Secularism Orientations

Introduction: There has been extensive research conducted on religious orientations, but less so of secularism orientations. We sought to examine several ways that secularist beliefs connect and compare.   Methods:  Undergraduate students in introductory psychology classes (n = 397) completed an online questionnaire assessing their secularist beliefs, religious orientations, and psychological well-being. Results: An exploratory factor analysis yielded four types of secularism orientations: Faith in Humans, Faith in Law, Faith and Science, and Faith in Paranormal. These four factors then distinctly correlated with religious orientations and subcomponents of well-being.  Conclusions: Identifying secular belief systems and their implications is key to understanding the consequences of the Western decline in religious practice. These preliminary data provide insights into their types and benefits for psychological functioning.