[[File:2404429188 ea8f1fc48bwomen.jpg|thumbnail|right|201px200px|Studies indicate that women in the Western World tend to be more religious than men.<ref>Multiple references:*Kosmin, Barry A., et al. (2008). [httphttps://web.archive.org/web/20110904110346/http://www.americanreligionsurvey-aris.org/reports/NONES_08.pdf "American nones: Profile of the no religion population"]. American Religion Survey website [Trinity College, Hartford, CT]. Retrieved from Internet Archive.
*Britt, Robert Roy (February 28, 2009). [http://www.livescience.com/7689-women-religious-men.html "Women more religious than men"]. Live Science website.
*Khan, Razib (November 18, 2010). [http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2010/11/sex-differences-in-global-atheism-part-n/ "Gene expression; Sex differences in global atheism, part N"]. Discover magazine website.</ref>]]
Surveys throughout the world and other data indicate that women Women are less inclined likely to be [[atheism|atheists]]according to surveys performed around the world and other data.<ref>Khan, Razib (November 18, 2010). [http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2010/11/sex-differences-in-global-atheism-part-n/ "Gene expression; Sex differences in global atheism, part N"]. Discover magazine website.
*Carter, Stephen L. (March 27, 2015). [http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-03-27/the-atheism-gap "The atheism gap"]. ''BloombergView''.
*[http://blog.oup.com/2014/09/atheism-feminism/#sthash.0yIBbelF.dpuf Atheism and Feminism], ''Oxford University Press'' blog</ref>
<ref name="PZ">Myers, P.Z. (June 29, 2010). [http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/06/29/the-woman-problem/ "The woman problem"]. Pharyngula [blog].</ref>
In 2016, [[Atheist Alliance International ]] (AAI) conducted an annually reoccurring atheist census project and foundconcerning '''atheism and women''':
{{Cquote|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."<ref>[https://www.atheistalliance.org/about-aai/position-statements/1206-aai-position-statement-gender-balance.html AAI Position Statement - Gender Balance]</ref>}}
== Atheism and women: Recent studies and other data ==
''See also:'' [[Atheism and diversity]] and [[Atheism and white males]] and [[Atheist women statistics]]
=== Atheism and women: Surveys by country ===
=== Atheistic China and gender imbalance ===
''See also:'' [[Asian atheism]] and [[Atheistic China and sexism]]
[[China]] has the largest atheist population in the world(see: [[China and atheism]]).<ref name="thechapmans.nl">*[http://www.thechapmans.nl/news/Atheist.pdf Top 50 Countries With Highest Proportion of Atheists / Agnostics (Zuckerman, 2005)]*[httphttps://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/05/23/a-surprising-map-of-where-the-worlds-atheists-live/ A surprising map of where the world’s atheists live], ''Washington Post'' By Max Fisher and Caitlin Dewey May 23, 2013</ref> The current [[Atheist Population|atheist population]] mostly resides in East Asia (particularly China) and in secular Europe/Australia primarily among whites.<ref>Fisher, Max and Dewey, Caitlin (May 23, 2013). [httphttps://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/05/23/a-surprising-map-of-where-the-worlds-atheists-live/ "A surprising map of where the world’s atheists live"]. The Washington Post website.</ref> See: [[Asian atheism]]
and [[Western atheism and race]]
=== Reason Rally 2016 and a lack of gender diversity among attendants ===
There was a 2 to 1 ratio as far as men to women attending [[Reason Rally 2016]] according to the YouTube atheist [[Thunderf00t]].<ref>[httphttps://www.wnd.com/2016/06/even-atheists-bash-reason-rally/ Even atheists bash 'Reason Rally'], See the video on the web page</ref>
=== Atheist meetings and women according to prominent atheists ===
{{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...".<ref>Oppenheimer, Mark (October 15, 2010). [httphttps://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/16/us/16beliefs.html "Atheists debate how pushy to be"]. Nytimes.com.</ref>
=== Atheists' group membership and demographic makeup of meetings ===
The above data suggest that atheism in general and the New Atheism movement is significantly less appealing to women in the [[Western World]] and to women in the world at large (see also: [[Demographics of atheism]] and [[Global atheism]]).
== Atheism and women's rights ==
See: [[Atheism and women's rights]] and [[Christianity and women's rights]]
== Atheism, women and history ==
''See also:'' [[History of Atheism|History of atheism]] and [[Atheism, women and history]]
[[File:Paul-Henri Thiry portrait.jpg|thumbnail|right|200px|Painting of [[Paul-Henri Thiry]] by the Swedish painter Alexander Roslin (1718–1793)]]
In the 1770s, the French philosopher [[Paul-Henri Thiry]] observed a dearth of female atheists.<ref name=Salon>Engelhart, Katie (July 21, 2013). [httphttps://www.salon.com/2013/07/21/from_hitchens_to_dawkins_where_are_the_women_of_new_atheism/ "From Hitchens to Dawkins: Where are the women of New Atheism?"] Salon.</ref> 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."<ref name=Salon/> 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."<ref name=Salon/> 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."<ref name=Salon/>
Professor of Humanities Leigh Eric Schmidt said about women atheists in the 19th century:
{{Cquote|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. [[Freethought|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.<ref>[httphttps://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/09/village-atheists-history-nonbelief-united-states/499520/ ‘Women Atheists Are Genuinely Considered Monsters’] by Emma Green, ''The Atlantic''</ref>}}
[[File:Elmina D. Slenker.jpg|thumbnail|left|155px|[[Elmina Drake Slenker]] ]]
''Christianity Today'' wrote about the American atheist [[Elmina Drake Slenker]] in an article entitled ''A Portrait of America’s First Atheists'':
{{Cquote|When a village did manage to raise an atheist, it was almost always a boy. In his lively, informative study, Village Atheists: How America’s Unbelievers Made Their Way in a Godly Nation (Princeton University Press), historian Leigh Eric Schmidt includes a chapter on Elmina Drake Slenker, a 19th-century woman from Upstate New York. Many readers today disapprove of books solely about men, but organized atheism hasn’t always been terribly concerned with gender parity. Slenker confessed that every place she went, she was the first woman atheist anyone there had ever seen. When the American Association for the Advancement of Atheism (4As) surveyed its membership in 1930, it was 93 percent male.<ref>[https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2016/september/portrait-of-americas-first-atheists.html A Portrait of America’s First Atheists] by Timothy Larsen, Christianity Today, August 22, 2016</ref>}}
The atheist sociologist Phil Zuckerman wrote about Slenker:
{{Cquote|The final profile is that of Elmina Drake Slenker, an ex-Quaker who wrote novels as well as short, didactic stories for children about Darwinian naturalism, rationalism, and other secularist topics. Slenker came out publicly as an atheist in 1856 by publishing a letter in the Boston Investigator in defense of the infamous infidel [[Ernestine Rose]]. Such declarations of unbelief were scandalous for any individual at the time, but especially for women. As Schmidt documents, “Being a village atheist invited cold shoulders; being a female village atheist doubly so.” Condemnation of Slenker was swift, not only by friends and relatives, but also by public voices, newspapers editors, and writers such as the poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox, who wrote that “the most repellent object on earth is a woman infidel. She is as unnatural as a flower which breathes poison instead of perfume.” What ultimately brought Slenker into national prominence was her prosecution by Anthony Comstock’s anti-vice crusade. Her crime? Writing leaflets and personal letters to various people about human sexuality, marital relations, birth control, and [[bestiality]]. She was put on trial, and it only took the jury 10 minutes to find her guilty.<ref>[https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-church-of-the-churchless/ The Church of the Churchless] by Phil Zuckerman, Los Angeles Review of Books, March 19, 2017</ref>}}
== Atheism and sexism ==
=== 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."<ref>Winston, Kimberly (May 15, 2014). [httphttps://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/women-in-secularism-got-a-problem-with-that/2014/05/15/915b514a-dc56-11e3-a837-8835df6c12c4_story.html "Women in secularism: Got a problem with that?"] Religion News Service. Retrieved from ''The Washington Post'' website.</ref>
For more information please see:
Chinese leaders are trying to suppress [[feminism|feminist]] activism as a source of potential unrest, Ms. Li said, adding that even the term feminism has become politically sensitive.<ref>[https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2018/0202/Chinese-activists-decry-so-called-female-morality-schools Chinese activists decry so-called 'female morality schools']</ref>}}
=== Atheism and the Me Too Movement ===
See: [[Atheism and the Me Too Movement]]
=== Post sexual harassment allegations against Lawrence Krauss and David Silverman, searches for atheism related topics have dropped markedly ===
*[[Post sexual harassment allegations against Lawrence Krauss and David Silverman, searches for atheism related topics have dropped markedly]]
== Irreligion and domestic abuse ==
{{cquote|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.<ref name=VAW/>}}
A higher rate of domestic violence exists among cohabiting couples as compared with married couples<ref>Kenney, C. T. and McLanahan, S. S. (February 2006). [httphttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16579211 [abstract of] "Why are cohabiting relationships more violent than marriages?"] ''Demography'', vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 127-40. Abstract retrieved from U. S. National Institute of Health/National Library of Medicine/National Center for Biotechnology Information/PubMed.</ref> Atheists have lower marriage rates than [[theism|theists]] (see: [[Atheism and marriage]] and [[Atheist marriages]]).
A September 9, 2012 article at ''Atlantic Wire'' wrote about the noted atheist [[John Lennon]]:
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."<ref>Arkowitz, Hal and Lilienfeld, Scott O. (May–June 2010). [http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-men-the-more-belligerent-sex/ "Are men the more belligerent sex? Men are more dangerous, but women can be just as aggressive"]. ''Mind''. Retrieved from ''Scientific American'' website.</ref>
[[File:Vodka.jpg|thumbnail|200px|right|[[Alcoholism]] was a serious social problem in the former atheistic [[Soviet Union]].<ref>Pomerlau, Joceline, et. al. (May–June 2008). [httphttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18245818 "Hazardous alcohol drinking in the former Soviet Union: A cross-sectional study of eight countries"]. ''Alcohol and Alcoholism'', vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 351-9. Retrieved from PubMed.gov</ref> Between 1940 and 1980, this [[atheist state]] had the largest increase of the amount of alcohol usage in the developed world.<ref>Anderson, Sandra C. and Hibbs, Valerie K. (October 1992). [http://isw.sagepub.com/content/35/4/441.extract "Alcoholism in the Soviet Union" [first page]]. ''International Social Work'', vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 441-53 [fee or registration required for full article]. First page retrieved from Sage journals/International Social Work.</ref>]]
Atheists and atheistic societies often have significant problems with excess alcohol usage (For more information please see: [[Atheism and alcoholism]]).
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.<ref>[httphttps://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/mens-health.htm "Excessive alcohol use and risks to men's health"] (November 19, 2014). U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website/Alcohol and Public Health/Fact Sheets</ref>}}
== Atheism and rape ==
{{cquote|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.<ref>Ammi, Ken (2010 or bef.). [http://www.truefreethinker.com/articles/atheism-bible-rape-evilbiblecom-and-dan-barker-part-1-6 "Atheism, the Bible, rape, EvilBible.com and Dan Barker"]. True Freethinker website.</ref>}}
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)"<ref>Butt, Kyle, M.A. (2010). [http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=2333 "God did not condone rape"]. Apologetics Press website.</ref> (see: [httphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vPW4aZ0BUI 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.
=== Mass rape during the occupation of Germany by the Soviet army ===
[[File:Stalin-140508 27880t.jpg|thumbnail|left|200px|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."<ref name="Roberts">{{cite news| url=httphttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1080493/Stalins-army-rapists-The-brutal-war-crime-Russia-Germany-tried-ignore.html | location=London | work=Daily Mail | first=Andrew | last=Roberts | title=Stalin's army of rapists: The brutal war crime that Russia and Germany tried to ignore | date=24 October 2008}}</ref>]]
''See also:'' [[Mass rape during the occupation of Germany|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 [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist-Leninists]] to power."<ref name="Marxism-Leninism">{{cite web|url=httphttps://web.archive.org/web/20130728215151/http://www.investigatingatheism.info/marxism.html|title=History: 20th Century History: Marxism|publisher = University of Cambridge|work=Investigating Atheism|quote=The most notable spread of atheism was achieved through the success of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which brought the Marxist-Leninists to power. For the first time in history, atheism thus became the official ideology of a state.|year=2008|accessdate=July 17, 2014}} See [[University of Cambridge]].</ref>
The journalist Peter Hitchens is the [[ex-atheists|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]]).<ref>Statham, Dominic (September 6, 2011). [httphttps://creation.com/britain-needs-god "Britain needs God"]. Creation Ministries International website.</ref>
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 Union|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.<ref name="ElizabethHeineman">Multiple references:
<br>
Heineman, Elizabeth (1996). [httphttps://books.google.com/books?id=00fCzJKt1QMC&pg=PA28&lpg=PA28&dq=soviet+estimates+rape+tens+of+thousands&source=web&ots=xzyKzJm1sj&sig=cy2AfPmp7ZvT7K9YSWPRkXoyp6E "The hour of the woman: Memories of Germany's 'crisis years' and West German national identity"]. ''American Historical Review'', vol. 101, iss. 2, pp. 354-395 reprinted in Schissler, Hanna, editor (2001), ''The Miracle Years: A Cultural History of West Germany, 1949–1968'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press), ch. 1, p. 28. Preview retrieved from GoogleBooks archive.<!--jstor=2170395-->
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
{{cite web|last=Remme|first=Tilman|year=2007|url=httphttps://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/berlin_01.shtml|title=World Wars: The battle for Berlin in World War Two|work=History|publisher=Bbc.co.uk|accessdate=10 December 2014}}
<br>
<br>
{{cite web|last=Westervelt|first=Eric|url=httphttps://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106687768|title=Silence broken on Red Army rapes in Germany|date=17 July 2009|work=NPR.org|accessdate=10 December 2014}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |first=William I. |last=Hitchcock |title=The Struggle for Europe: The Turbulent History of a Divided Continent, 1945 to the Present |publisher=Anchor Books |year=2004 |url=http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385497992&view=excerpt |isbn=978-0-385-49799-2}}</ref>
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."<ref>Applebaum, Anne (October 2012). ''Iron Curtain, The Crushing of Eastern Europe'' (New York, NY: Knopf Doubleday), p. 32.</ref> 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."<ref name="Roberts"/>
[[File:Rebecca-watson.jpg|thumbnail|200px|Atheist [[Rebecca Watson]]
<small>(photo obtained from [httphttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rebecca_watson_geek.jpg Wikimedia commons], see: [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en license agreement])</small>]]
Post Elevatorgate controversy, at an atheist convention, [[Rebecca Watson]] claimed:
{{cquote|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".<ref>[httphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1mLHdTsmPc "PZ Myers and the art of shameless dishonesty"] (July 5, 2012). YouTube video, 6:32, posted by Thunderf00t.</ref>}}
In addition, Watson declared: "I get regular rape threats. I get regular rape and murder threats".<ref>[httphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96FtpDLi_Vw "FreeThoughtBlogs and PZ Myers"] (July 13, 2012). YouTube video, 15:41, posted by Thunderf00t.</ref>
According to Rebecca Watson atheist women are often punished for being outspoken - particularly when they speak about [[feminism]].<ref name=Huff3>[http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/women-are-afraid-of-atheism/51fae2acfe344467f2000596 "Calling all female atheists"] (August 6, 2013). HuffPost Live video, 25:35.</ref> In August 2013, Watson said the harassment she received from male atheists skyrocketed after Elevatorgate.<ref name=Huff3/> Furthermore, she said she still receives harassment from male fans of Richard Dawkins.<ref name=Huff3/> 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".<ref name=Huff3/>
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'."<ref>Blake, Heidi (February 26, 2010). [httphttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7322177/Richard-Dawkins-in-bitter-web-censorship-row-with-fellow-atheists.html "Richard Dawkins in bitter web censorship row with fellow atheists"]. [U.K.] Telegraph website.</ref> In addition, Richard Dawkins [[Abrasiveness of Richard Dawkins|has a reputation for being abrasive]].
See also:
[[File:David Silverman Rally.jpg|thumbnail|left|200px|[[David Silverman]] took feminist [[Rebecca Watson]] off the speakers list for the Reason Rally after Richard Dawkins objected to her speaking at the event.<ref>Sarah (September 5, 2013). [http://skepchick.org/2013/09/my-time-with-richard-dawkins-or-why-you-should-never-meet-your-idols/ "My time with Richard Dawkins (or, Why you should never meet your idols)"]. Skepchick website. See [[Skepchick]].</ref> ]]
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.<ref name=KW>Winston, Kimberly (November 18, 2014). [httphttps://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/richard-dawkins-stands-by-remarks-on-sexism-pedophilia-down-syndrome/2014/11/18/a2915cd8-6f64-11e4-a2c2-478179fd0489_story.html "Richard Dawkins stands by remarks on sexism, pedophilia, Down syndrome"] Religion News Service syndicated to the ''Washington Post''.</ref>
Specifically, the ''Washington Post'' reported on November 18, 2014:
Studies indicate that [[Atheist Population|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.<ref>Multiple references:
*Edwards, Lin (July 28, 2010). [http://www.physorg.com/news199509031.html "Study demonstrates sexual attraction to those who resemble our parents, ourselves"]. PhysOrg.com.
*Rockwell, Susanne (March 10, 2004). [httphttps://web.archive.org/web/20130214220057/http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/6188 "We want to marry people like ourselves, anthropologist says"]. Retrieved from February 14, 2013 archive of University of Calfornia website/UC Newsroom at Internet Archive.</ref> 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).<ref>[httphttps://www.gotquestions.org/household-salvation.html "What does the Bible say about household salvation?"] (2007 or bef.) gotQuestions?org website.</ref> Also, interfaith marriages often have greater marital friction and interfaith marriages historically have had higher rates of divorce.<ref>Shellnutt, Kate (June 14, 2010). [http://blogs.chron.com/believeitornot/2010/06/interfaith_marriages_more_like_1.html "Interfaith marriages more likely to fail"]. Chron.com [Houston]/Believe It or Not blog.</ref> 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.
Christian apologist Michael Caputo wrote:
{{cquote|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.<ref name=ammicmi>Ammi, Ken (June 11, 2009). [httphttps://creation.com/atheism "Atheism"]. Creation Ministries International. Retrieved on July 19, 2014.</ref>}}[[File:DepressionDepressed woman.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]] ]]
[[Vox Day]] declared that according to the 2001 [[American Religious Identification Survey]] (ARIS) "more than half of all atheists and [[agnosticism|agnostics]] don’t get married."<ref name=ammicmi/>
Research indicates that religious women (especially [[evangelicalism|evangelical]]/[[low church]] [[Protestantism|Protestant]] women) are more sexually satisfied than irreligious women.<ref>Multiple references:
*Laumann, Edward O. et al. ''The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States'', p. 115.
*Carlson, Tucker (November 25, 2008). [httphttps://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2008/11/25/the-christian-sexual-awakening.html "Why are Christians having better sex than the rest of us?"] The Daily Beast website.
*[http://blog.getrelationshiphelp.com/2009/07/christian-women-have-more-sexual-fun.html Christian Women Have More Sexual Fun], Relationship Center in Springfield Missouri</ref>
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]]).<ref>[http://www.rawstory.com/2014/04/confirmed-mens-rights-activism-is-for-misogynists-without-god/ Confirmed: “Men’s Rights Activism” Is For Misogynists Without God], ''Raw Story''</ref> 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]]).
=== Femen ===
''See also:'' [[Femen]]
[[Femen]] is a [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] radical [[feminism|feminist]] activist group which is now based in Paris. According to the ''[[Washington Post]]'', "Femen’s members consider [[atheism]] to be a fundamental tenet of the group’s ideology."<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/11/12/meet-femen-naked-shock-troops-feminism-who-greeted-trump-with-topless-protest-paris/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.eb5ef3499053 Meet Femen, the ‘naked shock troops of feminism’ who greeted Trump with a topless protest in Paris], By Antonia Noori Farzan, Washington Post, November 12, 2018</ref>
Femen engages in topless publicity stunts/protests. Femen was one of the first radical feminist organizations to gain transnational media publicity.
== Atheism and the sexual exploitation of women and children ==
[[File:Larry Flynt Wheelchair.jpg|thumbnail|175px|right|The [[pornography|pornographer]] [[Larry Flynt]] is an atheist.<ref>Multiple references:
*Flynt writes, "I have left my religious conversion behind and settled into a comfortable state of atheism": see the epilogue of Flynt, Larry and Ross, Kenneth (June 1, 2008). ''An Unseemly Man: My Life as Pornographer, Pundit, and Social Outcast''.
*"I am not saying he don't believe in God. I am just saying I don't believe in God. That puts me at odds with him." [httphttps://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9701/11/falwell.v.flynt/lkl.00.html "Larry Flynt and Jerry Falwell" [transcript]] (January 10, 1996). Larry King Live. Transcript retrieved from CNN.com</ref> See: [[Atheism and hedonism]] ]]
The infamous [[pornography|pornographers]] [[Hugh Hefner]] and [[Larry Flynt]] are both atheists.<ref>Multiple references:
*Gottesdiener, Laura (February 23, 2010). [httphttps://www.salon.com/2013/02/23/10_celebs_you_didnt_know_were_atheists_partner/ "10 celebs you didn't know were atheists"]. Salon.
*Flynt writes, "I have left my religious conversion behind and settled into a comfortable state of atheism": see the epilogue of Flynt, Larry and Ross, Kenneth (June 1, 2008). ''An Unseemly Man: My Life as Pornographer, Pundit, and Social Outcast''.
*"I am not saying he don't believe in God. I am just saying I don't believe in God. That puts me at odds with him." [httphttps://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9701/11/falwell.v.flynt/lkl.00.html "Larry Flynt and Jerry Falwell" [transcript]] (January 10, 1996). Larry King Live. Transcript retrieved from CNN.com</ref>
In 2003, ''Arena magazine'' magazine listed Flynt as #1 on the "50 Powerful People in Porn" list.<ref>[http://www.onenewspage.us/people/ms9j0/Larry-Flynt.htm "Larry Flynt"] (2015 or bef.). One News Page/People.</ref> Flynt is paralyzed from the waist down due to injuries sustained from a 1978 assassination attempt by the serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin.<ref>Multiple references:
''See also:'' [[Elevatorgate]] and [[Richard Dawkins and women]] and [[Atheism, polyamory and other immoral relationships|Atheist leaders and immoral relationships]] and [[Atheist hypocrisy]]
[[File:Richard Dawkins at Royal Dublin Society Concert Hall.jpg|alt=Richard Dawkins|thumbnail|200px|right|The [[Oxford University]] Professor [[Daniel Came]] wrote to the [[agnosticism|agnostic]] Richard Dawkins: "The absence of a debate with the foremost [[Christian apologetics|apologist]] for [[Christianity|Christian]] [[theism]] is a glaring omission on your [[Curriculum vitae|CV]] and is of course apt to be interpreted as [[Atheism and cowardice|cowardice]] on your part."<ref>Ross, Tim (May 14, 2011). [httphttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8511931/Richard-Dawkins-accused-of-cowardice-for-refusing-to-debate-existence-of-God.html "Richard Dawkins accused of cowardice for refusing to debate existence of God"]. The Daily Telegraph website. Retrieved July 25, 2014. See [[Daily Telegraph]].</ref> ]]
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.<ref>Multiple references:
*Clark-Flory, Tracy (July 8, 2011). [httphttps://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/07/08/atheist_flirting "Richard Dawkins: Skeptic of women?"] Salon website.
*Green, David Allen (July 6, 2011). [http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/david-allen-green/2011/07/richard-dawkins-chewing-gum "Sharing a lift with Richard Dawkins"]. NewStatesman/David Allen Green blog.
*Stern, Remy (July 7, 2011). [http://gawker.com/5818993/richard-dawkins-torn-limb-from-limbby-atheists "Richard Dawkins torn limb from limb—by atheists"]. Gawker website.
*Winston, Kimberly (September 15, 2011). [httphttps://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2011-09-15/atheist-sexism-women/50416454/1 "Atheists address sexism issues"]. USA Today website.</ref> 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.<ref>Watson, Rebecca (July 5, 2011). [http://skepchick.org/2011/07/the-privilege-delusion/ "The privilege delusion"]. Skepchick website.</ref>
=== Rebecca Watson's commentary about atheist conferences ===
''See also:'' [[Richard Dawkins and women]]
[[File:Sam Harris 01.jpg|thumbnail|250px|right|In 2014, [[Sam Harris]] said that atheist activism lacks an “estrogen vibe” and was “to some degree intrinsically male”. <ref name="christiantoday.com">[http://www.christiantoday.com/article/atheist.writer.sam.harris.faces.backlash.over.estrogen.vibe.comments/40735.htm Atheist writer Sam Harris faces backlash over 'estrogen vibe' comments] by Heather Tomlinson, ''Christianity Today'', September 17, 2014</ref> ]]
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.”<ref name=Adam>Lee, Adam (September 18, 2014). [httphttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/18/richard-dawkins-sexist-atheists-bad-name "Richard Dawkins has lost it: Ignorant sexism gives atheists a bad name"]. ''The Guardian''.</ref>
=== Sam Harris and charges of misogny ===
Like his fellow new atheist Richard Dawkins, [[Sam Harris]] has raised the ire of [[feminism|feminists]].<ref>Multiple references:
*Marcotte, Amanda (October 3, 2014). [httphttps://www.salon.com/2014/10/03/new_atheisms_troubling_misogyny_the_pompous_sexism_of_richard_dawkins_and_sam_harris_partner/ "Atheism’s shocking woman problem: What’s behind the misogyny of Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris?"] Alternet website reprinted at Salon website.
*Libby Anne (September 20, 2014). [http://www.patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/2014/09/is-sam-harris-sexist.html "Is Sam Harris sexist?"]. Patheos/Love, Joy, Feminism blog.
*Tomlinson, Heather (September 17, 2014). [http://www.christiantoday.com/article/atheist.writer.sam.harris.faces.backlash.over.estrogen.vibe.comments/40735.htm "Atheist writer Sam Harris faces backlash over 'estrogen vibe' comments"]. Christianity Today website/Society.</ref>
In 2014, Harris said that atheist activism lacks an “estrogen vibe” and was “to some degree intrinsically male”.<ref>Tomlinson, Heather (September 17, 2014). [http://www.christiantoday.com/article/atheist.writer.sam.harris.faces.backlash.over.estrogen.vibe.comments/40735.htm "Atheist writer Sam Harris faces backlash over 'estrogen vibe' comments"]. Christianity Today website/Society.</ref>
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?"<ref>Marcotte, Amanda (October 3, 2014). [httphttps://www.salon.com/2014/10/03/new_atheisms_troubling_misogyny_the_pompous_sexism_of_richard_dawkins_and_sam_harris_partner/ "Atheism’s shocking woman problem: What’s behind the misogyny of Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris?"] Alternet website reprinted at Salon website.</ref> On September 20, 2014, the feminist blogger Libby Anne wrote an article entitled "Is Sam Harris sexist?"<ref>Libby Anne (September 20, 2014). [http://www.patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/2014/09/is-sam-harris-sexist.html "Is Sam Harris sexist?"]. Patheos/Love, Joy, Feminism blog.</ref> Atheist Sam Fincke wrote a piece entitled "On Sam Harris’s reply to feminist critics".<ref>Fincke, Daniel (September 16, 2014). [http://www.patheos.com/blogs/camelswithhammers/2014/09/on-sam-harriss-reply-to-feminist-critics/ "On Sam Harris’s reply to feminist critics"]. Patheos/Camels with Hammers blog.</ref>
In his defense, Harris published an article on his website titled, ''“I’m Not the Sexist Pig You’re Looking For”''<ref>Harris, Sam (September 15, 2014). [http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/im-not-the-sexist-pig-youre-looking-for “I’m not the sexist pig you’re looking for”]. Sam Harris website.</ref>
Older women are a significant source of major donors for fundraisers. Due to the gender imbalance with the atheist population, the atheist movement has a smaller base of major donors (See: [[Atheist movement, women and a smaller base of major donors]]).
== Atheism, women and the animal rights movement ==
See also: [[Atheism, women and the animal rights movement]]
== Women atheist activists ==
*[[Polly Toynbee]]
*[[Greta Christina]]
*[[Jen McCreightSikivu Hutchinson]]
*[[Maryam Nazamie]]
*[[Skepchick]]
*[[Margaret Downey]]
*Erkki Hartikainen (Finland)
According to a Nielson study commissioned by the Romance Writers of America, in 2014, women made up 82% of romance book buyers.<ref>[https://www.rwa.org/p/cm/ld/fid=582 Romance Reader Statistics]</ref>
As of May 20, 2016, as far as books, Amazon.com has 32 search results for the term "atheist romance".<ref>[httphttps://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=atheist++romance&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Aatheist++romance Atheist romance - Amazon]</ref> 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".<ref>[httphttps://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/191-2357257-5380358?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Christian+romance Amazon - Christian romance]</ref>
== See also ==
*[[Atheism and diversity]]
*[[Atheism, race and gender]]
*[[Skepchick]]
*[[Atheism plus]]
*[[Post sexual harassment allegations against Lawrence Krauss and David Silverman, searches for atheism related topics have dropped markedly]]
Other:
== External links ==
Atheism and sexism: *[httphttps://www.pewforumsalon.orgcom/20162018/03/2202/womenfor-moreatheists-likelymetoo-thanmight-menbe-totoo-affiliatelittle-withtoo-a-religionlate/ Women more likely than men to affiliate with a religionFor atheists, #MeToo might be too little, too late], Pew Forum''Salon'', 2018
*[http://www.buzzfeed.com/markoppenheimer/will-misogyny-bring-down-the-atheist-movement Will Misogyny Bring Down The Atheist Movement?] by Mark Oppenheimer
*[https://www.thenation.com/article/atheists-show-their-sexist-side/ Atheists Show Their Sexist Side], ''The Nation''