Unorganized atheism and the secular movement: reddit as a site for studying ‘lived atheism’

Lundmark, Evelina; LeDrew, Stephen

doi:10.1177/0037768618816096

Cited by 83 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…However, the common thread of the studies of religious polarization is the shrinking of the middle, compensated by the growth of the extremities, especially the secularized segment. With the growth in number of secular individuals and their organization in formal groups (Smith, 2013), the hostilities between those strictly committed to secular values, especially the atheists, and the religious are on the rise (Dick, 2015; Lundmark and LeDrew, 2019). These new developments underscore the need for further study of religious polarization in Western societies and a consistency in the measurement approach.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regarding the strictly seculars as defined in the above, a considerable number likely self-identify as atheist (Dilmaghani, 2017). Previous scholarship indicates that the level of atheist activism and ‘evangelization’ is rising in North America (Smith and Cimino, 2012, 2015), and a significant portion of secular activists are overtly hostile towards religion and religious people (Cotter et al, 2017; Dick, 2015; Lundmark and LeDrew, 2019). This growing hostility further underscores the scholarly importance of having a quantitative measure for the degree of religious polarization.…”

Section: Application To American and Canadian Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Measuring religious polarization: Application with American and Canadian data

Dilmaghani

2020

Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses

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Numerous studies suggest that polarization best describes the religious landscape of a growing number of Western countries. While a consensus is gradually emerging regarding the definition of religious polarization, no quantitative measure has been proposed to capture the concept. The present research note proposes two indices for the concept of religious polarization so that its degree can be compared across populations and its evolution can be traced over time. The proposed approach is applied to the US data of 2008–2016 and the Canadian data of 2008–2015. The relative ranking of the degree of polarization emerging from the computation of these indices accords with the previous literature, which has relied on the interpretation of distinct trends. These applications demonstrate the aptness of these indices for measuring religious polarization, as defined in the recent religious scholarship.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Application To American and Canadian Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring religious polarization: Application with American and Canadian data

Dilmaghani

2020

Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses

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“…Obviously, the more nones and/or outright atheists or agnostics there are, the easier they are to identify and interview, and the more likely they are to turn up in largescale surveys in usable (sub)sample sizes. The internet too -long a vibrant space for atheist discourse and community-building (Cimino and Smith, 2011; Addington, 2017) -has opened up all kinds of fieldsite possibilities for social research, only some of which have yet been exploited (see, e.g., Lundmark and LeDrew, 2019). Furthermore the 'new visibility of atheism' in the early-2000s both spawned, and attracted new attention towards, a diverse ecology of events, groups, and other initiatives.…”

Section: Prehistorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Explaining the rise of ‘nonreligion studies’: Subfield formation and institutionalization within the sociology of religion

Bullivant

2020

Social Compass

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As recently as 2008, a major reference work in the sociology of religion could (correctly) describe the study of atheism, secularity, and nonreligion as ‘meager, fragmentary, and unappreciated’. Only a decade later, this situation has been radically transformed. Not only is there a substantial, ever-growing, and constantly diversifying (methodologically, theoretically, geographically) research literature, but ‘nonreligion studies’ now possesses a full ‘academic architecture’ of conferences, journals, monograph series, professional communities, and grant successes. Over this period, the study of nonreligion has become increasingly institutionalized as an established subfield of the sociology of religion. This has not simply come about by magic. On the contrary, there are very good sociological reasons i) why, for over a century, nonreligion failed to take off (outside of certain, telling milieux) as an area of sustained sociological interest; and ii) why and how this has – seemingly so rapidly – changed.

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“…If we broaden our view to account for the diversity of networks that share and discuss atheist, humanist and secularist ideas and materials online, this digital creation and consumption of nonbelief content appears to be more common than individuals taking part in face-to-face activities organized by nonreligious groups. Researchers such as Addington (2017), Lundmark and LeDrew (2019), and Smith and Cimino (2012) have pointed to the importance of digital spaces for atheist activism and community building. These digital spaces seem especially crucial for a target population that is made up in large part of members of younger generations: for example, an estimated 42% of adult nonbelievers in the USA are Millennials, born between 1984 and 2000.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religious Socialization and Millennial Involvement in Organized and Digital Nonbelief Activities

Wilkins‐Laflamme

Thiessen

2020

Secul Nonrel

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Drawing on a representative survey sample of just over 2,500 young adult respondents between the ages of 18 and 35 from across the USA and Canada, our study seeks to understand who exactly takes part in organized and digital nonbelief activities. Our findings show that (a) there is a positive association between religious childhood socialization and the likelihood of being involved with organized and digital atheist, humanist and secularist activities among young adult nonbelievers; (b) there is a positive link between involvement in organized and digital nonbelief activities and those who experience discrimination due to their nonbelief, mediating the religious childhood socialization association (subcultural identity theory); and (c) there is a remaining positive direct relationship between religious childhood socialization and involvement in organized and digital nonbelief activities as individuals seek to retain some vestiges of religious life among these nonreligious groups (vestiges of religious life theory). We additionally demonstrate that, while fewer than half of nonbelieving Millennials are involved in organized or digital nonbelief settings, those in the USA are more likely to be involved than in Canada. Moreover, in both nations, those who are involved tend to be more engaged in online settings versus in-person contexts. Wilkins-Laflamme and Thiessen: Religious Socialization and Millennial Involvement in Organized and Digital Nonbelief Activities Art. 2, page 2 of 15 Additionally, our study goes further than simply providing this first series of important descriptive estimates. We also develop a better understanding of who these individuals are, including their demographics and (non) religious backgrounds, by teasing out key socialization factors that are tied to adult involvement in organized and digital atheist, humanist and secularist activities. Our study addresses the following key research questions: To what extent are organized and digital nonreligious activities more appealing to nonbelievers who come from more religious backgrounds? Are nonbelievers who experienced a religious socialization growing up more likely to face discrimination, and respond to it by taking part in atheist, humanist and secularist activities and spaces? Are they also seeking vestiges of their previous religious community life in these nonreligious groups, minus God? Nonreligious Organizations, Embattled Narratives and Community Seeking From their own publicly available materials, as well as a number of qualitative field studies conducted by researchers in the USA and Great Britain especially, a richer profile and understanding of atheist, humanist and secularist organizations has developed over the last two decades. There is diversity among these organizations' positions and goals. Some groups, particularly staunch atheist groups, take a confrontational posture towards religion. Areas of foci include "religious criticism, critical thinking, intellectual stimulation, and advocacy of science or church-state separation m...

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Unorganized atheism and the secular movement: reddit as a site for studying ‘lived atheism’

Cited by 83 publications

References 39 publications

Measuring religious polarization: Application with American and Canadian data

Measuring religious polarization: Application with American and Canadian data

Explaining the rise of ‘nonreligion studies’: Subfield formation and institutionalization within the sociology of religion

Religious Socialization and Millennial Involvement in Organized and Digital Nonbelief Activities

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