Atheists viewed in American life--a scholarly study

[Thats my opinion]

One of the most articulate, albeit occasionally my r/t antagonist, suggested I take a look at a detailed scholarly study developed in 2006 and published in the “American Sociological Review.” It was titled “Atheists as ‘Other’ : Moral Boundaries and
Cultural Membership in American Society.”

The conclusion of this well-done study was that of all the minority groups in the United States, atheists were being more slowly accepted as having life-styles consistent with the American ethos than other groups—homosexuals, Jews, Muslims, Hispanics, Asian American and recent immigrants. While there was no evidence that this produced even the mildest persecution of atheists, many Americans had a more difficult time seeing them as “us.” Things are increasingly better for all the above named groups, and while atheists are gaining in acceptance, it has been somewhat slower than among other minorities.

A 2002 study, while indicating that 14% of all Americans stated “no religious preference,” the percentage of avowed atheists was between 3 and 1, so the group is relatively small.

The two categories of most interest were questions having to do with accepting (I gather for one’s children) intermarriage with atheists, and one’s willingness to vote for an atheist running for high public office. Only 54% of those surveyed agreed that they would vote for an atheist running for President, while 90% said they would vote for a Black, female or Jew. The intermarriage question revealed a sturdy racial bias even while atheists ranked high on the unacceptable list. Thirty nine percent of those surveyed responded affirmatively to the question: “This group (atheists) does not agree with my vision of American Society.” Muslims polled the next highest with 26 percent. Since these are 2003 statistics, my guess is that Muslims are more suspect in 2011.

While the study revealed no overt persecution, my own opinion is that there is no place for even this modest suspicion of atheists as not being part of mainstream America. Prejudice in all its ugly ramifications is abhorrent. I was surprised by the findings since in my rather wide circles I do not find even the slightest sense of atheists being “other.” But maybe my circles are not that wide after all, and I am willing to learn. So I thank the r/t colleague who put me on this data.