortful thought. Well, he sure has me pegged. A third (non-cognitive) trait that Norenzayan thinks promotes atheism is
material security: “Again and again in Norenzayan’s research, societies that are existentially secure—meaning that people have access to health care and a strong social safety net, that
there is a strong rule of law, but also that they are not facing deadly diseases or natural disasters—tend toward less religion and also more tolerance of atheism.” So maybe those crazy
conservatives are right after all. Maybe Obamacare really is a secular plot. More at the link.