At least 9 million of them live in the United States, mostly trying to avoid the wrath of neighbors, colleagues and relatives.
But they do not pray for help, for they are America???s atheists ??? the
most hated people in the country.
In a new study by University of Minnesota sociologists, more than 2,000 people were asked which of their fellow citizens lacked the proper "vision of American society."
More than blacks or gays or immigrants or lesbians or even Muslims,
atheists are viewed as the least American, according to the survey. And those without a god are the last people most folks would want their children to marry.
"Atheists, who account for about 3% of the U.S. population, offer a glaring exception to the rule of increasing social tolerance over the last 30 years," says Penny Edgell, the study's lead researcher.
Most studies combine atheists and agnostics for a total of 12%, meaning some 36 million Americans ??? more than one in 10 ??? either don't believe in a god or couldn???t care less about the whole subject. A survey of 50,000 adults in 2001 showed that
14% of Americans "identify with no religion," nearly doubling from just 8% in 1990.
At this rate, by the year 2030 Christians and other religious people will be a minority and the last American god-worshippers will be buried by 2050 ... just 44 years from today!
But for the time being, atheists are weak in number and openly despised.
Atheists don't
demand anything, they don't preach or riot, they have no real organization and they are
completely unelectable. Nonetheless, Americans don't trust them.
???It seems most Americans believe that diversity is fine, as long as every one shares a
common ???core??? of values that make them trustworthy ??? and in America, that ???core??? has historically been religious,??? says Edgell.
Not surprisingly, people who haven???t had much of a life ??? the majority of Americans ??? were the most likely to fear atheists.
But those who live on the coasts, have a decent education and know a wide variety of people were the ones who didn???t stay up nights worrying about the godless.
America's atheists are considered so loathsome that no other news outlet could be bothered to
report the survey???s findings.
It's still "A-OK" to hate an atheist!
