New Study Shows Number of American Atheists Underreported
Religion News Service’s Kimberly Winston reports on a study that suggests as high as 26 percent of Americans might be atheists, compared to previously reported poll numbers of between 3 and 10 percent. Winston writes, “The report by two University of Kentucky scholars suggests that because people may be embarrassed to admit they don’t believe in God, the number of Americans who say they are non-believers may be artificially low.” Will Gervais, one of the study’s authors, told Vox in an interview, “There’s a lot of atheists in the closet, and … if they knew there are lots of people just like them out there, that could potentially promote more tolerance.”