Seems like they’re conflating folk superstition with religious belief. Randomly thinking that something happened for a reason isn’t the same as believing in a deity.

Across all countries, participants were more likely to judge that an action knowingly causing a shift toward atheism was intentional, suggesting people intuitively see religious belief as preferable.

That feels like quite a reach…

Have they considered perhaps it actually intimates there is an undercurrent of societal pressure pushing everyone towards religious conformity? No, of course not, because the point was to “prove” Atheists secretly want religion.