Twelve Facts About Atheists

When I grew up in the Evangelical church, atheists were spoken of as if they were the very foot soldiers of Satan himself. Now that I think about it, the church attributed quite a lot to Satan back then.

These days, I’ve decided that anyone who arrives at a set of beliefs or lack of belief through critical thinking, robust conversation, exhaustive study, and deep contemplation is not a foot soldier of Satan but a seeker of truth, even if the truth they happen to arrive at is different to mine.

I believe in God.

Others do not.

And, although we may differ in that regard, I want to understand where they are coming from. So, here are some interesting facts that I found from researching atheists:

1. Non-belief is up by 100%

It’s probably a shock to nobody to hear that atheism is gaining ground in the USA. According to the most recent survey data that I can find, approximately 4% of American adults identify as atheists when questioned about their religious affiliation. That marks a significant rise from the 2% documented in 2009. Furthermore, roughly 5% of Americans now identify as agnostics, up from 3% a decade ago. Interestingly, one in five U.S. adults (20%) now characterize their religious affiliation as “nothing in particular,” marking an uptick from the 14% who claimed this status ten years prior.

2. The most atheistic country on earth is…

According to an article published in the Washington Post that reported on a survey of 65 countries conducted by Gallup International, the world’s least religious nation by far is China. After that, around three in every four people in Sweden and the Czech Republic reported that they were either atheists or not religious.

Source: The Washington Post

It’s worth noting that the label ‘non-religious’ is not the same thing as atheism. ‘Non-religious’ can include agnostics and even nominal and non-practicing believers. Suffice to say, on the whole, Europe is much less religious than America.

3. Most atheists are men

If you lined up ten atheists in a row, most of them would be men. In fact, according to this Religious Landscape Study, about seven out of every ten atheists in the U.S.A. are men. And interestingly, they were also more likely to be white compared to the general public. About 78% were white, while only 66% of the general public fell into that category.

4. Atheists are younger on average

On the whole, the age demographic of atheists is over a decade younger than the general population. Based on the findings of this research, the typical age of atheists is reported to be 34, while the median age for all adults in the United States is 46.

5. Atheists are more educated

If you’ve ever tried to argue with an atheist, perhaps you will have noticed that many of them seem intelligent and educated. That’s because they are. It turns out that many atheists are highly educated. In fact, a whopping 43% of them have a college degree, compared to just 27% of the general public.

6. Atheists are more politically liberal

In what will probably come as a surprise to no one — especially the God-fearing Republicans — atheists often lean towards the Democratic Party and political liberalism. Maybe it’s because they find common ground with the Democratic platform on issues like secularism and separation of church and state.

7. Atheists have a strong grasp of religious concepts

If you think that atheists are atheists just because they are ignorant of religion and religious teaching, think again. Atheists may not buy into religion or its teachings but don’t underestimate their understanding of how it all ticks. Take the Pew Research Center’s 2019 religious knowledge survey, for example. Atheists were right up there among the top scorers, nailing about 18 out of 32 fact-based questions about religion. That’s compared to the average U.S. adult, who got around 14 questions right. And, in what may come as a surprise to Christians, atheists were just as clued in about Christianity as Christians themselves, scoring around the same on average.

8. One in five atheists believe in a transcendent spiritual force

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines an “atheist” as “a person who does not believe in the existence of a god or any gods,” so you might be surprised to learn that around 18% of atheists say that they do believe in a higher power, according to Pew Research. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, none of those in the 18% category believe in the God depicted in the Bible. As for the other 82%, they’re standing firm in their disbelief — they don’t buy into the idea of God, higher powers, or any form of spiritual energy.

9. Atheists experience awe and wonder

You might think religious people should have a monopoly on feeling a sense of wonder about the universe, given that they believe in an intelligent creator. Yet, according to the findings of the Religious Landscape Study, atheists tend to express a greater propensity for experiencing a sense of wonder about the universe compared to their U.S. Christian counterparts. In fact, 54% of atheists admit to frequently feeling this sense of awe, while only 45% of Christians report the same.

What is more, many atheists still consider themselves to be spiritual people who spend time pondering their existential questions of meaning and purpose. In fact, about a third of American atheists say they think about the purpose of life at least weekly (35%). Furthermore, despite what you may think, many atheists report that they often feel a deep sense of spiritual peace and well-being (31%).

10. Atheists more likely to enjoy the present

Without God and religion shaping their lives, where do non-believers find purpose? According to this survey, atheists, much like the majority of Americans, cited “family” as a significant source of meaning. However, atheists differed from Christians in their inclination to derive meaning from hobbies, with 26% of atheists finding them meaningful compared to just 10% of Christians. Additionally, atheists showed a greater propensity than the general American population to find significance in creative pursuits, travel, and leisure activities. This suggests that atheists may prioritize enjoying the present moment, while individuals of faith may place greater emphasis on considerations of a posthumous future.

11. Most atheists believe that religion is a problem

In what will come as little surprise, many atheists hold a rather dim view of religion’s role in society. According to a survey conducted in 2019, a significant majority of U.S. atheists, about seven in ten, believed that the impact of religion in the country is on the decline, and they viewed this trend positively (71%). Most (70%) also felt that churches and other religious organizations were causing more harm than good. Additionally, an overwhelming 93% expressed concerns about the undue influence of religious institutions in U.S. politics.

They probably aren’t wrong about that last point.

12. Americans feel less warm towards atheists than other groups

According to a 2019 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, Americans don’t seem to hold atheists in as high regard as they do other groups. In this survey, participants were asked to rate various groups on a scale ranging from 0 to 100, where 0 represented a very negative sentiment, and 100 represented a very positive one. Interestingly, atheists received a rating of just 49, which was the same as Muslims. Americans felt much warmer towards Jews (63) and Catholics (60) compared to atheists. Even more surprising was that evangelical Christians received a slightly higher average rating of 56. This suggests that atheists might not receive as much appreciation as they deserve.

Bonus Facts

I’ll finish this article with some bonus facts: Most atheists that I know are very reasonable people who have arrived at their position through painstaking research and a good deal of agonizing. Most have not dismissed religion out of hand but have mulled it over, weighed it up, and considered it on its merits.

They have not found satisfactory evidence to convince them that there is a God, but not through a lack of genuine seeking. Many have thought longer and harder about religion than a lot of the religious people I know. Therefore, although I have arrived at altogether different conclusions about the existence of God, I still respect them.

And so should you.

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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.

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