It’s like herding cats: Atheist minority stress, group involvement, and psychological outcomes.

Abstract

Using minority stress theory with a sample of 522 atheist people from the United States, the present study examined the associations of discrimination, proximal minority stressors (stigma consciousness, internalized antiatheism, outness as atheist), and atheist group involvement with psychological distress and self-esteem. Atheist group involvement was associated positively with outness and self-esteem, and negatively with discrimination. Structural equation modeling indicated that discrimination and stigma consciousness yielded significant positive direct relations with distress, whereas outness yielded a significant negative direct relation with distress. Relatedly, discrimination yielded a significant negative direct relation with self-esteem and outness yielded a significant positive direct relation with self-esteem. There was a significant positive unique indirect relation of antiatheist discrimination with distress via the mediating role of stigma consciousness, but no other proximal variables. Multigroup invariance testing of this model did not yield evidence that the pattern of relations of the minority stressors with mental health outcomes differed significantly between participants who were and who were not involved in an atheist group. Implications of these findings for research, practice, and advocacy are discussed. Public Significance StatementAtheist people in the United States experience marginalization that can take the form of discrimination and/or stigma because of their religious nonbelief. These negative experiences may contribute to poorer mental health outcomes (i.e., increased distress; lower self-esteem). Being involved in a community of other atheist people may be associated with some benefits, such as higher self-esteem.

(Non)Religious Coping with a Natural Disaster in a Rural U.S. Community

“…However, the relationship between positive outcomes and religiousness may be driven by active participation in a personal belief system, rather than strength of identification alone (Berthold & Ruch, 2014) or social engagement (McCaffree, 2019). Secular community involvement among atheists appears to minimally influence mental health outcomes (Brewster et al, 2019); but, secular involvement may often occur online (Abbott et al, 2020). Perhaps in-person experiences of secular community, particularly in the case of shared natural disasters, may ameliorate distress and foster posttraumatic growth.…”

Family religiosity, support, and psychological well-being for sexual minority atheist individuals.

“…The present data were drawn from a larger study on discrimination, community involvement, and mental health outcomes of atheist people (Brewster et al, 2020). The parent study did not focus on sexual minority people and the primary variables of interest did not overlap; for example, the published study did not examine family religiosity, length of time identifying as atheist, social support, or satisfaction with life.…”

“…Despite the fact that atheist people represent an increasingly large segment of the United States (U.S.) population-with recent estimates indicating that over 20% may identify as nonbelievers (Gervais & Najle, 2018)-they are still subject to widespread stigma and marginalization (Brewster et al, 2016(Brewster et al, , 2020Cragun et al, 2012;Hammer et al, 2012;Swan & Heesacker, 2012). Some of this backlash against atheists may be linked to the perception that without a belief in God/gods or participation in religion, one lacks decency and a moral compass (Gervais et al, 2011).…”

“…Considering that approximately 78% of the U.S. population identifies with a religion, straying from such a normative cultural and social practice can be isolating for nonbelievers (LeDrew, 2013;Pew Research Center, 2015). Indeed, experiences of anti-atheist stigma, microaggressions, and discrimination have been linked to poorer psychological outcomes (i.e., greater distress, depressive symptomatology, loneliness) and lower levels of well-being for atheist people in the U.S. (Abbott & Mollen, 2018;Brewster et al, 2016Brewster et al, , 2020Cheng et al, 2018;Doane & Elliott, 2015).…”

Coping with COVID-19: An Examination of the Role of (Non)Religiousness/(Non)Spirituality

“…Indeed, religious/spiritual participants could still engage in independent faith-based coping strategies including prayer, meditation and comfort in their belief system and places of religious worship were among the first locations allowed to reopen in many areas of the country. Although nonreligious people benefit similarly from social connection with like-minded people (Galen 2015), organized groups of nonbelievers can be difficult to find, inaccessible to nonbelievers with marginalized cultural positionalities (Abbott et al 2020), or primarily online where the benefits of engagement on mental health may be less pronounced (Brewster et al 2020) even under normal circumstances. All of this is consistent with the notion that social support and belonging are the driving mechanisms behind the well-documented relationship between religious commitment and well-being.…”