Coming Out as an Atheist A Survey

COMING OUT AS AN ATHEISTA SURVEY

Dr. Tom ArcaroProfessor of Sociology

Putting the “new atheism” in context

The “new atheism” is marked by the “four horsemen”, namely Hitchens, Harris, Dawkins and Dennett, as well as Bill Maher and others

Now marked by op-eds and bus campaigns in London, NYC, Des Moines, etc.

The atheist movement is the United States has always been moderately active dating back to Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899) and before

The Internet has made atheist virtual communities a reality

How many nonreligious globally?

American Religious Identification Survey 2008 (Trinity College)Only 1.6 percent of Americans call themselves atheist or agnostic. But based on stated beliefs, 12 percent are atheist (no God) or agnostic (unsure), while 12 percent more are deistic (believe in a higher power but not a personal God). The number of outright atheists has nearly doubled since 2001, from 900 thousand to 1.6 million. Twenty-seven percent of Americans do not expect a religious funeral at their death.

To what extent are atheists stigmatized, that is, discredited by others in their society?

2006 ASR article on “Atheists as the Other” by U of Minnesota researchers Penny Edgell,

et al

This Group Does Not At All Agree with My Vision of American Society

—Atheists 39.6—Muslims 26.3

—Homosexuals 22.6—Conservative Christians 13.5

—Recent Immigrants 12.5—Hispanics 7.6

—Jews 7.4—Asian Americans 7.0

—African Americans 4.6—White Americans 2.2

I Would Disapprove if My Child Wanted to Marry a Member of This Group

—Atheist 47.6—Muslim 33.5

—African American 27.2—Asian American 18.5

—Hispanic 18.5—Jew 11.8

—Conservative Christian 6.9—White 2.3

Are atheists marginalized? Seven US states [Arkansas, Maryland, North

Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas] have clauses in their constitutions which say that people who don’t believe in God or a Supreme Being can’t hold public offices

North Carolina State Constitution, Article VI, Section 8:Sec. 8. Disqualifications for office. The following persons shall be disqualified for office: First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God.

Madalyn Murray O’HairIn 1964 LIFE magazine referred to her as the “most hated

woman in America”

A 1987 conversation between then Vice-President George H. W. Bush and Robert Sherman, reporter for

the American Atheists news journal:

Sherman: What will you do to win the votes of the Americans who are atheists?

Bush: I guess I'm pretty weak in the atheist community. Faith in God is important to me.

Sherman: Surely you recognize the equal citizenship and patriotism of Americans who are atheists?Bush: No, I don't know that atheists should be

considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.

Sherman (somewhat taken aback): Do you support as a sound constitutional principle the separation of state

and church?Bush: Yes, I support the separation of church and state.

I'm just not very high on atheists.

What were the goals of this research?

Answer the question, “What do atheists look like?

Explore and describe how atheists experience stigma and discrimination

Explore how atheists in different regions in the United States experience stigma

Explore how atheism is experienced outside of the United States

The survey “Live” from mid September through December

2008 51 questions, mostly forced choice 8,204 responses 7,484  (91.2%) completed the survey 52.1% responded to the open ended question,

“Please provide an example of a social situation where you experienced stigmatization because you are an atheist.”

Hosted on Atheist Nexus web site and then later nudged by PZ Meyers on his Pharyngula blog

What do the respondents look like?Location

What do the respondents look like?Age

What do the respondents look like?Gender

What do the respondents look like?Partnered status

What do the respondents look like?Education

What do the respondents look like?Race/ethnicity

What do the respondents look like?Political views

The social stigma of atheism

The social stigma of atheismHow stigmatized in your culture?

Discomfort when religion is invokedIntimate social settlings

Discomfort when religion is invokedPublic social settings

Some interesting comparisonsStigmatization of atheists by region

Some interesting comparisonsHow many are “out of the closet”?

Some interesting comparisonsRepercussions is the workplace

Where from here?

Op-ed piece published in Greensboro News and Record on Sunday, June 28

Continue blogging and otherwise presenting the data to the online atheist community on Atheist Nexus and elsewhere

Present at regional and national sociology conferences with the goal of publication

Continue working on book proposal –working title “Everyday Atheists”

Shoot, edit and complete documentary on “Everyday Atheists”

Some trends from the qualitative data

Many responses focused on negative stereotypes of atheists as immoral and even evil

Discrimination in the workplace mentioned frequently; jobs and promotions have been lost

Family relations, especially inter-generationally, are frequently a great source of stress

Community relationships (e.g., neighbors) are strained

Many, especially in the US, stay “in the closet” for fear of repercussions

Questions? Comments?

Be kind, please.