Are the nones athiests?

The Pew Research Center survey of last summer has focused some attention on the beliefs of the nones and whether, indeed, they are of no faith or consider themselves to be “atheists.”  It was a prior Pew study that indicated the surge in the number of those who were self-declared “nones” -- those who do not identify with any particular religion.  In fine-tuning some of that data with a new survey, it appears  that not as many of those nones would also fall into the category of “atheist.”

In the study, only 4% of US adults call themselves “atheist.”   While this is more than the study 16 years ago, it is still very small.  Men are slightly more likely to call themselves atheist than women and the younger (those under 49) also more likely to define themselves as "atheist."  Of these, some three out of four self-identified atheists said they had no belief in God or a higher power -- the traditional definition of an atheist.  But among the other quarter of respondents, there was some belief in a higher power.  Regardless, the vast majority of US atheists (98%) agreed that religion is “not too” or “not at all” important to their daily lives.  Curiously, nearly 80% of US atheists admitted a “deep sense of wonder about the universe” that causes them to wonder.  Of these, however, only 36% reported that this led them to ha greater sense of peace.

Within the 4%, there was nearly universal agreement that “religion causes division and intolerance” and encourages “superstition and illogical thinking.”  Nearly three-quarters thought religion did more harm than good to society but 40% or so thought religion helped society give life meaning and value, particularly in the encouragement to treat others better.  What is also significant is that many atheists were well-informed about religion and answered better than most people in questions about religion. They knew constitutional limits to religion and they also knew what Easter was about.  There are fewer atheists in America than in Europe and this accords well with the general more religious character of American society.

4% is not a huge number but it is not insignificant.  Lutherans number somewhere between 12-15 in America (though less if you count the numbers of members Lutheran congregations report).  So there are about the same number of atheists in America as their are Lutherans.  That should be a wake up call.  If you listed only confessional Lutherans, the atheists would outnumber us perhaps 3 to 1.  This means you would more likely encounter an American who did not believe in God than you would one who confesses the faith embodied in the Lutheran Confessions.  Ouch!  Happy Doubting Thomas Day!