Ideology and the Secular Vote in 2024
[Note: Published in Secular Politics on May 23, 2025] Today, we continue the analysis of secular voters in 2024, examining ideology or how voters self-identify based on their views (liberal, conservative, or moderate). Among the overall voting population, 29% identify as liberal or very liberal, 37% as conservative or conservative, and 33% as moderate. This […]
Partisanship among 2024 Secular Voters
According to the VoteCast, in 2024, 45% of voters identified as Democrats, while 50% identified as Republicans and 6% as independents, with no leanings toward either major party. Notably, when examining the darker shades representing those who identify as either Democratic or Republican, we see that Republicans have a slight advantage of five percentage points (42% to 37%). This means that of the U.S. voting population, about 22% identified as independents, split fairly evenly between Democrats and Republicans, with a small fraction unaligned.
The Secular Vote in 2024
[Note: This essay was originally published in Secular Politics as a three-part series between April 25 and May 9, 2025.] The Most Democratic Leaning Religion Cohort Last week, I attended the American Atheists Convention in Minneapolis. Aside from meeting new friends, finally meeting some online friends in person, and catching up with old friends, I […]
Born Secular
[Note: Published as “Staying Secular” in the March 28, 2025, edition of Secular Politics] Cradle Secularity is Rising A significant cohort of secular folks has increased in the last decade. I call this cohort “cradle seculars.” These are people who are currently secular and were also raised as secular. The recent Pew Landscape survey gives […]
Is the Secular Boom Over? Not Yet
[Note: Published in Secular Politics on March 21, 2025] The Secular Boom Continues Pew’s third Religion Landscape Survey shows that the Secular Boom (the fast growth among secular people) mostly happened between the 2007 and 2014 surveys. In that period, the share of the adult population that identifies as secular grew from 16% to 23% […]
Secular Identity and Belief by the Numbers
[Note: Published in Secular Politics on March 12, 2025] Seventy-six Million In this post, I continue exploring Pew’s third Religion Landscape Survey. My focus will be on raw numbers and growth rates. I calculated the raw numbers of people using census data from 2007, 2014, and 2023 (only adults 18+) and multiplied the percentages that […]
The State of the U.S. Secular Population
[Note: This post was initially published in Secular Politics with the title “Survey Landscaping” on February 28, 2025] The Pew Research Center released its third Religion Landscape Survey this week. It is a treasure trove of data that will take some time to dissect. Here are some of my topline takes. I promise to spend […]
Secular Voters Disagree on More than Candidates
Most secular Americans are expected to vote for the Democratic Party candidate in November, as secular voters have done for nearly four decades. While nearly seven in ten secular voters plan on voting for Joe Biden, a substantial minority will support President Donald Trump’s reelection bid. The 2020 Secular Voices Survey, a poll of 2,000 […]
The Secular Vote in 2020
Secular voters in the United States have consistently leaned toward the Democratic Party in recent decades. Since 1980, nonreligious voters have favored Democratic presidential candidates, and the 2020 election continued this trend. According to the 2020 National Exit Poll, 65% of secular voters supported Joe Biden, while 31% backed Donald Trump. This mirrors the results […]
