Atheism, Secularity, and Well‐Being: How the Findings of Social Science Counter Negative Stereotypes and Assumptions

Abstract

What do we currently know about atheists and secular people? In what ways are atheism and secularity correlated with positive societal outcomes? This article offers a thorough presentation and discussion of the latest social scientific research concerning the identities, values, and behaviors of people who don't believe in God or are non-religious, and addresses the ways in which atheism and secularity are positively correlated with societal well-being.

Do Atheism and Feminism Go Hand-in-Hand?: A Qualitative Investigation of Atheist Men’s Perspectives about Gender Equality

“…Third, they identified gender inequality as a problem within the U.S. and throughout the world. These beliefs support prior research findings, which suggest that atheists have an intellectual orientation (Altemeyer & Hunsberger, 1997;Fitzgerald, 2003;Hunsberger & Altemeyer, 2006;Smith, 2011) and support gender equality (Beit-Hallahmi, 2007;Hunsberger & Altemeyer, 2006;Zuckerman 2007Zuckerman , 2009). Several other themes were endorsed by the majority of the participants.…”

“…Several other themes were endorsed by the majority of the participants. They denied belief in anything supernatural as well as expressed a commitment to personal responsibility to do good-two ideas that are also supported in the literature (Arcaro, 2010;Beit-Hallahmi, 2007;Hunsberger & Altemeyer, 2006;Zuckerman, 2009).…”

“…Kirkley (2000) provided evidence that atheist men in the postbellum U.S. did little to promote substantive change regarding gender equality; however, it represents a period of time nearly 150 years ago. Contemporary sociology has characterized atheist beliefs as committed to gender equality (Beit-Hallahmi, 2007;Zuckerman, 2009), yet recent controversies suggest that atheists have displayed an array of beliefs and actions that could be considered sexist (McCreight, 2011;Watson, 2011aWatson, , 2011b. Given these seemingly contradictory representations concerning atheists and gender equality, the purpose of this study was to examine how a group of atheist men living in a small Midwestern city in the United States conceptualize gender and feminism.…”

The future size of religiously affiliated and unaffiliated populations

“…For example, the affiliated and unaffiliated vary in patterns of family formation, educational attainment, civic engagement, and health outcomes (Zuckerman 2009, Ellison and Hummer 2010, Funk and Smith 2012. They also vary in science knowledge and attitudes (Sherkat 2011).…”

The Myth of the Angry Atheist

“…For example, atheists are distrusted (Gervais, Shariff, & Norenzayan, 2011) and considered to be lacking in morality (Zuckerman, 2009). More consequential, less than 50% of Americans state that they would vote for an atheist presidential candidate (Jones, 2007) and 48% of individuals in one sample said they would disapprove if their child chose to marry an atheist (Edgell, Gerteis, & Hartmann, 2006).…”