In Atheists We Distrust: Scientific American - AASFSHNR

"Atheists are one of the most disliked groups in America. Only 45 percent of Americans say they would vote for a qualified atheist presidential candidate, and atheists are rated as the least desirable group for a potential son-in-law or daughter-in-law to belong to. Will Gervais at the University of British Columbia recently published a set of studies looking at why atheists are so disliked. His conclusion: It comes down to trust." - Eivind from Bookmarklet

"It wasn’t just the highly religious participants who expressed a distrust of atheists. People identifying themselves as having no religious affiliation held similar opinions. Gervais and his colleagues discovered that people distrust atheists because of the belief that people behave better when they think that God is watching over them. This belief may have some truth to it. Gervais and his colleague Ara Norenzayan have found that reminding people about God’s presence has the same effect as telling people they are being watched by others: it increases their feelings of self-consciousness and leads them to behave in more socially acceptable ways." - Eivind

"Gervais and Norenzayan’s findings may shed light on an interesting puzzle: why acceptance towards atheism has grown rapidly in some countries but not others. In many Scandinavian countries, including Norway and Sweden, the number of people who report believing in God has reached an all-time low. This may have something to do with the way these countries have established governments that guarantee a high level of social security for all of their citizens. Aaron Kay and his colleagues ran a study in Canada which found that political insecurity may push us towards believing in God. They gave participants two versions of a fictitious news story: one describing Canada’s current political situation as stable, the other describing it as potentially unstable. After reading one of the two articles, people’s beliefs in God were measured. People who read the article describing the government as potentially unstable were more likely to agree that God, or some other type of nonhuman entity, is in control of the universe. A common belief in the divine may help people feel more secure. Yet when security is achieved by more secular means, it may remove some of the draw of faith." - Eivind

Do you think this fear of 'coming out' as an atheist is so prevalent as that Q&A makes it seem, Heather? Is the discrimination real? - Eivind

I particularly like this quote from the Washington Post article: - Friar Will

As the religious scholars all noted, what binds those of faith is exactly that: faith. One has to have faith in their beliefs in Christianity and in God. Since religion is about faith, shouldn't those of faith understand that those without faith, people who demand evidence and hard facts, are not going to accept something on faith. Why can't the faithful embrace their faith and not be so concerned about those who demand more than faith? I believe if people would just accept each other for who they are regardless, this would be a much nicer world. - Friar Will

Absolutely. I have avoided telling my parents I'm an atheist, including when my mom found out about the AASFSHNR Kiva group and I promptly told her the name covered all sorts of people, not just atheists. Offline, I can't remember telling more then a handful of people that I'm an atheist. Chris is the only person I actively talk to about it. - Heather Rantypants

I have no fear about being openly atheist, though that's probably thanks to the tolerance levels of the people I associate with. I already have dealt with being black in America and female all my life. I am cautious not to bring up my atheism any more than is necessary. I don't feel like I need to rub it in. My Dad and my youngest sister have become devout Christians recently (more than they were when I was younger) and we're mutually respectful of each other's views. - Kamilah Reed (K. Gill)