U.S. Secular Survey Archives - American Atheists

New Report Finds Nonreligious Women Face Greater Discrimination, Seek Community

American Atheists — Tue, 22 Mar 2022 12:30:18 +0000

Washington, D.C—Today, the secular organizations American Atheists and Secular Woman released Nonreligious Women in America, a report based on a survey of 13,522 nonreligious women, drawn from a larger survey of nearly 34,000 nonreligious people living in America, organized by a team of researchers at Strength in Numbers Consulting Group. The Nonreligious Women in America report raises awareness about nonreligious women, highlights their priorities and needs, and proposes solutions to reduce the stigma and discrimination they face. “Nonreligious women are a growing and politically engaged population, yet they still too often face ridicule, negative stereotypes, and marginalization with their families, in broader society, and even within atheist communities,” said Alison Gill, Vice President for Legal and Policy, who authored the report. “Discrimination isolates secular women and contributes to economic insecurity. It must end.” Compared to other participants, women reported more discrimination because of their nonreligious beliefs in nearly every area of their lives. A significantly higher proportion of nonreligious women had negative experiences in reproductive care (18.9% versus 9.5%), and this discrimination was markedly higher in very religious communities than less religious communities (25.3% versus 15.8%). Participants who experienced discrimination related to reproductive care were 44.9% more likely than other participants to screen positive for depression. “Atheism is a politically active movement. We must engage more to protect abortion access,” said Stephanie Zvan of Secular Women, the only organization exclusively dedicated to representing the interests of nonreligious women. “Women-led groups have already been very active on reproductive rights. Yet other groups have questioned whether religious attacks on abortion should even be considered a secular issue.” The report found that nonreligious women prioritize policy issues that directly impact them, their families, and their communities. Women participants were more likely than other participants to consider access to abortion and contraception a top-three priority issue (48.0% versus 31.4%) and to consider it a “very important” issue (93.4% versus 81.5%). Nonreligious women were also more likely than other participants to consider as “very important” issues: comprehensive and medically accurate sex education (90.8% versus 81.9%), LGBTQ equality (88.8% versus 76.8%), and protecting the environment against climate change (88.5% and 82.4%). “The secular community must actively include women and listen to what they have to say,” said Debbie Goddard, Vice President for Programs at American Atheists. “Already, the stereotype that only men are atheists leaves nonreligious women feeling invisible, ignored, and unlikely to want to participate in the secular community. Atheist groups can engage and retain women members by prioritizing their needs.” Despite the challenges secular women face in atheist spaces, they are far more likely than other nonreligious people to seek out and value membership in local and national groups. Women participants were more likely than other participants to be a member of a local secular organization (25.0% versus 20.1%). The report found that membership in national or local secular organizations was an important protective factor against depression. Women who were members of national or local organizations were about one-third less likely than nonmembers to be depressed. In very religious areas, where nonreligious people are subject to greater stigma, women were more than 1.5 times […]

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Nonreligious Young People Helped Put Biden in the White House. New Research Explores Who They Are.

American Atheists — Tue, 08 Dec 2020 15:00:50 +0000

Washington, D.C.—Today, the nonreligious advocacy organizations, American Atheists and the Secular Student Alliance, released The Tipping Point Generation: America’s Nonreligious Youth. The report, which draws on survey responses from nearly 34,000 nonreligious participants, including 3,421 nonreligious 18-24 year olds, provides an in-depth analysis of who nonreligious young people are, the issues they face, and their priorities. Nonreligious voters are likely the reason Joe Biden won the election, finds Ryan P. Burge, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Eastern Illinois University. And according to recent research from the Cooperative Congressional Election Study and the Barna Group, today’s 18-24 years olds are the most nonreligious generation in the history of the United States. The Tipping Point Generation explores this important and growing subset of young people, who overwhelmingly supported Joe Biden. “We are at a tipping point in this country. With nearly half of today’s young people religiously unaffiliated, the Religious Right’s hold on power is slipping away. Both the Democratic and Republican parties will have to adjust and increasingly appeal to nonreligious voters. To do so, they will need to understand who nonreligious young people are,” said Alison Gill, Vice President for Legal and Policy at American Atheists. The Tipping Point Generation report found that there was a high rate of political involvement among the nonreligious youth surveyed, with more than four in five (82.7%) being registered to vote. The top policy priorities identified by these nonreligious youth were maintaining secular public schools, protecting youth from religion-based harm, and protecting the environment and addressing climate change. The report also found that nonreligious young people face significant stigma and discrimination. 33.6% of participants faced discrimination in education, 20.8% in volunteer work, 20.4% in mental health services, 15.4% in employment, 13.3% in accessing public services, and 12.2% from public businesses. “Unless you consider the nonreligious aspect of Generation Z’s identity, as well as the discrimination these young people face, you cannot fully understand who they are and what we need to do in our society to help them,” said Kevin Bolling, Executive Director of the Secular Student Alliance. The report found different levels of discrimination according to an area’s level of religiosity. For example, nearly half (48.9%) of nonreligious young people surveyed faced education discrimination in very religious communities—concentrated in the South and the Midwest—compared to only one fifth in less religious communities, primarily located in the Pacific West and Northeast. “The religious oppression that nonreligious youth encounter in very religious communities has a lifelong impact and shapes who these youth are and how they think about religion,” added Gill. In very religious areas, nonreligious young people face an especially high level of family rejection, the report found. Among youth whose parents were aware of their beliefs, more than one third (37.5%) reported that their parents were somewhat or very unsupportive. In very religious communities, more than three quarters (77.9%) reported negative experiences with their families because of their nonreligious beliefs. Youth participants with very unsupportive parents were 45.4% more likely to screen positive for depression than those with very supportive parents. “To correctly serve his nonreligious youth constituents, Joe Biden must take into account their needs and priorities. Given […]

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Largest Survey on Nonreligious Americans Reveals Widespread Discrimination and Stigma

American Atheists — Tue, 05 May 2020 13:00:18 +0000

Cranford, NJ—Today, the nonreligious identity organization American Atheists released Reality Check: Being Nonreligious in America, a comprehensive report drawn from the groundbreaking U.S. Secular Survey. Counting nearly 34,000 nonreligious participants and organized by a team of researchers at Strength in Numbers Consulting Group, the U.S. Secular Survey is the largest ever data collection project on secular Americans and their experiences. “At 75 million people, religiously unaffiliated Americans are as large a demographic as either Evangelical Christians or Catholics, and explicitly nonreligious people comprise a growing share of the population, yet before the U.S. Secular Survey there had been a lack of focused research on our community,” said Alison Gill, Vice President for Legal and Policy at American Atheists, who helped lead the project. “What we found shocked us. Discrimination and stigma against nonreligious Americans is widespread and extremely harmful.” Due to their nonreligious identity, more than half of participants (54.5%) had negative experiences with family members, nearly one third (29.4%) in education, and more than one in five (21.7%) in the workplace. Of those who experienced discrimination within their families, there was a 73.3% higher rate of likely depression. “This report shows that the more religious the community, the more likely nonreligious people are to face discrimination and stigma,” said Gill. “Nonreligious Americans living in very religious communities, concentrated in rural areas and the South, are particularly at risk.” The nearly one third of participants (29.8%) living in “very religious” communities were nearly two and a half times more likely to experience discrimination in education, two and a half times more likely in public services (voting, jury duty, poll work), more than three times more likely in employent, and more than two times more likely when dealing with private businesses, compared to those living in “not at all religious” communities. “The struggles of nonreligious Americans are far too often overlooked. Thankfully, the U.S. Secular Survey has revealed the discrimination our community regularly faces,” said Nick Fish, president of American Atheists. “With that well-established, we need to find solutions and work toward ending the stigma faced by our community.” The report found that involvement with organized secular community groups is an important protective factor that correlated with reduced likelihood of loneliness and depression. Members of national secular organizations were 34.8% less likely than non-members to be at risk for depression, while members of local secular groups were 29.3% less likely. “Now that we know the power of organized secularism, it’s up to secular organizations to advocate for change and provide as many nonreligious Americans as possible with the support and community they need,” added Fish.

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