The difference between a liberal and conservative

sea-maid submitted, created time 1 month 3 weeks (esciencenews.com)

What do most scientific studies into the differences between liberals and conservatives have in common? They're usually performed by social scientists, who are usually liberals.

This may be why the prevailing idea among such scholars that conservatives are more fearful than liberals. However, a new study shows that it is different kinds of fear, not the magnitude of it, that is correlated with liberal and conservative views. To summarize, conservatives fear chaos and liberals fear emptiness.

A group of 128 socially and politically active churchgoers (both liberal and conservative) were asked, "What if there were no God?"

The responses differed significantly. Please pardon my blockquote:

"'Political conservatives envision a world without God in which baser human impulses go unchecked, social institutions (marriage, government, family) fall apart and chaos ensues," says McAdams. Liberals, on the other hand, envision a world without God as barren, lifeless, devoid of color and reasons to live.

'Liberals see their faith as something that fills them up and, without it, they conjure up metaphors of emptiness, depletion and scarcity," McAdams said. "While conservatives worry about societal collapse, liberals worry about a world without deep feelings and intense experiences.'

The study findings may shed light on why conservatives prefer more authoritarian leaders while liberals do not, he adds."

Keywords: conservatives politics human behavior science and religion liberals