Internet atheism and the coronavirus pandemic

See: Atheism and the coronavirus pandemic.
The coronavirus pandemic started in atheist-controlled, communist China that allowed thousands of COVID-19 infected people to leave China during the early stage of the pandemic when the world was not aware of it.[1] China has state atheism. In terms of world's countries, China has the largest atheist population in the world (see: Atheism and China). Most of the world's atheists are East Asians (see: Asian atheism and Global atheism).
As can be seen below, several atheist websites did very poorly during the coronavirus pandemic and lost a large amount of their traffic since the early part of 2020.
On the other hand, there were major Christian websites that saw their web traffic substantially grow during the coronavirus pandemic (See: Christian websites and the coronavirus pandemic).
Historically, religiosity increases during pandemics. Pew Research found people's religious faith grew during the pandemic - especially in the United States.[2] Nearly three-in-ten U.S. adults say the outbreak has boosted their faith ; about four-in-ten say it has tightened family bonds.[3]
In addition, many atheist organizations have significant difficulty in getting their fellow atheist to financially support them (see: Atheist organizations and fundraising), so their web marketing budgets could have been low during the pandemic. In addition, many atheist organizations have poor fiscal management so they may not have had reserves built up before the pandemic (see: Atheist organizations and financial mismanagement). For example, the website RationalWiki lost an enormous amount of web traffic during the coronavirus pandemic (See graphs below). On May 29, 2022, one of the founders of the RationalWiki website indicated "Currently the donations we get are sparse... We have not done a donation drive in a long time and have not been self-supporting for over a year....".[4] Rationalwiki has not complied with non-profit reporting requirements for 7 consecutive years.[5]
The atheist websites that lost web traffic during the coronavirus pandemic might never gain that traffic back again as the number of atheists in the world is expected to drop before mid-2022 according to the scholars at the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.[6] Currently, the global atheist population is losing market share in terms of the world's population (see: Global atheism statistics). In addition, various atheists have indicated that the atheist movement died or is dying (see: Decline of the atheist movement).
Contents
- 1 Large list of atheist websites that have lost much of their web traffic with supporting data
- 2 Atheist Sam Harris' website
- 3 RationalWiki and its large drop in Google referral traffic since October 2019 and during/after 2020
- 3.1 Indications that RationalWiki lacked funds during the pandemic
- 3.2 Indications that RationalWiki had poor leadership during the pandemic
- 3.3 KarmaPolice on the future of RationalWiki
- 3.4 RationalWiki has less than 40 active editors
- 3.5 RationalWiki lost a significant amount of its popularity from August 2020 to January 2023 according to the Mangools SEO tool
- 4 American Humanist Association's website
- 5 Richard Dawkins' website and loss of Google referral traffic
- 6 Center for Inquiry website's loss of Google referral web traffic
- 7 During the coronavirus pandemic Freethought Blogs lost monthly Google referral traffic visits
- 8 Skeptoid.com's Loss of Google referral web traffic
- 9 Free Inquiry website
- 10 Humanists UK website's loss of Google referral traffic
- 11 ReligiousTolerance.org website and its loss of monthly Google referral traffic (Has a significant amount of atheism/skepticism content)
- 12 Atheist Alliance International website: Loss of Google referral traffic
- 13 EvilBible.com website and its loss of monthly Google referral traffic
- 14 Atheist Community of Austin website's loss of Google referral traffic
- 15 Atheist Republic's loss of Google referral web traffic
- 16 Freethought-trail.org website lost a significant proportion of its Google referral web traffic
- 17 The Atheist Experience Show website's loss of Google referral traffic
- 18 The Orbit: Loss of Google referral traffic
- 19 Secular Web's website
- 19.1 Loss of Google referral traffic to the Secular Web's website
- 19.2 2023: Secular Web's drop in global ranking according to SimilarWeb.com
- 19.3 2021: Secular Web's drop in global market share
- 19.4 2019: Secular Web's drop in global market share
- 19.5 Secular Web's previous drop in web traffic and global market share
- 20 John W. Loftus' Debunking Christianity website: Loss of Google referral traffic
- 21 Militaryatheists.org: Loss of Google referral traffic
- 22 The AtheistForums.org website's loss of Google referral traffic
- 23 Landover Baptist website
- 24 Atheist Ireland website: Loss of Google referral traffic
- 25 The ArgumentsForAtheism.com website and its loss of monthly Google referral traffic
- 26 RationalResponders.com website and its loss of monthly Google referral traffic
- 27 The Atheist Revolution website: Loss of Google referral traffic
- 28 Atheist Universe website
- 29 Testreligion.com atheist website: Loss of monthly Google referral traffic
- 30 AtheistScholar.org website and its loss of monthly Google referral traffic
- 31 AskTheAtheist.com website and its loss of monthly Google referral traffic
- 32 Atheists.net website. Owned by the atheist David Bedford
- 33 Large list of atheist websites that have lost much of their web traffic with supporting data
- 34 Christian websites and the coronavirus pandemic
- 35 See also
- 36 Notes
Large list of atheist websites that have lost much of their web traffic with supporting data
Atheist Sam Harris' website

See also: Sam Harris
Sam Harris' websites loss of Google referral web traffic

Google uses over 200 factors to evaluate the quality and the relevance of a website to various topics.
Sam Harris' website and its drop in global ranking to leading web marketing company SimilarWeb.com
See also: Internet atheism and Internet evangelism: Christians vs. atheists

On August 19, 2019, according to Alexa, the website of Samharris.org was the 66,776th most popular website in the world and its global market share was dropping.
RationalWiki and its large drop in Google referral traffic since October 2019 and during/after 2020
See also: RationalWiki and the coronavirus pandemic and RationalWiki and web traffic and RationalWiki

In addition, according to SEMRush, RationalWiki dropped from a 66 domain authority score on October 21, 2023 to a 43 domain authority score on June 30, 2023. Domains with low domain scores typically have less traffic, less authoritative websites linking to them and more lower quality websites linking to them.
Google uses over 200 factors to evaluate the quality and the relevance of a website to various topics.

In November 2020, RationalWiki.org was receiving 413,529 web visits a month according to SEMRush.com. On October 21, 2022, RationalWiki.org received 152,236 web visits in the last 30 days according to SEMRush.com. Google referral traffic is commonly referred to as organic traffic by web marketing professionals.
Google uses over 200 factors to evaluate the quality and the relevance of a website to various topics.
Indications that RationalWiki lacked funds during the pandemic
See also: RationalWiki and the coronavirus pandemic
On May 29, 2022, one of the founders of the RationalWiki website indicated "Currently the donations we get are sparse... We have not done a donation drive in a long time and have not been self-supporting for over a year....".[9] Rationalwiki has not complied with non-profit reporting requirements for 7 consecutive years.[10] See also: Atheist organizations and fundraising and Atheist fundraising vs. religious fundraising
Indications that RationalWiki had poor leadership during the pandemic
See also: RationalWiki and its poor leadership during the pandemic and Atheism and leadership
There are indications that RationalWiki had poor leadership during the coronavirus pandemic (see: RationalWiki and its poor leadership during the pandemic).
KarmaPolice on the future of RationalWiki
KarmaPolice is RationalWiki (RW) editor who is a British socialist.
On August 15, 2022, KarmaPolice wrote concerning RationalWiki: "...it's quite possible that by say, 2030 the RW 'TimeCube' page may be *only* surviving record of it's existence."[11]
RationalWiki has less than 40 active editors

RationalWiki lost a significant amount of its popularity from August 2020 to January 2023 according to the Mangools SEO tool
American Humanist Association's website
See also: American Humanist Association

Google uses over 200 factors to evaluate the quality and the relevance of a website to various topics.
Richard Dawkins' website and loss of Google referral traffic

See also: Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science website
Center for Inquiry website's loss of Google referral web traffic

See also: Center for Inquiry

Google uses over 200 factors to evaluate the quality and the relevance of a website to various topics.

See also: Freethought Blogs and PZ Myers

Freethought Blogs is an atheist/agnostic blogging community. It was founded by atheists Ed Brayton and PZ Myers.[16][17]
Google uses over 200 factors to evaluate the quality and the relevance of a website to various topics.
Skeptoid.com's Loss of Google referral web traffic
See also: Skeptoid

Google uses over 200 factors to evaluate the quality and the relevance of a website to various topics.
Free Inquiry website

Google uses over 200 factors to evaluate the quality and the relevance of a website to various topics.
Humanists UK website's loss of Google referral traffic
See also: Internet atheism and Internet evangelism: Christians vs. atheists and Google trends - Atheism and agnosticism terms
ReligiousTolerance.org website and its loss of monthly Google referral traffic (Has a significant amount of atheism/skepticism content)

According to the leading web marketing website SEMRush, ReligiousTolerance.org has lost a very large portion of its monthly Google referral traffic visits.
Google uses over 200 factors to evaluate the quality and the relevance of a website to various topics.
Atheist Alliance International website: Loss of Google referral traffic
See also: Atheist Alliance International

Google uses over 200 factors to evaluate the quality and the relevance of a website to various topics.
EvilBible.com website and its loss of monthly Google referral traffic
Atheist Community of Austin website's loss of Google referral traffic

Google uses over 200 factors to evaluate the quality and the relevance of a website to various topics.
Atheist Republic's loss of Google referral web traffic
See also: Atheist Republic

Google uses over 200 factors to evaluate the quality and the relevance of a website to various topics.
Freethought-trail.org website lost a significant proportion of its Google referral web traffic
The Atheist Experience Show website's loss of Google referral traffic


Google uses over 200 factors to evaluate the quality and the relevance of a website to various topics.
The Orbit: Loss of Google referral traffic
See also: The Orbit

Google uses over 200 factors to evaluate the quality and the relevance of a website to various topics.
Secular Web's website
See also: Secular Web and Growth of global desecularization
Loss of Google referral traffic to the Secular Web's website
2023: Secular Web's drop in global ranking according to SimilarWeb.com

Specifically, the Secular Web went from being the 315,077th most popular website in the world to being the 577,111th most popular website during this period according to Alexa.

According to the web traffic tracking company Quantcast, the Secular Web lost a significant amount of web traffic from the period of 6/2/07 to 7/30/11.[20]
According to Alexa, the Secular Web experienced a drop in online global market share in 2017 and 2018.[21][22]
On August 19, 2019, Alexa ranked the Secular Web the 285,436th most popular website in the world in web traffic and it was dropping in global market share at the time.
John W. Loftus' Debunking Christianity website: Loss of Google referral traffic
See also: John W. Loftus

Google uses over 200 factors to evaluate the quality and the relevance of a website to various topics.
Militaryatheists.org: Loss of Google referral traffic
See also: There are no atheists in foxholes
The AtheistForums.org website's loss of Google referral traffic
Landover Baptist website
See also: Landover Baptist Church
Landover Baptist Church is an atheist website that mocks Christianity. It was founded by a satirist named Chris Harper. He regularly speaks in atheist gatherings as Pastor Deacon Fred Smith.
Atheist Ireland website: Loss of Google referral traffic
See also: Michael Nugent
The ArgumentsForAtheism.com website and its loss of monthly Google referral traffic
RationalResponders.com website and its loss of monthly Google referral traffic
The Atheist Revolution website: Loss of Google referral traffic
See also: Internet atheism

Google uses over 200 factors to evaluate the quality and the relevance of a website to various topics.
Atheist Universe website
Testreligion.com atheist website: Loss of monthly Google referral traffic
AtheistScholar.org website and its loss of monthly Google referral traffic
AskTheAtheist.com website and its loss of monthly Google referral traffic
Atheists.net website. Owned by the atheist David Bedford

In 2016, Beford indicated: "I’m not retired yet, but when I am, I promise to expand my efforts regarding my web sites."[25]
According to the leading web marketing company SEMRush.com, as of February 17, 2023, Atheists.net is not registering any Google referral traffic which means it is receiving little to no Google referral traffic monthly visits.
Google uses over 200 factors to evaluate the quality and the relevance of a website to various topics.
Large list of atheist websites that have lost much of their web traffic with supporting data
See also: Internet evangelism: Christians vs. atheists and Internet outreach and the Matthew effect: Atheist websites vs. religious websites
A number of major Christian websites, such as Christianity.com and Gotquestions.org, saw significant increases in their Google referral traffic during the difficult coronavirus pandemic time period (See: Internet evangelism: Christians vs. atheists).
Biblegateway.com and Google referral traffic
Christianity.com and Google referral traffic

The amount of Google referral traffic to Christianity.com has gone significanly since February 2016 according to the leading web marketing website SEMRush and the website's Google referral traffic increased during the pandemic. SEMRush says the website is getting about 6,250,000 monthly referral visits from Google in July 2022.
Got Questions Ministries and Google referral traffic
See also: Got Questions Ministries
According to Got Questions Ministries, within one month of their launch, GotQuestions.org was receiving over 30 questions a day. The volunteer staff grew from 5 writers, to 10, to 20, to 50, and ultimately to its current staff of over 275 writers (In 2013, Got Questions Ministries reported having over 275 writers).[27] Gotquestions.org relies on three things: 1) SEO 2) Content marketing 3) Volunteer recruitment/management."[28] See: S. Michael Houdmann - 10-Year Anniversary Presentation and Got Questions? Interview with Got Questions founder, Shea Michael Houdmann (October 2022 interview) and Apply to serve with GotQuestions.org

According to the article 1,000+ Winners and Losers of the December 2020 Google Core Algorithm Update the website Gotquestions.org saw the 7th biggest increase in Google referral traffic as far as the 50 domains that saw the greatest percent gain in Google visibility.[29]
Google uses over 200 factors to evaluate the quality and the relevance of a website to various topics.
See also
Notes
- ↑ To Confront China After Coronavirus, We Must See the Bigger Picture, National Review
- ↑ More Americans Than People in Other Advanced Economies Say COVID-19 Has Strengthened Religious Faith, Pew Research, 2021
- ↑ More Americans Than People in Other Advanced Economies Say COVID-19 Has Strengthened Religious Faith, Pew Forum
- ↑ Difference between revisions of "RationalWiki talk:Site support", Revision as of 17:15, 29 May 2022 (edit) (undo)
- ↑ Is the Foundation Defunct?, RationalWiki talk:RationalMedia Foundation/Archive2, 22:50, 26 August 2021. Rationalwiki.org.
- ↑ Status of Global Christianity, 2022, in the Context of 1900–2050
- ↑ NEWSWEEK Poll: 90% Believe in God, Newsweek 2007
- ↑ Roberts, Jessica, et al. (June 19, 2007). "Interview with an atheist". News21. Retrieved on July 30, 2014.
- ↑ Difference between revisions of "RationalWiki talk:Site support", Revision as of 17:15, 29 May 2022 (edit) (undo)
- ↑ Is the Foundation Defunct?, RationalWiki talk:RationalMedia Foundation/Archive2, 22:50, 26 August 2021. Rationalwiki.org.
- ↑ Latest revision as of 19:08, 15 August 2022 (edit) (undo) KarmaPolice (talk | contribs)(→Rationalwiki should tone down on the snark.)
- ↑ Richard Dawkins says Christianity is world's best defence against radical Islam, Christianity Today, January 2016
- ↑ Professional Atheist Dawkins Says Christianity ‘Bulwark Against Something Worse’, by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D, Breitbart News Network, Jan 12, 2016
- ↑ Atheist Achilles Heels: Objective Morality and Sacred Life
- ↑ The “objective morality” gotcha
- ↑ About Freethoughtblog
- ↑ Five challenges for atheists and secularists in 2016 by Michael Nugent
- ↑ About this web site: Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance (OCRT)
- ↑ About this web site: Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance (OCRT)
- ↑ Internet atheism: The thrill is gone!
- ↑ Secular Web lost global market share in the first half of 2017 according to Alexa
- ↑ 5 atheist websites that lost global market share in 2018 according to Alexa, Examining Atheism, October 22, 2018
- ↑ Atheist.net main page
- ↑ The Trouble with Atheism (Religious Documentary)
- ↑ If Jesus Comes Back, This Guy Will Kill Him: Interview with Darwin Bedford, the atheist who wants God dead., Medium.com website
- ↑ Literary mysteries: The best-selling books of all time
- ↑ S. Michael Houdmann - 10-Year Anniversary Presentation
- ↑ S. Michael Houdmann - 10-Year Anniversary Presentation
- ↑ 1,000+ Winners and Losers of the December 2020 Google Core Algorithm Update