Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
6-2026
Abstract
Agnosticism and atheism are often grouped simply as nonreligious identities, yet emerging research highlights their distinct psychological profiles and social implications. Among these distinctions, collective narcissism—characterized by strong attachment to one’s group, exceptionalism, and grievance for recognition—offers a framework for understanding identity processes in both nonreligious groups. We examined whether agnostics and atheists exhibit collective narcissism and its forms (agentic—focused on exceptional effectiveness; communal—focused on exceptional morality) similarly to believers. We explored crossdenominational variance in agentic and communal collective narcissism levels relying on data from 77 countries (N = 3,570; 1227 agnostics, 2343 atheists). Agnostics and atheists from secular countries reported lower collective (particularly agentic) narcissism relative to their counterparts from religious countries. Further, agnostics and atheists were higher on communal than agentic collective narcissism. The results highlight the utility of the agency-communion model of collective narcissism among non-believers.
Keywords
collective narcissism, agnosticism, atheism, agency, communion
Discipline
Applied Behavior Analysis | Religion
Research Areas
Psychology
Publication
International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
Volume
36
Issue
3
First Page
539
Last Page
555
ISSN
1050-8619
Identifier
10.1080/10508619.2026.2656828
Publisher
Taylor and Francis Group
Citation
ŻEMOJTEL-PIOTROWSKA, Magdalena, PIOTROWSKI, Jarosław, NOWAK, Bartłomiej, SAROGLOU, V., MALTBY, John, SEDIKIDES, Constantine, ADAMOVIC, Mladen, AMINNUDDIN, Nur Amali, APPIAH, Seth Christopher Yaw, ARDI, Rahkman, BABAKR, Zana, BALDURSSON, Einar, BĂLŢĂTESCU, Sergiu, AYTAÇ, M. Bilgehan, LI, Norman P., , BONFÁ-ARAUJO, Bruno, BURGHART, Matthias, CHOBTHAMKIT, Phatthanakit, CLARK, Marilyn, & CLOBERT, Magali..(2026). Beyond religious narcissistic identification: Agnostic and atheistic narcissism. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 36(3), 539-555.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/4469
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1080/10508619.2026.2656828
Comments
ŻEMOJTEL-PIOTROWSKA, Magdalena; PIOTROWSKI, Jarosław; NOWAK, Bartłomiej; SAROGLOU, V.; MALTBY, John; SEDIKIDES, Constantine; ADAMOVIC, Mladen; AMINNUDDIN, Nur Amali; APPIAH, Seth Christopher Yaw; ARDI, Rahkman; BABAKR, Zana; BALDURSSON, Einar; BĂLŢĂTESCU, Sergiu; AYTAÇ, M. Bilgehan; BOLATOV, Aidos; BONFÁ-ARAUJO, Bruno; BURGHART, Matthias; CHOBTHAMKIT, Phatthanakit; CLARK, Marilyn; CLOBERT, Magali.; COWDEN, Richard G.; DATU, Jesus Alfonso D.; DHAKAL, Sandesh; DRAGOVA-KOLEVA, Sonya; ESPEJO, Begoña; GRIGORYEV, Dmitry; GRITTI, Emanuela; GUNDOLF, Katherine; HABIB, Rishad; HOSSAIN, Md Imran; JAUME, Luis Carlos; ILIŠKO, Dzintra; IQBAL, Naved; JOVANOVIĆ, Veljko; JUKIC, Tomislav; KAMBLE, Shanmukh Vasant; KHACHATRYAN, Narine; KNEZOVIĆ, Emil; KOVACS, Monika; KUMOVE, Heather; ELDESOKI, Walaa Labib Mohammad; LARZABAL FERNANDEZ, Aitor; LI, Norman P.; LIFSHIN, Uri; LIIK, Kadi; LIKHANOV, Maxim; MAMUTI, Agim; MANNERSTRÖM, Rasmus; MARGANSKI, Alison J.; MARTÍN, Marta; MESTVIRISHVILI, Maia; MOON, Chanki; PAPAGEORGIOU, Kostas A.; PARK, Joonha; PÉREZ DE LEÓN, Pablo; PUENTE-DÍAZ, Rogelio; RAMOS-DÍAZ, Jano; SMITH, Troy E.; TESFA, Gashaw; TRA THI THANH KIEU; TILIOUINE, Habib; TOMŠIK, Robert; UMEH, Charles S.; VADVILAVIČIUS, Tadas; VAN DEN BOS, Kees; VAN HIEL, Alain; WŁODARCZYK, Anna; VALLY, Zahir; VAUCLAIR, Melanie; YAGIYAYEV, Illya; ZAND, Fatemeh