Atheism, race and gender

The atheist and evolutionist PZ Myers giving a presentation to a group that is likely largely made up of white males. In June 2010, PZ Myers commented that atheist meetings tend to be significantly more attended by males.

Razib Khan points out in Discover Magazine, "most secular nations in the world are those of East Asia, in particular what are often termed “Confucian societies.” It is likely therefore that the majority of the world’s atheists are actually East Asian." See: Asian atheism and Atheism and Asian males

The current atheist population mostly resides in East Asia (particularly China) and in secular Europe/Australia among whites. Most atheists in the United States are white. See: Western atheism and race and Secular Europe

Surveys throughout the world and other data indicate that women are less inclined to be atheists. See: Atheism and women

Within the atheist population there is a significant amount of racism (see: Atheism and racism).

Atheism, race and the Western World

In 2015, BloombergView reported concerning the United States:

“

According to a much-discussed 2012 report from the Pew Research Center on Religion and Public Life, only 3 percent of U.S. atheists and agnostics are black, 6 percent are Hispanic, and 4 percent are Asian. Some 82 percent are white. (The relevant figures for the population at large at the time of the survey were 66 percent white, 11 percent black, 15 percent Hispanic, 5 percent Asian.) ...Craig Keener, in his huge review of claims of miracles in a wide variety of cultures, concludes that routine rejection of the possibility of the supernatural represents an impulse that is deeply Eurocentric.

”

See also: European desecularization in the 21st century

In the United States, blacks have the highest rate of religiosity. Among Hispanics, religion has traditionally played a significant role in daily activity.

At the same time, due to immigration, Europe is expected to become more desecularized in the 21st century (See also: Global atheism and Atheist population).

The atheist Sikivu Hutchinson declared “If mainstream freethought and humanism continue to reflect the narrow cultural interests of white elites who have disposable income to go to conferences then the secular movement is destined to remain marginal and insular.”

The atheist community has not had significant outreach to racial minorities within the Western World whereas Christians have done this (particularly among the poor). See also: Atheism and uncharitableness

Atheist Sikivu Hutchinson says that atheist organizations generally focus on church/state separation and creationism issues and not on the concerns the less affluent African-American population faces. Hutchinson also mentioned that church organizations significantly help poor African-Americans. See also: Atheism and uncharitablenss

In 2010, an atheists' conference was organized in the United States concerning the future direction of the atheist movement and 370 people attended. The conference, sponsored by the Council for Secular Humanism, drew members from all the major atheist organizationsin the United States. The New York Times described the attendees as "The largely white and male crowd — imagine a Star Trek convention, but older..."

Survey data and website tracking data of prominent atheists' websites indicate that in the Western World, atheism appears to be significantly less appealing to women. These findings suggest that the atheist movement in the Western world and the New Atheism movement are significantly more appealing to white males.

In 2011, Beliefnetnews reported concerning the race and gender of American atheists:

“

From the smallest local meetings to the largest conferences, the vast majority of speakers and attendees are almost always white men. Leading figures of the atheist movement — Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens and Daniel Dennett — are all white men. But making atheism more diverse is proving to be no easy task. Surveys suggest most atheists are white men. A recent survey of 4,000 members of the Freedom from Religion Foundation found that 95 percent were white, and men comprised a majority.

”

Cultural diversity of the atheist population

See also: Western atheism and race and Atheism and diversity and Atheism and culture

Since World War II a majority of the most prominent and vocal defenders of the evolutionary position which employs methodological naturalism have been atheists and agnostics (see also: Causes of evolutionary belief). Charles Darwin's book The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life has been translated into 35 languages.

In terms of its geographic distribution, Christianity is a much more a global religion than most, if not all, religions (See also: Global Christianity). The Bible has been translated into 518 languages and 2,798 languages have at least some portion of the Bible.

Collectively speaking, the Christian community has a much greater degree of linguistic and cultural diversity than the atheist community (see also: Atheist community and verbal–linguistic intelligence).

See also:

• Atheist population

• Social Darwinism

Token efforts to extend racial minorities leadership positions in atheist organizations

See also: Black atheism and Atheism and leadership and Atheist organizations

On October 9, 2014, the atheist Dr. Sikivu Hutchinson declared:

“

Despite frequent tokenistic calls for “diversity” within the “movement,” there are virtually no people of color in executive management positions in any of the major secular, atheist, or Humanist organizations —notable exceptions being Debbie Goddard of Center for Inquiry and Maggie Ardiente of American Humanist Association. People of color are constantly bombarded with claims of separatism, reverse discrimination, and “self-segregation” when they point to the absence of social justice, anti-racist community organizing, coalition-building, and visibility among secular organizations. After the Washington Post article, the vitriol and denialism among the “We are All Africans” white atheists was off the chain. This illustrates yet again that sticking a few of us on conference panels or secular boards is nothing but cheap appeasement.

”

Sikivu Hutchinson's criticism of RDF and Center for Inquiry merger

Sikivu Hutchinson speaking ath the Center for Inquiry.

See also: Center for Inquiry

Atheist Sikivu Hutchinson wrote:

“

The recent merger of the secular organization Center for Inquiry (CFI) and the Richard Dawkins Foundation (RDF) has been dubbed atheism's supergroup moment. Acknowledging the two organizations' outsized presence in the atheist world, Religion News Service acidly declared it a "royal wedding". The partnership, which gives Richard Dawkins a seat on the CFI board, smacks of a vindication of Dawkins' toxic, reactionary brand of damn-all-them-culturally-backward-Western-values-hating- Muslims New Atheism. As one of the most prominent global secular organizations, CFI's all-white board looks right at home with RDF's lily white board and staff.

”

The secular humanist document Human Manifesto II, which was written in 1973 by Paul Kurtz and Edwin H. Wilson, decried racism and it declared:

“

The beginnings of police states, even in democratic societies, widespread government espionage, and other abuses of power by military, political, and industrial elites, and the continuance of unyielding racism, all present a different and difficult social outlook. In various societies, the demands of women and minority groups for equal rights effectively challenge our generation.

”

RationalWiki/RationalMedia Foundation board of trustees and the lack of Black representation

See: RationalMedia Foundation board of trustees and the lack of Black representation

African-American atheists and loneliness

See also: Atheism and loneliness

National Public Radio interviewed the African-American atheist Jamila Bey and the host of the interview said:

“

...for a couple of centuries, African-American culture has been imbued with Christianity. The church figured prominently in both the abolitionist and civil rights movements. And today in many communities, the Christian church continues to be the nucleus of black life. So, what about the black nonbelievers? It's one isolating experience, according to Jamila Bey.

”

Atheist organizations: Focus on church-state/creationism issues - poor largely ignored

See also: White atheist outreach is not competitive to the black church and Atheism and uncharitableness and Atheism, social justice and hypocrisy

A beggar in Cambodia. In Cambodia, the vast majority of the population adheres to a nontheistic form of Buddhism called the Theravada school of Buddhism.

A comprehensive study by Harvard University professor Robert Putnam found that religious people are more charitable than their irreligious counterparts.

In the United States, per capita atheists and agnostics in America give significantly less to charity than theists even when church giving is not counted for theists.

In June 2014, Sikivu Hutchinson wrote in the Washington Post that atheist organizations generally focus on church/state separation and creationism issues and not the concerns the less affluent African-American population faces. Hutchinson also mentioned that church organizations do offer significant help to poor African-Americans. Much of the focus on church/state separation and creationism issues relative to atheist organizations involves initiating and litigating lawsuits (see: Atheist lawsuits).

Also, according to a video posted at Freethought Blogs storefront churches provide assistance to local residents including women, and this partly explains the dearth of Hispanic and African-American women atheists in America (Atheists give less to charity than Christians).

In 2014, the atheist Chris Hall wrote in an article which was published by Salon magazine and Alternet:

“

Direct challenges to racism and sexism haven’t traditionally been the domain of the large organizations like American Atheists or the Secular Coalition for America. It’s been far more typical to fight incursions against separation of church and state or educate against pseudoscience like homeopathy.

”

For more information, please see: White atheist outreach is not competitive to the black church

Expected racial demographic changes in the Western World

See also: Growth of evangelical Protestantism in Europe and British atheism

In the United Kingdom, by the year 2050, 30 percent of the population is expected to be non-white. In the United States, the Hispanic population is expected to triple by the year 2050 and become 30% of the United States population. Yale Daily News reported in an article entitled White Europeans: An endangered species? that "Without a major shift in the current fertility trends, industrialized Europe will see its native population decline by about three-fourths over the 21st century."

European drop in world's population percentage and rise of religious African population

See: Global atheism and British atheism

In 2014, the Pew Research Forum indicated that Europe will go from 11% of the world's population to 7% of the world's population by 2050 and that Africa will go from 15% of the world's population to 25% of the world's population.

Lack of significant global outreach by atheists

See also: Global Christianity, Christian evangelism and Atheism and apathy

The Christian relief organization Feed My Starving Children has a distribution partner in Malawi, Africa. In recent years, Christianity has seen a rapid growth in Africa. In 2005, there were four times as many non-Western World Christians as there were Western World Christians. Western World atheists and East Asian atheists have not engaged in a significant amount of global outreach.

The former Soviet Union had a worldwide expansionist policy as far as spreading atheistic communism. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 led to a spike in religious affiliation, both in Russia and in Eastern Europe.

The current atheist population mostly resides in East Asia (particularly China) and in secular Europe/Australia primarily among whites. See: Global atheism and Asian atheism

The atheists in the Western World and East Asia have not had significant outreaches to spread atheism throughout the world. Historically, Christians have made great evangelism efforts to reach every people group across the earth. In 2005, there were four times as many non-Western World Christians as there were Western World Christians. Doing overseas evangelism/outreaches, often requires significant hardships/persecution and Western atheists and East Asian atheists have been unwilling to endure such hardships in order to spread atheistic ideology (see: Atheism and hedonism).

In the United States, atheists are in the minority (See: Atheist Population). And in the United States and Canada, the general population looks very unfavorably on atheists (see: Views on atheists). In the United States/Canada, atheists are generally white.

Evolutionary racism

See also: Atheism and evolutionary racism and Social effects of the theory of evolution

Since World War II a majority of the most prominent and vocal defenders of the evolutionary position which employs methodological naturalism have been atheists. The errant and ill-founded writings of atheist Charles Darwin (see: religious views of Charles Darwin) , which became very influential in the late 19th century, provided a pretext for racism.

Evolutionary racism refers to a racist philosophy based on Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory. It assumes that men have continually evolved, and thus some races are more evolved than others. It replaces Christian morality with the atheistic "survival of the fittest" ideology of Social Darwinism.

Charles Darwin wrote in his work The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex:

“

At some future period not very distant as measured by centuries, the civilised races of man will almost certainly exterminate and replace the savage races throughout the world. At the same time the anthropomorphous apes...will no doubt be exterminated. The break between man and his nearest Allies will then be wider, for it will intervene between man in a more civilised state, as we may hope, even than the Caucasian, and some ape as low as the baboon, instead of as now between the Negro or Australian and the gorilla.

”

Charles Darwin

The atheist Ernst Haeckel was a virulent evolutionary racist. The agnostic and staunch evolutionist Stephen Gould admitted the following:

“

Haeckel was the chief apostle of evolution in Germany.... His evolutionary racism; his call to the German people for racial purity and unflinching devotion to a "just" state; his belief that harsh, inexorable laws of evolution ruled human civilization and nature alike, conferring upon favored races the right to dominate others; the irrational mysticism that had always stood in strange communion with his brave words about objective science—all contributed to the rise of Nazism.—Stephen J. Gould, "Ontogeny and Phylogeny," Belknap Press: Cambridge MA, 1977, (pp.77-78).

”

When asked in an interview, "If we do not acknowledge some sort of external [standard], what is to prevent us from saying that the Muslim [extremists] aren’t right?", Richard Dawkins replied, "What’s to prevent us from saying Hitler wasn’t right? I mean, that is a genuinely difficult question, but whatever [defines morality], it’s not the Bible. If it was, we’d be stoning people for breaking the Sabbath."

The interviewer wrote in response, "I was stupefied. He had readily conceded that his own philosophical position did not offer a rational basis for moral judgments. His intellectual honesty was refreshing, if somewhat disturbing on this point."

Evolutionary racism still exist today. For example, evolutionary racism was recently directed at Michelle Obama. The historic taint of white evolutionary racism within the white atheist community no doubt has been a factor which has hindered the adoption of atheism in the Western World among racial minorities. Leading creation science organizations such as Creation Ministries International, Answers in Genesis and the Institute for Creation Research commonly point out the evolutionary racism that has existed within the evolutionary community.

Thomas Sowell wrote:

“

While slavery was common to all civilizations, as well as to peoples considered uncivilized, only one civilization developed a moral revulsion against it, very late in its history…not even the leading moralists in other civilizations rejected slavery at all…. Moreover, within Western civilization, the principle impetus for the abolition of slavery came first from very conservative religious activists – people who would today be called ‘the religious right.’…this story is not ‘politically correct’ in today’s terms. Hence it is ignored, as if it never happened.”

”

The Christian abolitionist William Wilberforce was the father of Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford who took part in the famous creation vs. evolution with evolutionist T. H. Huxley in 1860. In the United States, the black church has been a major force in advancing the cause of racial equality.

Evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa comments about black women and the black race

Dr. Satoshi Kanazawa is an evolutionary psychologist at the London School of Economics. Dr. Kanazawa publishes a blog on the Psychology Today website called The Scientific Fundamentalist.

In 2011, Dr. Kanazawa published the following inappropriate comment which was later pulled by the Psychology Today website:

“

It is very interesting to note that, even though black women are objectively less physically attractive than other women, black women (and men) subjectively consider themselves to be far more physically attractive than others.

”

Kanazawa has a "Savanna principle" hypothesis which speculates that societal problems are due to the human brain supposedly evolving in Africa hundreds of thousands of years ago in a very different environment from modern society.

Creativity Movement

See also: Creativity Movement

The Creativity Movement, formerly known as the World Church Of The Creator, is an atheistic white supremacist organization. The movement has denounced Christianity, as it purports to promote love for all of mankind. It denounces religion for bringing horror into the world by dividing the white race.

Nlack atheism quote

See also: Atheism quotes and Atheism and social justice

"As a black atheist, I encounter just as much racism amongst other atheists as anywhere else." - Ijeoma Oluo, The Guardian, October 24, 2015

Atheism and women

See also: Atheism and women

Studies indicate that women in the Western World tend to be more religious than men.

Surveys throughout the world and other data indicate that women are less inclined to be atheists.

In 2016, Atheist Alliance International (AAI) conducted an annually reoccurring atheist census project and found:

“

At the time of writing, the Atheist Census Project recorded that on average worldwide 73.2% of respondents were male. The result is consistent with other research... As such, the focus of many scholarly papers has been on seeking to explain this persistent observation."

”

Recent studies concerning atheism and women

See also: Atheism and diversity

Surveys by country

In November 2010, Discover Magazine published survey results published by the World Values Survey which showed significant differences between the percentage of men and women who are atheists for various countries with men outnumbering women in terms of adopting an atheist worldview.

United States surveys

In 2015, BloombergView reported concerning the United States: "According to a much-discussed 2012 report from the Pew Research Center on Religion and Public Life, ...women are 52 percent of the U.S. population but only 36 percent of atheists and agnostics.

A 2009 article in LiveScience.com entitled Women More Religious Than Men reported: "A new analysis of survey data finds women pray more often then men, are more likely to believe in God, and are more religious than men in a variety of other ways...The latest findings, released Friday, are no surprise, only confirming what other studies have found for decades. In 2007, the Pew Research Center found that American women were more religious than American men.

Other Atheist Alliance International analysis

Oxford University Press reports about a previous study done by AAI:

“

...atheism remains a male-dominated affair. Data collected by the Atheist Alliance International (2011) show that in Britain, women account for 21.6% of atheists (as opposed to 77.9% men). In the United States men make up 70% of Americans who identify as atheist. In Poland, 32% of atheists are female, and similarly in Australia it is 31.5%

”

Atheistic China and gender imbalance

See also: Asian atheism

China has the largest atheist population in the world. The current atheist population mostly resides in East Asia (particularly China) and in secular Europe/Australia primarily among whites. See: Western atheism and race

Due to sex-selection abortion and female infantcide, there is a gender imbalance within the Chinese population.

According to 2012 figures from the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China, China’s sex ratio at birth (the number of boys born for every 100 girls) was as high as 118, while the sex ratio amongst the total population was about 105. The statistical data from China indicates that the gap between male and female at birth is far larger than the biologically benchmark ratio (a sex ratio at birth of around 105 males per 100 females).

Reason Rally 2016 and a lack of gender diversity among attendants

The YouTube atheist Thunderf00t estimates that there was a 2 to 1 ration as far as men to women attending Reason Rally 2016.

Atheist meetings and women according to prominent atheists

The atheist PZ Myers giving a talk at George Mason University. In June 2010, PZ Myers commented that atheist meetings tend to be significantly more attended by males.

In June 2010, the atheist PZ Myers commented that atheist meetings tend to be significantly more attended by males. In October 2012, the atheist Susan Jacoby wrote in The Humanist concerning atheist meetings: "When I speak before non-college audiences — that is, audiences in which no one is required to be there to get credit for a college course — 75 percent of the people in the seats are men."

For more information, please see:

• Research on atheist conferences

• Atheist conferences

New York Times: Atheist meeting attendees

See also: Western atheism and race

In October 2010, an atheists' meeting was organized in the United States concerning the future direction of the atheist movement and 370 people attended. The New York Times described the attendees as "The largely white and male crowd — imagine a Star Trek convention, but older...".

Atheists' group membership and demographic makeup of meetings

In 2011, Beliefnetnews reported concerning the race and gender of American atheist:

“

From the smallest local meetings to the largest conferences, the vast majority of speakers and attendees are almost always white men. Leading figures of the atheist movement - Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens and Daniel Dennett -- are all white men. But making atheism more diverse is proving to be no easy task. Surveys suggest most atheists are white men. A recent survey of 4,000 members of the Freedom from Religion Foundation found that 95 percent were white, and men comprised a majority.

”

Women and Freethoughtblogs.com web traffic

The website Freethought Blogs has significantly less women visiting their website than men according to the web traffic tracking company Quantcast.

Summary

The above data suggest that atheism in general and the New Atheism movement is significantly less appealing to women in the Western World.

Prominent atheists/skeptics and misogyny

See also: Atheism and sexism and Atheism and love and Atheism and rape

James Randi is a prominent atheist. Brian Thompson, former James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) Outreach Coordinator, wrote:

“

But I no longer identify with this community of benevolent know-it-alls, because not all of them are the best folks in the world. In fact, a good percentage of the top ten worst humans I’ve ever met are prominent members of the skeptics’ club. They’re dishonest, mean-spirited, narcissistic, misogynistic. Pick a personality flaw, and I can probably point you to someone who epitomizes it. And that person has probably had a speaking slot at a major skeptical conference. I grew particularly disgusted with the boys’ club attitude I saw among skeptical leaders and luminaries. The kind of attitude that’s dismissive of women, sexually predatory, and downright gross. When I first started going to skeptical conferences as a fresh-faced know-it-all, I started hearing things about people I once admired. Then I started seeing things myself. Then I got a job with the JREF, and the pattern continued.

”

Women, history and atheism

See also: History of atheism

Paul-Henri Thiry

In the 1770s, the French philosopher Paul-Henri Thiry observed a dearth of female atheists. The English poet Edward Young (June 5, 1681 – April 5, 1765) wrote to satirically signal earthly apocalypse: "Atheists have been rare, since nature’s birth; Till now, she-atheists ne’er appear’d on earth." In a letter written in the 1760s, the English essayist Bonnell Thornton wrote: "Good God! A Female Atheist! … One is not half so shocked at the idea of a Female Murderer; A Female Murderer, in the worse of senses, of her own children, of herself." In 1813, the prominent doctor Thomas Cogan (founder of the Royal Humane Society) declared: "Men contemplate a female atheist with more disgust and horror than if she possessed the hardest features embossed with carbuncles."

Professor of Humanities Leigh Eric Schmidt said about women atheists in the 19th century:

“

In the 19th century, there are more women in the church than men. So there is an association with churches and pious femininity and domesticity. Freethinkers see women as supporters of the church, and supporters of evangelical Protestant politics, whether it’s temperance or other moral-reform causes, so there’s an alienation that arises there. They’re fearful that if women have the right to vote, they’ll vote for Christian-inflected politics. They’re afraid: What’s this going to do? Is this really going to advance the cause of reason, the cause of science, if we give women the right to vote?... Because there was such an ideal of pious femininity—women are supposed to be pious, women are supposed to go to church—there was greater horror associated with a woman being an atheist than with a man being an atheist. Male atheists are bad. Women atheists are genuinely considered monsters.

”

Atheism and sexism

Dan Barker

See also: Atheism and sexism and Atheism and rape and Elevatorgate and Richard Dawkins and women and Atheist hypocrisy

Most atheists are politically on the left (see: Atheism and politics and Secular left). Part of leftist ideology is feminism. However, there is a significant amount of misogyny among atheists. See also: Atheist movement

Writing on the sexism within the atheist community, atheist Victoria Bekiempis wrote in a Guardian article entitled Why the New Atheism is a boys' club:

“

Annie Laurie Gaylor, who founded the Freedom From Religion Foundation with her mother, Anne Nicol Gaylor, in 1978, sums it up succinctly: “One word — sexism.” Gaylor’s husband, Dan Barker, who helms the organization along with her, is usually the one invited to speaking engagements, despite her longer tenure as the organization’s leader and her numerous books on atheism.

”

Katie Engelhart in her July 21, 2013 Salon article Atheism Has a Women Problem wrote:

“

Around the time that the Dawkins-Hitchens-Harris tripartite published its big wave of Atheist critique, historian Jennifer Michael Hecht published “ Doubt” and journalist Susan Jacoby published “ Freethinkers“—both critically acclaimed. And yet, these women, and many others, failed to emerge as public figures, household names. “Nobody talked about [Doubt] as a ‘phenomenon,’” Hecht has noted. “They just talked about the book.” What gives? The lady Atheist has a troubled history....

”

Melody Hensley and harassment from atheist men

On May 15, 2014, the Washington Post reported that Melody Hensley, executive director of the Washington branch of the Center For Inquiry, was "diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after a vicious flood of online and social media attacks that included threats of rape, murder and photographs of dismembered women. Many of her harassers, she believes, are men in the secular community."

For more information please see:

• Richard Dawkins and women

• Atheism and profanity

Irreligion and domestic abuse

Research suggests that irreligiousity is a causal factor for domestic violence.

See also: Irreligion and domestic violence and Atheism and love and Atheism and loneliness

The abstract for the 2007 article in the journal Violence Against Women entitled Race/Ethnicity, Religious Involvement, and Domestic Violence indicated:

“

The authors explored the relationship between religious involvement and intimate partner violence by analyzing data from the first wave of the National Survey of Families and Households. They found that: (a) religious involvement is correlated with reduced levels of domestic violence; (b) levels of domestic violence vary by race/ethnicity; (c) the effects of religious involvement on domestic violence vary by race/ethnicity; and (d) religious involvement, specifically church attendance, protects against domestic violence, and this protective effect is stronger for African American men and women and for Hispanic men, groups that, for a variety of reasons, experience elevated risk for this type of violence.

”

A higher rate of domestic violence exists among cohabiting couples as compared with married couples Atheists have lower marriage rates than theists (see: Atheism and marriage and Atheist marriages).

A September 9, 2012 article at Atlantic Wire wrote about the noted atheist John Lennon:

“

But people have mostly forgotten that Lennon was also physically abusive towards women. "I used to be cruel to my woman," he said, citing the lyrics to "Getting Better" in a Playboy interview near the end of his life. "Physically—any woman. I was a hitter. I couldn't express myself and I hit. I fought men and I hit women." In his biography The Lives of John Lennon, Albert Goldman also maintains that Lennon was guilty of spousal abuse.

”

For more information, please see: Irreligion and domestic violence

Secular Europe and domestic violence

See also: Secular Europe and domestic violence and Atheistic Sweden and rape

Sweden is one of the most atheistic countries in the world. In Sweden, 81 percent of women said they had been harassed at some point after the age of 15 - compared to the EU average of 55 percent.

In March 2014, the Swedish news website The Local published an article entitled Sweden stands out in domestic violence study which declared:

“

A new EU review of violence against women has revealed that one in three European women has been assaulted, and one in twenty has been raped, with the Scandinavian countries at the top of the league tables. In the Scandinavian countries, in contrast, around half of the women reported physical or sexual violence, which researchers at the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights said could have several explanations... In Sweden, 81 percent of women said they had been harassed at some point after the age of 15 - compared to the EU average of 55 percent. After Sweden, which had the highest rate, Denmark, France, the Netherland and Finland all saw rates above 70 percent. The EU member state with the lowest rate - 24 percent - was Bulgaria.

”

Sweden is one of the most atheistic countries in the world and the website adherents.com reported that in 2005 46 - 85% of Swedes were agnostics/atheists/non-believers in God. Sweden also has the 3rd highest rate of belief in evolution as far as Western World nations.

See also: Atheistic Sweden and rape and Sexual immorality and Sweden

For more information, please see: Irreligion and domestic violence

Irreligion, alcoholism and domestic abuse

See also: Atheist Americans, gender and alcoholism

According to the World Health Organization, "Evidence suggests that alcohol use increases the occurrence and severity of domestic violence".

A 2010 Scientific American column article indicates concerning domestic violence that "Women suffer close to two thirds of the injuries... In addition, women and men differ in the severity of their actions; women are more likely to scratch or slap their partners, men more commonly punch or choke their partners."

Alcoholism was a serious social problem in the former atheistic Soviet Union. Between 1940 and 1980, this atheist state had the largest increase of the amount of alcohol usage in the developed world.

Atheists and atheistic societies often have significant problems with excess alcohol usage (For more information please see: Atheism and alcoholism).

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC):

“

Men are more likely than women to drink excessively. Excessive drinking is associated with significant increases in short-term risks to health and safety, and the risk increases as the amount of drinking increases. Men are also more likely than women to take other risks (e.g., drive fast or without a safety belt), when combined with excessive drinking, further increasing their risk of injury or death. Approximately 63% of adult men reported drinking alcohol in the last 30 days. Men (24%) were two times more likely to binge drink than women during the same time period. Men average about 12.5 binge drinking episodes per person per year, while women average about 2.7 binge drinking episodes per year. Most people who binge drink are not alcoholics or alcohol dependent. It is estimated that about 17% of men and about 8% of women will meet criteria for alcohol dependence at some point in their lives.

”

Atheist women and sexuality

See also: Atheism and sexuality

Research indicates that religious women (especially evangelical/low church Protestant women) are more sexually satisfied than irreligious women.

For more information, please see: Atheism and sexuality

Atheist feminism

See also: Atheist feminism

Annie Laurie Gaylor is an atheist feminist. She is co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Gaylor’s husband, Dan Barker, who heads the organization along with her, is usually the person invited to speaking engagements, despite her longer tenure as the organization’s leader and her many books on atheism.

Atheist feminism is a type of feminism whose advocates are atheists. It is extremely common for atheist feminists to see religion as the main source of sexism and oppression in the world (See: Atheist feminism and its view of religion).

Feminists who are theists often belong to religious bodies which practice liberal theology. In addition, some feminists practice goddess worship. Since atheism rejects theism, atheistic feminism rejects/disbelieves in the existence of God or gods (see: Definition of atheism).

Atheism, women, men and atheist feminism

Since most atheists lean left politically (see: Atheism and politics) many atheist women are feminists. However, feminism is not as prevalent among atheist men given that a significant majority of atheists are men and that the men's rights movement has many atheist men within it. Reddit is a popular place for atheists and a Reddit survey found that 94% of Men's Rights Movement supporters indicated that they had no religion (see also: Reddit atheism). YouTube's most popular atheist is TheAmazingAtheist who is a men's rights activist. Another popular YouTube atheist Thunderf00t is very critical of feminism within atheism (See also: Atheism plus).

Atheism and the sexual exploitation of women and children

[[File:Larry Flynt Wheelchair.jpg|thumbnail|175px|right|The pornographer Larry Flynt is an atheist. See: Atheism and hedonism ] The infamous pornographers Hugh Hefner and Larry Flynt are both atheists.

In 2003, Arena magazine magazine listed Flynt as #1 on the "50 Powerful People in Porn" list. Flynt is paralyzed from the waist down due to injuries sustained from a 1978 assassination attempt by the serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin.

For more information, please see: Atheism and pornography

Barna Group study

The Barna Group found that atheists and agnostics in America were more likely, than theists in America, to look upon the following behaviors as morally acceptable: pornography; obscene sexual behavior; illegal drug use; excessive drinking; sexual relationships outside of marriage; abortion; cohabitating with someone of opposite sex outside of marriage and obscene language.

For more information, please see: Atheism and pornography

Atheism and child pornography

See also: Atheism and child pornography

Historically, atheistic societies/individuals have played a significant role in the production and usage of child pornography (See: Atheism and child pornography).

Atheism and marriage

See also: Atheism and marriage and Atheism and love and Atheism and interfaith marriages and Atheist marriages and Atheism and loneliness

Studies indicate that atheists are a minority in the population. Studies also indicate that people tend to marry people with similar values or who resemble their parents or themselves. In addition, the Bible teaches Christians not to marry a non-Christian (The Bible also teaches a believer to stay married to a non-believer if you are already married). Also, interfaith marriages often have greater marital friction and interfaith marriages historically have had higher rates of divorce. Therefore, it would not be surprising if atheist/theist marriages also have increased marital friction and higher rates of divorce since these two worldviews are so different.

Given that atheism appears to be significantly less appealing to women, atheists are a minority in the population and that people tend to marry people with similar values or who resemble their parents or themselves; this would suggest that male atheists may find it more difficult to find prospective female partners for marriage. And of course, militant atheism might make matters even more difficult.

Atheism and rates of marriage in the United States

Christian apologist Michael Caputo wrote:

“

Recently the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has published its mammoth study on Religion in America based on 35,000 interviews... According to the Pew Forum a whopping 37% of atheists never marry as opposed to 19% of the American population, 17% of Protestants and 17% of Catholics.

”

[[File:Depression.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Pitzer College sociologist Phil Zuckerman said this about suicide rates: "this is the one indicator of societal health in which religious nations fare much better than secular nations." Please see: Atheism and depression and Atheism and suicide ]] Theodore Beale declared that according to the 2001 American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) "more than half of all atheists and agnostics don’t get married." See: Atheism and marriage

The atheist population has a higher suicide rate than theists (see: Atheism and suicide).

Atheism, marriage and suicide

See also: Atheism, marriage and suicide and Atheism and loneliness

The atheist population has a higher suicide rate than theists (see: Atheism and suicide). Also, as indicated above, atheists have lower marriage rates (see: Atheism and marriage).

According the website Marriage and Family Encyclopedia:

“

Marital status has a strong association with rates of completed suicide. Suicide rates are higher in the divorced and widowed than in single people, who in turn have higher suicide rates than married people. This protective effect of marriage on suicide is stronger for men than for women, although it is found for both men and women (Gove 1972).

”

Atheism and rape

See also: Atheism and rape and Mass rape of German women by the Soviet army

Atheism offers no condemnation of rape and it provides no moral basis for a society to attempt to prevent and deter rape. Western atheists often assert there are no absolutes in morality and argue for moral relativism (see: Atheism and morality).

Commenting on Western atheism and rape, the Christian apologist Ken Ammi wrote:

“

When considering any and every atheist condemnation of any action whatsoever it is of primary importance to keep in mind that they are expressing personal opinions about the act(s) they are condemning. They are merely telling you their personal preferences in the form of morality borrowed from the Judeo-Christian worldview. They are piling unfounded assertion, upon unfounded assertion, upon unfounded assertion, and building a tel of arguments from outrage, arguments from personal incredulity, arguments for embarrassment, etc.

”

Christian apologist Kyle Butt wrote: "In fact, in my debate with Dan Barker, Barker admitted that fact, and stated that under certain circumstances, rape would be a moral obligation (Butt and Barker, 2009)" (see: Atheist Dan Barker Says Child Rape Could Be Moral).

TheAmazingAtheist is YouTube's most subscribed to YouTube channel produced by an atheist and as of February 2012 it had over 280,000 subscribers. In 2012, he viciously told a rape victim "you deserved it" and told her that her rapist "deserved a medal". He also told her that she should try to relive the rape in her mind.

See also: Atheistic Sweden and rape

Mass rape during the occupation of Germany by the Soviet army

When told that Red Army soldiers sexually assaulted German refugees, the atheist Joseph Stalin reportedly said: "We lecture our soldiers too much; let them have their initiative."

See also: Mass rape of German women by the Soviet army

The Soviet Union practiced state atheism and militant atheism. According to the University of Cambridge, historically, the "most notable spread of atheism was achieved through the success of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which brought the Marxist-Leninists to power."

The journalist Peter Hitchens is the ex-atheist brother of atheist Christopher Hitchens and he covered the Soviet Union during its latter years before it collapsed. According to Peter Hitchens, an atheistic society degraded the morals of the Russian people during the Soviet period (see: Soviet Union and morality).

As Allied troops entered and occupied Germany during the latter part of World War II, mass rapes occurred in connection with combat operations and during the occupation which followed. Historians in the Western World generally conclude that the majority of the rapes were committed by Soviet servicemen.

The majority of the rapes happened in the Soviet occupation zone. Estimates of the number of German women sexually assaulted by Soviet soldiers have ranged up to 2 million. The historian William Hitchcock declared that in many cases women were the victims of repeated rapes, some women experienced as many as 60 to 70 rapes.

After the atheist leader of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin received a complaint from Yugoslav politician Milovan Djilas about rapes in Yugoslavia, Stalin reportedly said that he should "understand it if a soldier who has crossed thousands of kilometres through blood and fire and death has fun with a woman or takes some trifle." Also, when told that Red Army soldiers sexually assaulted German refugees, Stalin reportedly declared: "We lecture our soldiers too much; let them have their initiative."

Mass raping of Chinese woman by atheistic Japanese

See also: Nanking massacre and Atheist atrocities and Asian atheism

Japan is one of the most atheistic countries in the world,

According to the History Place website:

“

After the destruction of the POWs, the soldiers turned their attention to the women of Nanking and an outright animalistic hunt ensued. Old women over the age of 70 as well as little girls under the age of 8 were dragged off to be sexually abused. More than 20,000 females (with some estimates as high as 80,000) were gang-raped by Japanese soldiers, then stabbed to death with bayonets or shot so they could never bear witness. Pregnant women were not spared. In several instances, they were raped, then had their bellies slit open and the fetuses torn out. Sometimes, after storming into a house and encountering a whole family, the Japanese forced Chinese men to rape their own daughters, sons to rape their mothers, and brothers their sisters, while the rest of the family was made to watch.

”

Atheist Rebecca Watson's claims about sexual harassment

See also: Elevatorgate

Post Elevatorgate controversy, at an atheist convention, Rebecca Watson claimed:

“

Hundreds of atheists have informed me that either they wanted to rape me, someone should rape me so that I will loosen up or that no one would ever rape me because I am so ugly".

”

In addition, Watson declared: "I get regular rape threats. I get regular rape and murder threats".

According to Rebecca Watson atheist women are often punished for being outspoken - particularly when they speak about feminism. In August 2013, Watson said the harassment she received from male atheists skyrocketed after Elevatorgate. Furthermore, she said she still receives harassment from male fans of Richard Dawkins. The atheist feminist Dr. Sikivu Hutchinson concurs with Watson and says that sexual harassment has been institutionalized within the atheist movement and that atheist men have an investment in censoring, controlling and policing women and also have an investment in "male privilege".

The inappropriate behavior which was has been directed towards Rebecca Watson by atheists is not surprising. In February 2010, the news organization The Telegraph reported Richard Dawkins was "embroiled in a bitter online battle over plans to rid his popular internet forum for atheists of foul language, insults and 'frivolous gossip'." In addition, Richard Dawkins has a reputation for being abrasive.

See also:

• Women's views of Richard Dawkins

• Feminist quotes about Richard Dawkins

• New Atheism

Dawkins says Elevatorgate incident was rather trivial

See also: Richard Dawkins and women and New Atheism and women

David Silverman took feminist Rebecca Watson off the speakers list for the Reason Rally after Richard Dawkins objected to her speaking at the event.

On November 18, 2014, Richard Dawkins indicated that: he stands by his recent remarks about women/men relations, he feels muzzled by "thought police" and that Rebecca Watson's experience in the elevator was "rather trivial" compared to events some Muslim women experience.

Specifically, the Washington Post reported on November 18, 2014:

“

“I don’t take back anything that I’ve said,” Dawkins said from a shady spot in the leafy backyard of one of his Bay Area supporters. “I would not say it again, however, because I am now accustomed to being misunderstood and so I will . “ He trailed off momentarily, gazing at his hands resting on a patio table. “I feel muzzled, and a lot of other people do as well,” he continued. “There is a climate of bullying, a climate of intransigent thought police which is highly influential in the sense that it suppresses people like me.” Recent criticism of Dawkins has come from women, many of them within the atheist movement, which has long drawn more men to its ranks. His online remarks, some women say, contribute to a climate they see as unwelcoming to female atheists... “I concentrate my attention on that menace and I confess I occasionally get a little impatient with American women who complain of being inappropriately touched by the water cooler or invited for coffee or something which I think is, by comparison, relatively trivial,” he said.

”

Elevatorgate

See also: Elevatorgate and Richard Dawkins and women and Atheist leaders and immoral relationships and Atheist hypocrisy

The Oxford University Professor Daniel Came wrote to the agnostic Richard Dawkins: "The absence of a debate with the foremost apologist for Christian theism is a glaring omission on your CV and is of course apt to be interpreted as cowardice on your part."

Elevatorgate is a term commonly used to describe a scandal involving Richard Dawkins' inappropriate comments made to fellow atheist Rebecca Watson. In 2011, Richard Dawkins was widely criticized within the atheist community plus criticized in various press outlets for his insensitive comments made to atheist Rebecca Watson about an incident which occurred in an elevator. Specifically, Watson was propositioned after an atheist event in an elevator by a man who apparently was a fellow atheist during the early hours of the morning, and she was upset about the incident. Watson has written about widespread misogny within the atheist community, and she has received threats of rape.

Rebecca Watson's commentary about atheist conferences

Rebecca Watson post Elevatorgate wrote at Slate about atheist conferences:

“

[W]omen started telling me stories about sexism at skeptic events, experiences that made them uncomfortable enough to never return. At first, I wasn’t able to fully understand their feelings as I had never had a problem existing in male-dominated spaces. But after a few years of blogging, podcasting, and speaking at skeptics’ conferences, I began to get emails from strangers who detailed their sexual fantasies about me. I was occasionally grabbed and groped without consent at events. I started checking out the social media profiles of the people sending me these messages, and learned that they were often adults who were active in the skeptic and atheist communities. They were reading the same blogs as I was and attending the same events. These were “my people,” and they were the worst.

”

New Atheism movement and male/female conflict

See also: Feminist quotes about Richard Dawkins

Within the militant New Atheism movement, there appears to be a significant amount of contention between men and women with complaints from women that there is a significant amount of misogny within the atheist community and its leadership is too heavily populated with men. This may partly explain why Western atheism is less appealing to Western women. In addition, the significant amount of contention between men and women may apply to Western atheism as a whole. As noted earlier, Wired magazine made the observation that atheists tend to be quarrelsome, socially challenged men.

Atheist PZ Myers comment about Richards Dawkins' attitude towards women

See also: Richard Dawkins and women

In 2014, the prominent atheist PZ Myers said of New Atheist Richard Dawkins' attitude towards women: "At a time when our movement needs to expand its reach, it’s a tragedy that our most eminent spokesman has so enthusiastically expressed such a regressive attitude.”

Sam Harris

Sam Harris and charges of misogny

Like his fellow new atheist Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris has raised the ire of feminists.

In 2014, Harris said that atheist activism lacks an “estrogen vibe” and was “to some degree intrinsically male”.

On October 3, 2014, Salon magazine published an online article titled, "Atheism’s shocking woman problem: What’s behind the misogyny of Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris?" On September 20, 2014, the feminist blogger Libby Anne wrote an article entitled "Is Sam Harris sexist?" Atheist Sam Fincke wrote a piece entitled "On Sam Harris’s reply to feminist critics".

In his defense, Harris published an article on his website titled, “I’m Not the Sexist Pig You’re Looking For”

Sexual harassment at atheist conferences

See also: Sexual harassment at atheist conferences and Atheist conferences and Atheist scandals

A 2011 portrait of Rebecca Watson

In an article about why she won't be attending an atheist conference sponsored by James Randi, Rebecca Watson wrote:

“

Over the past several years, I’ve been groped, grabbed, touched in other nonconsensual ways, told I can expect to be raped, told I’m a whore, a slut, a bitch, a prude, a dyke,..a twat, told I should watch my back at conferences, told I’m too ugly to be raped, told I don’t have a say in my own treatment because I’ve posed for sexy photos, told I should get a better headshot because that one doesn’t convey how sexy I am in person, told I deserve to be raped – by skeptics and atheists. All by skeptics and atheists. Constantly. This is quite obviously not a safe space for me or for other women who want to be free of the gendered slurs and sexual threats and come-ons we experience in our day-to-day lives. But apparently, DJ thinks I am lying about that, since apparently my feeling that the freethought community is not a safe space is “misinformation.” I should apparently put on a smile and pretend it doesn’t happen, because by reporting on my treatment, I am creating “a climate where women — who otherwise wouldn’t — end up feeling unwelcome and unsafe.”

”

For further information, see: James Randi Educational Foundation former staff member on prominent atheists and misogny

The Washington Post reported in 2012:

“

Other nontheists — both male and female — have shared stories of unwanted sexual attention at nontheist gatherings, including propositions for sex and unwelcome touching. Chatter has ranged from calls for more women to attend nontheist events to personal attacks on prominent female skeptics for discussing harassment... The current hullabaloo can be traced to May’s Women in Secularism Conference, a first-of-its-kind gathering for nontheist women. On a panel examining feminism and nontheism, Jennifer McCreight, an atheist blogger, said women speakers at nontheist events warn each other privately about male speakers who make unwanted sexual advances.

”

See also: Post-Elevatorgate anti-sexual harassment policies

China. atheism and gender discrimination

The New York Times reported: "According to corporate records examined by The New York Times, fewer than 1 in 10 board members of China’s top 300 companies are women. That measure, significantly smaller than the proportion of women on corporate boards in the United States..."

See also: Atheistic China and gender based workplace discrimination

The New York Times reported:

“

Chinese women are losing ground in the work force compared with men, their representation falling steadily with each rung up the professional ladder. Women make up 44.7 percent of the work force, but just 25.1 percent of people with positions of “responsibility,” according to China’s 2010 census. At the very top, their share falls still further. According to corporate records examined by The New York Times, fewer than 1 in 10 board members of China’s top 300 companies are women. That measure, significantly smaller than the proportion of women on corporate boards in the United States... “Chinese law doesn’t define gender discrimination, so how do you even argue a case?” he asked. “It’s very, very difficult to get one into court.” Companies need not bother with subtlety in job advertisements. A maker of security cameras seeks sales managers: No women need apply. A company that sells box cutters is looking for a human resources manager: male, age 25 to 35.

”

Atheist community hypocrisy: Muslim men misogyny vs. atheist men misogyny

Ayaan Hirsi Ali

See also: Atheist hypocrisy

In recent times, leftist atheists have put in a lot of effort and focus into decrying the deplorable treatment of many Muslim women by Muslim men, yet the same degree of attention about the high amount of physical abuse atheist women endure at the hands of atheist men via domestic abuse and the other forms of abuse is not given nearly the same amount of import by many in the atheist community. See: Irreligion and domestic violence and Secular Europe and domestic violence.

For example, Ayaan Hirsi Ali was chosen to be the keynote speaker of the American Atheists convention in 2014 and in 2005 the secular left leaning Time magazine named her one of the most 100 influential people in the world. Yet, the women who point out misogyny in Western World atheism receive torrents of abuse (see: Atheism and sexism) and are not highly lauded by the atheist community to nearly the same degree.

Madalyn Murray O'Hair debate with Walter Martin

See also: Atheism vs. Christianity debates

Madalyn Murray O'Hair, founder of American Atheists, did poorly in her debate with Dr. Walter Martin For example, when she claimed there were supposedly were contradictions in the Bible, Dr. Martin asked her to provide an example of one and Ms. O'Hair did not and could not offer even an alleged example of a Bible contradiction. In addition, Ms. O'Hair was ill-prepared in terms of defending against the issue of atheism and mass murder.

Fundraising and the gender imbalance within the atheist population

See also: Atheism and charity and Atheist fundraising vs. religious fundraising

According to Fortune magazine women donate more to charitable causes than men (see: Women donate more to charitable causes than men).

One of the key demographics that fundraisers often put some additional focus on is women because they give more. As noted above, the atheist population has a gender imbalance and men significantly outnumber women in the atheist population.

The 21st century is expected to be a century of global desecularization and religious organizations significantly outperforming atheist organizations in fundraising will contribute to this matter (see: Atheist fundraising vs. religious fundraising and Causes of desecularization).

Women atheist activists

• Polly Toynbee
• Greta Christina
• Jen McCreight
• Maryam Nazamie
• Skepchick
• Margaret Downey
• Erkki Hartikainen (Finland)

Atheism, women and romance novels

See also: Atheism and romance

According to a Nielson study commissioned by the Romance Writers of America, in 2014, women made up 82% of romance book buyers.

As of May 20, 2016, as far as books, Amazon.com has 32 search results for the term "atheist romance". See also: Atheism and romance

Contrastly, as of May 20, 2016, as far as books, Amazon.com has 38,859 search results for the term "Christian romance".

See also

• Atheism and diversity
• Atheism and evolutionary racism
• Atheistic China and racism
• Atheism and hip hop music
• Atheist Americans, race and alcoholism
• Creativity Movement
• Western agnosticism and race
• Atheist stereotypes

External links

• Racial and ethnic composition among atheists, Pew Forum
• Atheism has a big race problem that no one’s talking about by Sikivu Hutchinson
• Atheists And Agnostics Have A Shocking Race Problem, Daily Caller
• What It’s Like to Be Black and Atheist, Daily Beast