The Origins of Religious Disbelief: A Dual Inheritance Approach

Widespread religious disbelief represents a key testing ground for theories of religion. We evaluated the predictions three prominent theoretical approaches—secularization, cognitive byproduct, and dual inheritance—in nationally representative (United States, N = 1,417) data set with preregistered analyses found considerable support inheritance perspective. Of predictors disbelief, witnessing fewer credible cultural cues commitment was most potent, ? .28, followed distantly by reflective style, .13, less advanced mentalizing, .05. Low exposure predicted about 90% higher odds atheism than did peak reflection, reflection only among those relatively low in to This highlights utility considering both evolved intuitions transmitted culture emphasizes roles content- context-biased social learning transmission (preprint https://psyarxiv.com/e29rt/ ).