Atheists in America – Part 1
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/blackwhiteandgray/2013/04/atheists-in-america-part-1/April 6, 2013 By George Yancey 14 Comments
This is the start of a series on atheists. I am not sure how many blogs I will write on them but it is connected to a book I have coming out titled There is no God: Atheists in America (Rowman and Littlefield). It is a book I co-wrote with David Williamson. Being a Christian, I believe it to be important to understand those who do not agree with me. Furthermore, atheists have been understudied, and I love doing research on understudied topics.
A disclaimer or two is in order. Although I do not share the beliefs atheists have, this series, and my book, is not a critique of atheism. That critique has been made by smarter people than I. My work is intended to describe atheists, not atheism. It is about the community in which atheists sustain their social reality. On the other hand, whenever a researcher looks at a social community, one usually sees strengths and weaknesses. I do not intend on describing atheists in a particularly negative or positive light, but if some of the findings create those impressions then so be it. I know that many atheists see themselves as marginalized, and there is research backing their claims. I have no desire to add to that feeling, but I am not going to fake a glowing report on atheists just to be politically correct.
This entry will help to set up the rest of the series. I basically want to discuss how we did our research. The findings I will talk about in the rest of the series are based on that methodology. Actually our idea for this research emerged when we did research on cultural progressive activists. We used an online survey with open-ended questions to gather their ideas about the Christian Right. Our sample was 61.7 percent atheists, which is an incredibly high percentage for a group that is 3-5 percent of the population in the United States. We ran some preliminary tests comparing the atheists to the other cultural progressive activists and knew that we had the potential to do interesting research.
But it was research that needed to be augmented. To do this David and I decided to interview about fifty atheists. We wanted to see if atheists have a different experience when they lived in a highly religious region of the country as compared to a more secular region. As a result, we interviewed half of the atheists in an area in the Bible Belt and the other half through an atheist organization located in a less religious region of the country. The atheists we found in the city in the Bible Belt were found through networking contacts we found in a small atheist group. There was no large formal organization we could use to find respondents which is likely a feature of the lack of a non-religious presence.
more at link
= new reply since forum marked as read
but I have seen these demographics before and they seem consistent. It may be that those with a certain amount of privilege are most likely to self-identify as atheist because it's safer for them to do so.
But the male/female divide is somewhat harder to understand.
Anyway, he seems thoughtful about this.
Will post his follow up pieces as they come up.
And agree, looks to be an interesting series overall. I appreciate his opening disclaimer. It's consistent with his bio profile at the web site.
The site looks to have some other good reads. Thanks for the link cbayer.
They cover a very eclectic array of religious topics and POV's.
Now, I just have to remember to watch for his next installation!
Just occurred to me reading another post here on DU.
A common phrase among gays at one time was "family" to refer to other gays. i.e. - "He's family." A stretch of an analogy, perhaps, but it crossed my mind. It was simultaneously inclusive and exclusive.
frequently. When marginalized, I think people wish to identify with others that share that position. And with good reason.
And it is both inclusive and exclusive - again, with good reason.
During the feminism of the 70's, sisterhood became very important - another example.
That's back when I used to frequent the bars with my friends. The song was empowering and allowed a release for many.
Recently read a fascinating book, 'Room', about a boy raised by his mom in one locked room with one window up at ceiling height. It's told from his perspective. His world was his mom, the room and the stories she told him. He had no concept of "outside" or "other" save for a man who brought them meals each day. Even the glimpse of a place beyond the room through the window was simply another story in his pov.
Eventually, it came about that they were able to leave the room. He was actually hesitant to leave all that he knew. And once outside came to find that many of his mother's stories were about this larger world beyond the room. His adjustment to the reality is a great read.
My point here - it may be that the privileged, the less privileged and those with little privilege don't recognize the "other". They may know it's there but have a narrow experience and a limited perception. It is what it is may be the world for some. Until that changes.
As in, way to go antagonizing believers right off the bat! It also set in the minds of believers what Dawkins was going to be like, i.e., anti-theist. Most believers aren't going to want to read the writings of an anti-theist, myself included.
I put myself in the "nones" or no religious affiliation. However, that only means I have no religion to which I belong. It doesn't mean I don't have beliefs in a higher power. Everything I've read recently still points to a 3-5% amount of atheists in this country. There should be a link to the Pew research on that around here somewhere. Cbayer may be able to provide it as well 
The number of atheists in the US is indeed growing, but the total amount remains at or less than 6%. That's still a huge number of people, measured in the millions 
