Honors Thesis Archive

Author	Harley Paul
Title	Religious Beliefs and Mental Health Perceptions
Department	Psychology
Advisor	Billy Davis
Year	2023
Honors	University Honors
Full Text	View Thesis (414 KB)
Abstract	The present study investigated the negative perceptions and prejudice between religious and non-religious groups, and how these overlap with mental health stigma. Atheists are considered one of America’s most detested groups and are perceived as untrustworthy and a threat to moral values due to having no religious beliefs. Within some religious groups, people with mental illness are perceived as being demonically influenced, lacking true faith, and being disobedient to their religious doctrine. Using an online survey platform, participants (N = 175) completed mental illness prevalence rating questionaries for four religious and non-religious groups: Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, and Atheist/ Non-Religious targets. Participants also completed a religiosity questionnaire, competence and warmth scale, and mental health stigma measure. Religious groups were more likely to give higher mental illness ratings to atheists and lower mental illness ratings to other religious groups, and religious groups gave atheists higher competence and lower warmth ratings. Further research can explore mental health stigma in the context of religion and prejudice toward different religious and non-religious groups.