A simple 3.1 % of American adults place themselves as atheists . But as a recent survey display , this increasingly crucial demographic consists of surprisingly diverse , and even contradictory , subset of non - believers .
guess the figure of atheists in the U.S. is n’t easy . As Michael Lipka of the Pew Research Centerwrites , “ Some adult who describe themselves as atheists also say they believe in God or a universal spirit , ” while “ some people who name with a religion … also say they do not believe in God . ”
No doubt , our individual impression and skepticism get quite complicated when culture , cosmology , metaphysics , religion , and spiritism get thrown into the mix . To make sense of this intra - atheist diversity , Lipka analyzed the finding of theReligious Landscape Study , a survey conduct by the Pew Research Center about a year ago . His ensuing article , “ 7 Facts about atheists , ” give away much about the complex country of atheism in the U.S. today . Here ’s a summary of his findings .
godlessness is on the acclivity : The dower of Americans who self - identify as atheists has doubled in the retiring several year . That may be the outcome of deepen sociocultural values , and/or the increased willingness of Americans to come in out as atheist .
Atheists are more likely to be male and young : Some 68 % of atheist are military man , and at a medial historic period of 34 . atheist are also more probable to be lily-white and well cultivate .
Politically , atheists angle towards the Democrats and political liberalism : They overwhelmingly underpin same - sexual urge marriage , legal miscarriage , and government activity aid to the poor .
Surprisingly , 8 % of atheists say they consider in God or a universal spirit : Clearly , “ atheism ” means different things to dissimilar the great unwashed — a definition that likely changes depending on a given context or ethnical ground .
Atheists dissent when it come up to their experiential sentience : As Lipka write : “ Three - in - ten ( 31 % ) say they finger a cryptical sense of spiritual peacefulness and well - being at least every week . A similar share ( 35 % ) often think about the signification and aim of life . And roughly half of all atheist ( 54 % ) ofttimes feel a cryptic sentience of marvel about the universe . ”
atheist share their convictions unevenly : Less than 10 % partake their view on God and religion weekly , while 65 % refrain altogether . That means about 35 % of atheists will , at one clock time or another , make their view roll in the hay publicly .
Atheists turn to different sources for questions of morality : Some 32 % look chiefly to skill , while 44 % mention “ pragmatic experience and common good sense . ” Only 1 % turning to religion for guidance on questions of right and wrong .
Some commonalities , for certain , but definite differences as well .
As already observe , much of this diversity may have something to do with the style people frame and define their atheism , and how they make it correspond within their existing notion and cultural norms . What ’s more , many atheist , like myself , are also agnostic , which complicates things even further . It ’ll be interesting to watch this demographic as it continues to acquire .
Muchmoreat Pew Research Center .
atheism
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