Largest Survey on Nonreligious Americans Reveals Widespread Discrimination and Stigma, Including in California

Los Angeles, CA—May 5, 2020—Today, the civil rights organization American Atheists released Reality Check: Being Nonreligious in America, a comprehensive report drawn from the groundbreaking U.S. Secular Survey. Organized by a team of researchers and counting nearly 34,000 nonreligious participants, including 3,137 Californians, the U.S. Secular Survey is the largest ever data collection project on secular Americans and their experiences.

“At 75 million people, religiously unaffiliated Americans are as large a demographic as either Evangelical Christians or Catholics, and explicitly nonreligious people comprise a growing share of the population, yet before the U.S. Secular Survey there had been a lack of focused research on our community,” said Alison Gill, Vice President for Legal and Policy at American Atheists, who helped lead the project. “What we found shocked us. Discrimination and stigma against nonreligious Americans is widespread and extremely harmful, even in California, and it was the most intense in very religious communities,” added Gill.

In California, more than 1 in 10 participants (11.5%) said their community was very religious, making the state more religious than 12 other U.S. states. Similarly, California ranks worse than 8 other states for stigma against nonreligious people. “California is often viewed as the most progressive state in the country. However, even here we found significant stigma and discrimination against nonreligious people,” added Gill.

“My sister and I have always been very close, but when I told her I was an atheist, she stopped talking to me for seven months. I was so distraught I had to seek therapy,” said Arlene Rios, a Navy veteran.

Due to their nonreligious identity, more than half of participants nationwide (54.5%) had negative experiences with family members, nearly one third (29.4%) in education, and more than one in five (21.7%) in the workplace. Of those who experienced negative events within their families, there was a 73.3% higher rate of likely depression.

"Many African American atheists and humanists encounter stigma, shaming, and invisibility in traditionally religious communities of color, as well as in white religious communities. Institutional racism, sexism and homophobia make these disparities even more challenging for African American nonbelievers because they do not have access to the same socioeconomic, educational, and political support systems as white folks across the belief spectrum,” said Sikivu Hutchinson, educator, author, playwright, and the founder of Black Skeptics Los Angeles.

“To redress these gaps, Black Skeptics Los Angeles provides educational and cultural resources (including scholarships, leadership development programming and rapid response relief for families impacted by COVID-19) for Black humanists, skeptics, atheists, and freethinkers in the greater L.A. area and nationwide."

The Reality Check report found that involvement with organized secular community groups is an important protective factor that correlated with reduced likelihood of loneliness and depression. Members of national secular organizations were 34.8% less likely than non-members to have depression, while members of local secular groups were 29.3% less likely.

“There is a big secular Latino population in the Los Angeles area, and I want for all of us to find each other and connect,” said Rios, founder of Atheists United Secular Latinos of the San Gabriel Valley. “Our group is a safe space where our underrepresented community can gather and openly discuss secularism without being judged.”

“The Reality Check report helps us understand the value and impact of our atheist communities and proves they’re as valuable as any church, synagogue, or mosque to the fabric of American society,” said Evan Clark, Executive Director of Atheists United Los Angeles, the largest atheist membership organization in California. “As atheists, we understand that the best way to enjoy our one and only life is to help others.”

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If you have questions about Reality Check: Being Nonreligious in America or the U.S. Secular Survey, our team is happy to connect you to our experts, researchers, and nonreligious people across the country who have compelling, unique stories to tell.

If you’re a member of the media and would like to get in touch with us, please reach out to Tom Van Denburgh, American Atheists’ Communications Director, by emailing tvandenburgh@atheists.org or by calling (862) 221-6547.

About Us

The U.S. Secular Survey and Reality Check: Being Nonreligious in America are projects of American Atheists, a national civil rights group that represents the interests of atheists and nonreligious people in the United States. The survey and report were produced in collaboration with Strength in Numbers Consulting Group, a progressive research, evaluation, and strategy firm.