There has been a growing interest in studying and reporting on the rapidly growing population of “nones” (people unaffiliated with religion) in the United States in recent years, and with it a growing recognition of the impact of this demographic on our culture and politics. 

However, the research being conducted, analysis presented, and resulting discourse in media and academia about this population continues to be influenced by religion. 

Even prominent media outlets like The Atlantic and The New York Times explore the rise of the nones as a “problem” for U.S. society because people are lacking faith or communities. 

The research, led by institutions like the Pew Research Center often explore how religious life has declined as a problem to be solved, not as a societal trend in which people need to be understood why they are leaving in their own words and terms. It is quite common for cable news and mainstream publications to interview religious people (including clergy) for commentary about nonreligious people. Atheists are being talked about, but we are not being talked to. 

The vast majority of foundation funding available for nationally representative new research on this demographic is awarded to individuals and institutions with a religious bent. Furthermore, prominent atheist social scientists and researchers struggle to obtain funding.

Organizations like the Templeton Foundation provide grants to researchers, as long as there is some sort of spiritual component attached to it. Meanwhile organizations like the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture have folded in recent years due to lack of funding, leaving a vacuum for scholars who belong to atheist and humanist communities to share their work with like minded researchers. 

With your support, members of our own community in the field of Secular Studies will be empowered to lead research initiatives. The survey questions asked and the way in which survey questions are asked would be completely different, and would result in richer, better data about the nonreligious.

In turn, this data would benefit atheist organizations seeking to engage atheists in their respective community and advocacy work. And, critically, it would empower us to reclaim public narratives about our community.