In Defense of Religion: Shared Reality Moderates the Unconscious Threat of Evolution

Abstract

This research demonstrates that stability and change in self-described religiosity is regulated by the particular interpersonal relationships in which religious beliefs are shared, along lines implied by shared reality theory (e.g., Hardin & Conley, 2001). In Experiment 1, exposure to evolution-related words reduced the religiosity and anti-atheist prejudice of participants who perceived their religious experience to be unshared with their fathers, but not of participants who perceived their religious experience to be shared with their fathers. In Experiment 2, exposure to evolution-related words reduced the religiosity and anti-atheist prejudice of insecurely attached participants but not securely attached participants. Together results suggest that dynamics in religiosity and religion-related prejudice are regulated by the two key elements postulated in shared reality theory: relationship quality and the degree to which relationship-relevant experiences are perceived to be shared.