Atheism Looking In: On the Goals and Strategies of Organized Nonbelief

Langston, Joseph; Hammer, Joseph H.; Cragun, Ryan T.

doi:10.17582/journal.src/2015/2.3.70.85

Cited by 22 publications

(27 citation statements)

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“…Guenther 2014;Guenther, Mulligan, and Papp 2013;Hunsberger 2006;Pasquale 2010; though see Lee 2015), our sample extends beyond this small proportion of nonreligious people (cf. Cragun 2014;Langston, Hammer, and Cragun 2015). In so doing, as Table 1 reveals, we have gathered a more diverse sample than the typically white, middle, and upper class, heterosexual populations found within atheist and secular movement groups (see Baker and Smith 2015; Cimino and Smith 2014; Smith 2013a) that may allow for more elaboration of generic or common strategies (see Schwalbe et al 2000) of identity formation common to differently situated nonreligious people (see also LeDrew 2013LeDrew , 2015.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“I Think Some People Need Religion”: The Social Construction of Nonreligious Moral Identities

Sumerau

Cragun

2016

Sociology of Religion

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In this article, we examine moral identity construction among nonreligious people. Based on 30 indepth interviews with nonreligious Americans unaffiliated with secular movement organizations, we analyze some ways nonreligious people may utilize their experiences with religion in society to define nonreligion as a sign of value, worth, and character. Specifically, we demonstrate how our respondents drew upon their childhood and current experience with religious others to construct nonreligous moral identities by (1) defining religion as concerned with conformity and obedience rather than morality, (2) highlighting prejudicial assumptions religious people promote about nonreligious people, and (3) characterizing interactions with religious people as a mechanism that led them to seek meaning in their lives from other sources. In conclusion, we draw out implications for understanding (1) the social construction of nonreligious moral identities and (2) some ways current religious norms may serve as a pathway to nonreligion.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“I Think Some People Need Religion”: The Social Construction of Nonreligious Moral Identities

Sumerau

Cragun

2016

Sociology of Religion

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“…Secular social movement organizations are relatively small compared to the populations they represent and, in most countries, are at substantial funding deficits relative to religious advocacy and lobbying organizations (Cragun and Manning ). While there has, historically, been tension among the various secular movement organizations over what to call themselves (e.g., Atheists vs. Humanists) (see Blankholm ; Kettell ), over whether the goal is to eradicate religion or replace it (Langston, Hammer, and Cragun ), over who the movement represents (Cimino and Smith ), and over who gets to speak for the movement (LeDrew ), in the first two decades of the 21st century, at least in the United States and the United Kingdom, there has been something of a detente between the various social movement organizations (Fazzino and Cragun ), with a coalition of secular organizations forming both domestically and internationally. Internationally, the most well‐known umbrella organization for religion's other is the International Humanist and Ethical Union, which issues annual reports on the rights and treatment of nonbelievers around the world and also advocates on behalf of nonreligious individuals and nonbelievers with the United Nations.…”

Section: Secular Movement and Organizing Nonreligionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping Religion's Other: A Review of the Study of Nonreligion and Secularity

Smith

Cragun

2019

Scientific Study of Religion

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In this article, we review the research literature on nonreligion, secularity, the nones, and other forms of "religion's other." As a relatively new area of sustained and still growing research activity, with its attendant theoretical and methodological implications continuing to take shape, our focus is on the social science research from the mid-2000s to the present. We consider the challenges of definition and perspective in this line of inquiry, highlight key arguments, and summarize the main findings from empirical studies of nonreligion and its relationship to topics including identity, health, family, and prejudice. After discussing the organizational and social movement aspects of nonreligious communities, as well as related developments in how scholars are studying these communities, we conclude our assessment of the state of this field by proffering questions relevant to both current efforts and whatever future directions are in store for research on religion's other.

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“…Frost and Edgell (2018) find that self-identified atheists are about twice as likely as those with a religious identity to participate in a secular hobby or interest group. Selfidentified atheists are also more likely than those with vague secular self-identities (e.g., "agnostic," or "spiritual, but not religious") to join one or more secular support or hobby groups (Langston, Hammer, & Cragun, 2015). Despite the stereotype that nonreligious people are antisocial (e.g., Bainbridge, 2005), emerging research on the secular organization "Sunday Assembly" actually indicates that attendees derive a majority of well-being benefits from their unstructured socializing with other attendees (Price & Launay, 2018).…”

Section: Atheism Social Capital and Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atheism, Social Networks and Health: A Review and Theoretical Model

McCaffree

2019

Secularism and Nonreligion

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Introduction From an evolutionary standpoint, social networks have been critical in the biological and cultural development of human beings (Pinker, 2010; Hrdy, 2011; Price & Johnson, 2011). Cooperative hunting and food sharing, alloparenting of kin and nonkin, reliance on others during times of sickness or during periods of pregnancy and potential tribal warfare are all staples of the sort of foraging existence within which the human mind evolved (Tooby & Cosmides, 2015). The ultimate punishment meted out by foraging groups is social abandonment, which is certain to result in death (Boehm, 2012), and today in modern societies, socially isolated people experience greater subjective pain and higher rates of mortality (Eisenberger & Lieberman, 2004; Lieberman, 2013; Holt-Lunstad, Smith, Baker, Harris & Stephenson, 2015). Fundamentally, then, humans are a social species, relying on social capital, or the support emanating from social networks, to survive. Secondarily, from a cultural standpoint, the material security hypothesis suggests that in societies that are unstable or impoverished, people will tend to seek out dense, homogeneous social networks that help to meet needs for food, shelter and protection (Hruschka et al., 2014). Regarding religiosity, this indicates that material insecurity will tend to motivate people to embed themselves into dense, homogeneous religious communities in order to seek safety and material support (Norris & Inglehart, 2011; Barber, 2011). On the other hand, the expansion of impartial and well-funded social welfare institutions will reduce material insecurity and, thus, commitment

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Atheism Looking In: On the Goals and Strategies of Organized Nonbelief

Cited by 22 publications

References 0 publications

“I Think Some People Need Religion”: The Social Construction of Nonreligious Moral Identities

“I Think Some People Need Religion”: The Social Construction of Nonreligious Moral Identities

Mapping Religion's Other: A Review of the Study of Nonreligion and Secularity

Atheism, Social Networks and Health: A Review and Theoretical Model

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