2015 State of Atheism in America

For reporting purposes at Barna, we often combine atheists and agnostics into one group, which we call skeptics. Skeptics either do not believe God exists (atheists) or are not sure God exists, but are open to the possibility (agnostics). Skeptics represent one-quarter of all unchurched adults (25%). Nearly one-third of skeptics have never attended a Christian church service in their lives (31%). That’s nearly double the proportion of “virgin unchurched” who are not skeptics (17%)...

Five Demographic Shifts among Skeptics They are younger. Skeptics today are, on average, younger than in the past. Twenty years ago, 18 percent of skeptics were under 30 years old. Today that proportion has nearly doubled to 34 percent—nearly one-quarter of the total U.S. population (23%, compared to 17% in 1991). By the same token, the proportion of skeptics who are 65 or older has been cut in half, down to just 7 percent of the segment.

They are more educated. Today’s skeptics tend to be better educated than in the past. Two decades ago, one-third of skeptics were college graduates, but today half of the group has a college degree.

More of them are women. Perhaps the biggest transition of all is the entry of millions of women into the skeptic ranks. In 1993 only 16 percent of atheists and agnostics were women. By 2013 that figure had nearly tripled to 43 percent. This enormous increase is not because the number of skeptic men has declined. In fact, men’s numbers have steadily increased over the last two decades—but not nearly as rapidly as among women.

They are more racially diverse. Religious skepticism has become more racially and ethnically inclusive. While whites represented 80 percent of all skeptics 20 years ago, that figure had dropped to 74 percent by 2013. This is largely a reflection of the increasing Hispanic and Asian adults among the skeptic cohort. Asian Americans, the least-Christian ethnic demographic in the United States, especially tend to embrace skepticism. While a growing number of skeptics are Hispanic, they still remain, along with Blacks, less likely than other ethnic groups to accept the idea of a world without God. White Americans, who constitute two-thirds of the country’s total population, are well above average in their embrace of atheism and agnosticism; they comprise three-quarters of the skeptic segment.

They are more dispersed regionally. In decades past, the Northeast and West were seen as isolated hotbeds of atheism and agnosticism. They still remain the areas where skeptics are more likely to live, but the skeptic population is now broadly dispersed across all regions.

In many ways, skeptics resemble the rest of America more than they once did. And their numbers are growing more quickly than anyone expected 20 years ago...

Understanding Today’s “Post-Christian” Trends While what’s happening among self-identified atheists and agnostics is an important measure of belief trends, which corresponds with the much-examined “rise of the ‘nones,’”it is also important to look at actual faith practices and attitudes. This is why, at Barna Group, we have developed a “post-Christian” metric that helps us look at multi-dimensional factors to describe the rich and variegated experience of spirituality and faith.

This metric is based on 15 different measures of identity, belief and behavior. To qualify as post-Christian, individuals meet 60 percent or more of the factors (nine or more out of 15 criteria). Highly post-Christian individuals meet 80 percent or more of the factors (12 or more of 15 criteria).

These factors include a variety of practices (prayer, donating to a church, volunteering at a church, reading the Bible, etc.) and beliefs (belief in God, prioritizing faith, beliefs about the Bible, commitment to Jesus, etc.). You can see all 15 factors in this infographic.

Based on Barna’s aggregate metric, nearly two-fifths of the nation’s adult population qualifies as post-Christian (38%). This includes one in 10 Americans who are highly post-Christian—lacking engagement in 80 percent or more of the measures of belief, practice and commitment. Another one-quarter is moderately post-Christian (28%), refraining from at least 60 percent of the factors.

See the rest at link .

Stats (a bit dated)

Atheists

Atheists and agnostics comprised 9% of adults nationwide (2007); 6% of souls over 61, 9% of those ages 42-60, 14% of those 23-41, and 19% of those 18-22. Indications from the past indicate that these beliefs stay fairly constant through life. http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdateNarrowPreview&BarnaUpdateID=272
In 2008, 70% of Americans believed in a personal God, roughly 12% of Americans are atheist (no God) or agnostic (unknowable or unsure), and another 12% are deistic (a higher power but no personal God). The American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) 2008. http://www.americanreligionsurvey-aris.org/reports/ARIS_Report_2008.pdf
Among 5 groups, American atheists and agnostics were the segment most likely to describe themselves as being politically liberal (32%) and were the group least likely to describe themselves as being conservative (4%) http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/66-american-faith-is-diverse-as-shown-among-five-faith-based-segments?tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page=
Protestants constitute 51% of the total US adult population, with Catholics being 24%, and Jewish, Mormon, Atheist and Agnostic all being 2%. Total Unaffiliated: 16%. Orthodox, “Jehovah's witnesses” (so-called) and Buddhist were at 1%, while “Other Christian, Hindus and Other World Religion were 0.5%. All figures rounded off. http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report-religious-landscape-study-full.pdf '
42% of American atheists and agnostics (who make up approx. 8% of the American adult population) claimed to be stressed out,and 14% said they were lonely. 68% were concerned about the moral condition of th country, versus 98% of evangelicals, and 4% describe themselves as being conservative, versus 64% of evangelicals, but 71% of the former said they have traditional or family-oriented values., with 96% of the latter group concurring. http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/80-peoples-faith-flavor-influences-how-they-see-themselves
Evangelicals averaged 6% participation in each of eight behaviors, (exposure to pornography, using profanity in public, gambling, gossiping, engaging in sexual intercourse with someone to whom they were not married, retaliating against someone, getting drunk, and lying.) http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/16-teensnext-gen/25-young-adults-and-liberals-struggle-with-morality Note : unlike other pollsters, Bara evangelicals, being a movement, are not identified by religious denomination or self-identification, but according to responses to basic criteria: See http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/13-culture/111-survey-explores-who-qualifies-as-an-evangelical?tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page= and http://www.peacebyjesus.com/RC-Stats_vs._Evang.html
Skeptics (atheist or agnostic) averaged five times the level (29%) of evangelicals. Common acts among skeptics included exposure to pornography (50%), gossip (34%) and drunkenness (33%) http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/16-teensnext-gen/25-young-adults-and-liberals-struggle-with-morality
While only representing 10% of the population, the segment of the prison population which self-identifies as non-religious is approximately twice as large as found in the general population.” http://www.adherents.com/misc/adh_prison.html
Among 5 groups, American atheists and agnostics were the segment most likely to describe themselves as being politically liberal (32%) and were the group least likely to describe themselves as being conservative (4%) http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/66-american-faith-is-diverse-as-shown-among-five-faith-based-segments?tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page=
70% of self-proclaimed atheists and agnostics affirmed abortion should be legal in all or most circumstances, while 60% approve of clergy performing gay marriages, and 90% approve of cohabitation. ^
More than three out of four of self-proclaimed atheists and agnostics embrace pornography as a moral behavior; and 66% deem drunkenness and using profanity to be morally acceptable acts. ^
75% of the above say that all moral truth is relative to the person and circumstances; only 10% believe in absolute moral truth. ^
Self-proclaimed American atheists and agnostics were the group that is least concerned (41%) about the moral condition of the nation. ^
30% of atheists and agnostics grew up regularly attending Christian churches. Just 10% believe that the Bible is totally accurate in all that it teaches; only 25% say their religious faith is very important in their life; and 15% reject belief in the existence of Satan; 13% do not believe in the reality of the Holy Spirit, and 20% reject that Jesus led a sinless life. ^
A major survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found that only 14% of atheists and 10% of agnostics believe that homosexuality is a way of life that should be discouraged by society, versus 51% of of Protestant churches (64% of Evangelical) and 30% of Catholics. http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report2religious-landscape-study-key-findings.pdf
Just 13% of atheists and 14% of agnostics believe abortion should be illegal in most cases, versus 49% of Protestant churches (61% of Evangelical) and 45% of Catholics. ^
Only 19% of atheists said their values are threatened by Hollywood, versus 53% of those in evangelical churches , 46% of Protestant churches and 43% of Catholics. ^
Atheists and agnostics religious skeptics were also much less likely to be driven to have a clear sense of purpose in life (55%, compared to 77% of all American adults) or to want just one marriage partner for life (58% versus an 80% U.S. average). They were also less interested in making a difference in the world (45%, versus 56% nationally) and in having close friendships, http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/18-congregations/29-survey-reveals-the-life-christians-desire (2008) and the least likely to look forward to spending time with friends http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/13-culture/145-americans-just-want-a-good-night-of-sleep?tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page=
56% atheists and agnostics believe that “radical Christianity” is just as threatening in America as is radical Islam. http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/12-faithspirituality/102-atheists-and-agnostics-take-aim-at-christians?tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page=
22% of those who self-identified as having No Religion in 2001 were living together with a partner outside marriage (fornication), versus 6% or less of those in Catholic or Protestant denominations. ARIS 2001, p. 27 http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris.pdf However, the 2008 Pew study shows the first category as 10%: http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report-religious-landscape-study-full.pdf
51% of atheists and 42% of adults who associate with a faith other than Christianity had co-habited. http://atheismexposed.tripod.com/atheists_divorce.htm
Based upon the percentage of single adults from the The American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) 2001, atheists are 58.7 percent more likely to get divorced than Pentecostals and Baptists, the two born-again Christian groups with the highest rate of divorce, and more than twice as likely to get divorced than Christians in general. Stated in “The Irrational Atheist," by Vox Day, (Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, Inc., 2008). http://www.scribd.com/doc/7682654/The-Irrational-Atheist-by-Vox-Day based upon (ARIS) 2001 http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris.pdf
The percent currently divorced or separated varies from a low of 6% (Jehovah’s Witnesses) to a high of 14% (Pentecostals), with Catholics and No Religion being 9%. ^
At 19%, the No Religion group showed the lowest incidence of marriage of all twenty-two groups. In sharp contrast, those identifying with the Assemblies of God or Evangelical/Born Again Christians showed the highest proportions married, 73% and 74% respectively. ^
In the U.S. population as a whole, 48 percent of adults are male, as are 47 percent Catholic adults. By comparison, males account or 56 percent of the no-religion group, 70 percent of Atheists, and 75 percent of Agnostics. ^ Also, the Pew Research Landscape study finds 70% of atheists and 64% of agnostics are male, and 30% and 34% respectively, are female. http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report-religious-landscape-study-full.pdf
While Pentecostals, Baptists, and Mainline Christians are 56%-58% female, those who profess no religion or self-identified as atheists or agnostics have a ratio of 60 males to 40 females. (ARIS) 2001 http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris.pdf
37 percent of all Americans, and 55 percent of atheists are are under age 35. Only 20 percent of the latter are 50 and over. http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris.pdf ^
As regards voter registration (2001), those with No Religion were 43% Independent, 30% Democrat, and 17% Republican. Those identifying as Evangelical/Born Again were 58% Republican, 20% Independent and 12% Democrat. ^
Self-proclaimed American atheists and agnostics were the group most likely to define themselves as “mostly liberal” on current issues in 2002. They were also least likely to donate any money to a religious center or non-profit organization. Among those who did donate funds to non-profits, atheists and agnostics gave away the least amount of money during the year. 5http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/66-american-faith-is-diverse-as-shown-among-five-faith-based-segments?tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page
78% of atheists and agnostics were registered to vote, versus 89% of active-faith Americans. 20% of the former volunteer to help a non-church-related non-profit, and 41% of said they personally helped or served a homeless or poor person versus 30% and 61%, respectively, of active-faith Americans. http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/12-faithspirituality/102-atheists-and-agnostics-take-aim-at-christians?tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page=
The typical no-faith American donated $200 in 2006, versus $1500 contributed by the prototypical active-faith adult. Even when church-based giving is subtracted from the equation, active-faith adults donated twice as many dollars last year as did atheists and agnostics, and only 7% of active-faith adults failed to contribute any personal funds in 2006, versus 22% among the no-faith adults. ^
12% of atheists and agnostics were focused on living a comfortable, balanced lifestyle, versus 4% of Christians in general. to be 10% of the former class were focused on acquiring wealth, versus 2% of the latter. ^
25% of atheists and agnostics said the phrase "deeply spiritual" accurately describes them, while 67% described themselves as being "at peace,” a state 90% of Christians affirmed. ^
About 40% of skeptics were registered as Democrats, 40% as independents and just 20% as Republicans. 76% of atheists and agnostics gave their vote to Sen. Obama, while only 23% backed Sen. McCain. That is a step up from the level of support Democrats have previously received from skeptics. In 2004, 64% of atheists and agnostics voted for Democratic challenger John Kerry. http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/13-culture/18-how-people-of-faith-voted-in-the-2008-presidential-race?tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page=
On average, weekly churchgoers donate 3.8% of their income to charity, compared to 0.8% for those who never go. Independent Sector (charitable clearing house): Atheists won’t save Europe by Don Feder; http://www.frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=27937
Religious citizens who make $49,000 gave away about 3.5 times as much money as secular citizens with the same income. They also volunteered twice as often, are 57 percent more likely to help homeless persons, and two-thirds more likely to give blood at their workplace. Arthur C. Brooks' Who Really Cares. http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2008/001/8.11.html
On questions about Christianity in 2010, which included various questions about the Bible, Mormons (7.9 out of 12 right on average) and white evangelical Protestants (7.3 correct on average) showed the highest levels of knowledge. Jews (7.9 out of 11) and atheists/agnostics (7.4) had the best grades on questions about other world religions, including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism. White mainline Protestants scored 5.8 and 4.9 respectively, and white Catholics scored 5.9 and 5.1. The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, “U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey,” Spet. 28. 2010

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