We've known for a long time that, according to polls, non-believers comprise one of the least-trusted groups in America. And even though the long-term trend seems promising, more recent statistics reveal that the present level of distrust is even worse than we thought:
In a June 2011 Pew Research poll, 33 percent of respondents said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who was gay. For atheist candidates, that number jumped to 61 percent. A Gallup Poll the same month found that only 49 percent of voters would back a “well qualified” presidential candidate who was an atheist. The next lowest vote percentage went to a gay candidate, for whom 67 percent would consider voting.It gets worse. Much worse:
It’s no wonder that atheists poll so badly; according to the same survey, religious folks believe the godless are about as trustworthy as rapists. “While atheists may see their disbelief as a private matter on a metaphysical issue,” explained University of British Columbia psychologist Ara Norenzayan, one of the researchers, “believers may consider atheists’ absence of belief as a public threat to cooperation and honesty.” A study published in the April 2006 American Sociological Review found that 48 percent of Americans would disapprove if their children married an atheist, the highest disapproval rating of any named group.It remains a cause of curiosity for me that so many believers find any view opposing their own offensive, an affront, and a challenge to the fundamental simplicity of their own views. The perennial and annoying refrain "I'm offended" is most nauseating when applied to criticism of religion (which is of course, as Marx reminds us, where all philosophy begins). What makes statistics like these so jarringly egregious is that they appear to justify confirm the widely-held view of America as a backward nation of astounding religiosity with an almost institutionalized national fear of science and scientific inquiry. From the outside, one could be forgiven for thinking that the only thing an ordinary American loves more than his God is the handgun he keeps in his car.
Naturally, this kind of view would indicate a great deal of ignorance, but the point remains the same. Hostility to secularism has never seemed quite so American.
And yet the 'nones', as Time has called them (referring to the 'religious affiliation' question in the United States census), account for a rapidly-growing number of people in the US. In fact, the unbelievers make up the fastest growing religious group in America today. As many as sixteen per cent do not affiliate with any religious group, and the number can get as high as twenty-five per cent when only the very young (18-25) are counted. If the trend should continue on its current trajectory, as Reason points out, then there will be little allowance for prejudice — and that is, essentially, what we're talking about here — against the godless. With regard to the prejudiced, "Nonbelievers are their children, their relatives, friends, neighbors, and co-workers." Try to put aside the sickly tone of victimhood here and consider what this actually means. I don't know about you, but something tells me it's an advantage.
(Image: March 24 Rally for Reason in Washington, D.C. "The protesters styled their National Mall event as a 'coming out' party for atheists. One participant even carried a sign ripped off from the heyday of gay rights demonstrations: "Hi Mom. I’m an Atheist!"" Source here.)