So, How Many Atheists Are There In America?

Many mourn the supposed rise in American religiosity over the last two decades, largely because of the negative impact it has on social and academic freedoms. Personally, I have always questioned whether this is more perceived than real. Data from my own experiences (anecdotal, to be sure) suggests quite the opposite. Religious fervor seems be largely concentrated among the older age classes in American society; not only does there seem to be an increasing number of agnostics and atheists among young people, more and more people I know are abandoning organized religion, largely because it demands much (financially and behaviorally, as well as requiring a degree of intellectual suicide) without offering much in the way of spiritual satisfaction (or at least not offering spiritual satisfaction that you can't get on your own). Even among those I know who remain active in "THE CHURCH", their allegience to the pulpit is lukewarm at best. After explaining why I left the church to many friends, I heard a number of arguments as to why I should just stay, none of which bordered on the theological. When I left and explained my concerns, I was surprised at the arguments most gave in response: "Oh, we don't listen to all the behavioral rules, we just go for the Mass"; or "Oh come on, we only go to do something as a family on Sunday", or "Hey, we just go to be social". Now, while I'm not a big fan of organized religion, I do think there is more than just a hint of hypocrisy if you stay within an organization but have no intention of following the rules. Say what you will, but some of us left religion precisely because we understood what was expected and could not in good conscience follow it.

So, it comes as no surprise to me that, contrary to what you might hear on FOX, new data suggests a significant rise over the last decade in agnosticism, atheism and those who remain spritual but with "no religious affiliation". Polling data from 2001 showed that the fastest rising religion in the U.S. is actually Paganism, but there had also been almost a doubling of those who consider themselves unaffiliated since 1990. "Christian" religions also registered a declilne during that time. More recently, the Secular Coalition for America notes that polling data in 2003 indicate that slightly more than 20% of Americans don't believe in God or have doubts about the existence of an omnipotent being. While there is some variation to these numbers, the poll author felt that these numbers were more accurate because the polling methods (online) lessened the stigma of "social undesirability" and allowed people to more freely admit their convictions. Most telephone polls footnote the percentage of atheist/agnostic in this regard as suspected of being lower than most people let on. It is likely that many feel uncomfortable admitting atheism in a personal interview. And today, the Institute for Humanist Studies reports a new survey indicating increasing loss of religious affiliation with each new generation. While America remains the most religious country, those who associate themselves with a specific religion are dropping dramatically with each new generation. Twenty percent of "Generation Next" (18-25 year olds), fall within the atheist/agnostic/no religious affiliation category, nearly double since the 1980s. Among the other findings:

One-in-five members of "Generation Next" say they have no religious affiliation or are atheist or agnostic, nearly double the proportion of young people who said that in the late 1980s.

Nexters are among the least likely to attend church regularly: 32 percent attend at least once a week compared with 40 percent of those over age 25.

Nearly two-thirds of Nexters (63 percent) believe humans and other living things evolved over time. By contrast, Americans over the age of 40 favor Creationist accounts over evolutionary theory.

Nexters are the most tolerant of any generation on social issues such as immigration, race and homosexuality.

Nexters are among the most likely to say the will of the American people, not the Bible, should be a more important influence on U.S. laws.

And just 4 percent of Gen Nexters say people in their generation view becoming more spiritual as their most important goal in life.

I particularly like the third one; that also mirrors my experience in Anthropology courses - as much as I hear some teachers complain about the numbers of creationists in class, my experience is that there are actually very few. Most students either are already convinced of the data for evolution or seriously want to learn more about it because they weren't exposed to it in High School.