What many of us knew already is finally making some news: it is dangerous to be a non-believer in much of the world. Below is the poll that I had on the main page for a few days; the results are interesting but not surprising. Please add your comments about both the linked article and the poll. How can atheist-oriented organizations help move us in a safer direction for all?
Although about 80% of the respondents to the survey report being from the United States (top state so far: California), the remaining 20% are from 44 (and counting) different countries around the world including Malta (1), New Zealand (8), Nigeria (1), India (4), and Norway (3). The top country thus far (excluding the US) is Canada (105).
Nations in the Middle East are totally absent to this point, and, as with many nations, the fact that the survey only exists in English remains an issue. I am open to any suggestions as to how to reach out more effectively.
If any of the leadership of atheist organizations around the world would like access to the data specific to their nation I will be happy to accommodate, but to make the data meaningful we will need many more respondents. Blog, Tweet, Facebook, etc. the link to the survey to people in your nation and let’s work together to better understand the world of atheists.
Here is the url for the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HDJ5C6L
Perhaps the time has come for a call to reexamine the tax-emempt status of the church in the US.
And indeed there is legal action in this directions!
I have been very gratified to see that many, many people are taking the time to answer the open-ended questions on the survey. Here are just a few:
Survey question: If you are currently in a “mixed” relationship (one believer and one non-believer), how is this situation a factor?
The survey results are coming in at a rapid rate, and it is great that so many have spread the word about the survey. For those who are still passing on information, please let people know that taking the survey is an investment in time.
The preliminary results of the Poll on this blog site that indicate most people are taking about 20 minutes.
Atheist friends and colleagues,
I write to ask your assistance on getting the word out about a survey designed to help us better understand the world of atheists.
I am a sociologist at Elon University and have been researching atheists and atheism for the last five years. I have amassed a team here at Elon to support me in doing this research, and we will all be quite honored to make a modest contribution to the cause of atheism. Our main goal is to serve the atheist community.
What do we know about the make-up of the atheist community both here in the United States and around the world? What are the perceptions of atheists about the state of atheism-related organizations and what these entities can or should do for them? What are the perceptions of atheists about believers? What types of atheists are there? How does being an atheist impact how one navigates in the social world? What is the demographic makeup of the atheist community both in the United States and around the world? What similarities and differences are there among atheists of different genders, ages, and geographical locations?
Though one can find answers to these questions in various books, articles, blogs and forums, having a robust, fresh set of survey data can serve to deepen, clarify, and expand on what we already know -or assume we know- about the world of atheists. The intent of this survey is to generate such a data set and thus assist atheist-oriented organizations better to understand and serve the atheist community. All relevant data (and analysis thereof) will be made available to the leadership of appropriate atheist- oriented organizations.
Getting the word out about this survey is critical so that we may hear the voices of as many atheists as is possible and, ultimately, work together to make ours a world where atheists are both understood and represented.
The url for the survey is http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HDJ5C6L. I have also set up a web site for the survey at www.servingatheists.org that will serve as a place people can go for updates, preliminary reports on the data, and also to offer comments.
Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Dr. Tom Arcaro
Professor of Sociology
Elon University
Elon, NC 27244
This survey is a collaborative effort spearheaded by Richard “Brother Richard” Haynes of Atheist Nexus International. Summary results of this survey will be presented at a meeting of the leadership of both national and regional atheist-related organizations taking place late this coming January in Atlanta, Georgia.
This web site will be used to provide updates regarding the survey and as a space for presenting some of the results.
You are welcome to add your comments and tweets to each post. Add comments by simply clicking on the “post a comment” link at the end of each post. Tweet your comments by using #servingatheists.
Both your comments and tweets will be public on this web site.
This is an example page. It’s different from a blog post because it will stay in one place and will show up in your site navigation (in most themes). Most people start with an About page that introduces them to potential site visitors. It might say something like this:
Hi there! I’m a bike messenger by day, aspiring actor by night, and this is my blog. I live in Los Angeles, have a great dog named Jack, and I like piña coladas. (And gettin’ caught in the rain.)
…or something like this:
The XYZ Doohickey Company was founded in 1971, and has been providing quality doohickies to the public ever since. Located in Gotham City, XYZ employs over 2,000 people and does all kinds of awesome things for the Gotham community.
As a new WordPress user, you should go to your dashboard to delete this page and create new pages for your content. Have fun!
