Non-religious Americans face “discrimination and stigma … that is widespread and extremely harmful,” according to Alison Gill, vice president for Legal and Policy at American Atheists. Gill based her statement on the findings outlined in “Reality Check: Being Nonreligious in America,” a comprehensive report drawn from the U.S. Secular Survey, the largest-ever data collection project on secular Americans and their experiences.

American Atheists released the report today (Tuesday, May 5).

“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,” Gill said.

“What we found shocked us,” she said of the survey results.

Findings included:

  • More than half of participants (54.5 percent) had negative experiences with family members, nearly one third (29.4 percent) in education, and more than one in five (21.7 percent) in the workplace.
  • Of those who experienced discrimination within their families, there was a 73.3 percent higher rate of likely depression.
  • LGBTQ participants were significantly more likely to have had “very” or “somewhat” unsupportive parents (43 percent) compared to non-LGBTQ participants (35.1 percent).
  • Participants with unsupportive parents had a 71.2 percent higher rate of likely depression than those with very supportive parents.
  • 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 percent less likely than non-members to be at risk for depression, while members of local secular groups were 29.3 percent less likely.

Nick Fish, president of American Atheists, said, “The struggles of nonreligious Americans, especially LGBTQ nonbelievers, are far too often overlooked. Thankfully, the U.S. Secular Survey has revealed the discrimination our diverse community regularly faces. With that well-established, we need to find solutions and work toward ending the stigma that leads to that discrimination.

“We know the power of being a part of a shared community and support structures,” he said. “Now it’s up to secular organizations to dedicate resources to strengthening these networks across the nation.”

— Tammye Nash