Are Non-Believers More Open to New Ideas?

Atheists & agnostics are more intellectually curious than believers in God, they have greater imagination and are more open to new experiences, on average.

It might seem obvious that atheists and agnostics are different from believers. But how are they different?

We know people can have very different childhood experiences, different families, caregivers, early education and environments. But what about personality?

Turns out, there are some average personality differences between believers and non-believers.

Today I’m taking a closer look at one of the Big Five personality traits, Openness to Experience.

A large 2026 study found that, on average, atheists and agnostics scored higher on openness a trait associated with intellectual curiosity, imagination, and being more receptive to new ideas and experiences.

But remember, these are averages. I’m sure most of you can think of someone who completely bucks the trend.

So what do you think? Generally speaking, does this match your intuition about the personality differences between believers and non-believers?