We've often heard of the Evangelical segment of the electorate. Or the Mormon segment. Or the Jewish segment. But little is being told of the second-largest segment in America, and arguably the fastest-growing: atheists, or more broadly, non-believers. And they're rising worldwide. And surprisingly or not, being an open atheist may
no longer be a
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I would argue that atheism's growing representation on surveys like this both is, and is not, indicative of the growth of non-belief. I'll say that, yes, atheism is on the rise, but I think much of that growth can be attributed to folks who already did not believe, but who attend church anyway for reasons of tradition, social expectation, family obligation, etc. In the past, such folks merely disbelieved in silence. Now, there are (in some places) fewer social consequences to "coming out" of the atheist closet. I think we're also seeing that reflected in these surveys. So the number is increasing, but not as much as it seems. What instead is being revealed is that there always have been far more atheists than anyone was willing to admit.
(Side point, perhaps only tangentially related. Fred Clark, an evangelical Christian blogger - but of the "progressive" variety - often touches on some of the issues where a changing society is reacted to by religious leaders. Although his blog approaches these questions from the point of view of a believer, his political alignment with the left side of the aisle allows him to look at some of the phenomenon of modern organized belief not as an outsider looking to demolish, but as a fringe insider looking to reform. It allows even an atheist like myself to get a good appreciation for some of the sociology and anthropology going on that has shaped our modern belief structures - or that at least maybe explain some of how believers act. For anyone interested in some well written, thoughtful analysis of the intersection of religion and culture, his blog is well worth the subscription. (His years-long page-by-page dissection of the "Left Behind" series of books is also not to be missed.) The blog can be found at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/
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