Polls and Studies

This page contains information pulled from various polls and surveys relating to the increase of atheists, non-theists, and "nones".

To jump directly to specific polls/surveys click the following links:
American Nones Report
2007 Gallup Poll
2006 Pew Survey
2008 ARIS
2006 Mosaic Study
"Addressing the Needs of Atheist Students"
2010 Pew U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey

American Nones Report

The Nones Study is based off the 2008 American Religious Identifications Survey. It looks specifically at the numbers in that survey having to do with the non-religious, or "nones", segment of the American population.

To view the full report please click here.

• The 1990s was the decade when the "secular boom" occurred - each year 1.3 million more adult Americans joined the ranks of the Nones. Since 2001 the annual increase has halved to 660,000 a year.
• Most Nones are 1st generation - only 32% of "current" Nones report they were Nones at age 12.
• Whereas Nones are presently 15% of the total adult U.S. population, 22% of Americans aged 18-29 years self-identify as Nones
• Geography remains a factor - more than 1 in 5 people in certain regions (the West, New England) are Nones.
• Class is not a distinguishing characteristic: Nones are not different from the general population by education or income.
• Regarding belief in the divine, most Nones are neither atheists nor theists but rather agnostics and deists (59%) and perhaps best described as skeptics.
• Race is a declining factor in differentiating Nones. Latinos have tripled their proportion among Nones from 1990-2008 from 4% to 12%.
• Politically, 21% of the nation's independents are Nones, as are 16% of Democrats and 8% of Republicans. In 1990, 12% of independents were Nones, as were 6% of Democrats and 6% of Republicans.

2007 Gallup Poll

This poll asked about the public's willingness to vote for presidential candidates from a variety of different genders, religions, and other backgrounds. While Americans overwhelmingly say they would vote for a black, woman, Catholic, or Hispanic president, they are less likely to support a Mormon candidate, one who is 72 years old, or one who has been married three times.

Read the full Gallup poll here.

• An atheist is the least likely to be elected, with only 45% of respondents saying they would vote for such a candidate
• Homosexuals do only slightly better with 55% responding that they would vote for such a candidate
• Interestingly, 95% of Americans would now vote for a Catholic, this shows how biases can disappear over time; being Catholic was a major issue in President Kennedy's 1960 election.
• All of these types of non-traditional candidates have grown in acceptance over the past 40 years except for a candidate who is Mormon; in that case the the numbers have remained largely unchanged.

2006 Generation Next Pew Survey

A new generation has come of age under the shadow of September 11th 2001 and the events that have followed it. They are very different from previous generations, having grown up with the internet, cell phones, and home computers. This generation is called Generation Next in this Pew Survey.

To view the whole survey please click here.

• They are the most tolerant of any generation on social issues such as immigration, race and homosexuality.
• In Pew surveys in 2006, nearly half of young people (48%) identified more with the Democratic Party, while just 35% affiliated more with the GOP. This makes Generation Next the least Republican generation.
• One-in-five members of Generation Next say they have no religious affiliation or are atheist or agnostic, nearly double the proportion of young people who said that in the late 1980s.
• 20% of today's 18-25 year-olds say they have no religious affiliation or are atheist or agnostic. Only 11% of those over age 25 fall into this category.
• Nearly 2/3 of Nexters (63%) believe humans and other living things evolved over time, while only 33% say all living creatures have existed in their present form since the beginning of time.

2008 American Religious Identification Survey

This was a survey of broad, general questions to determine one's religious affiliation or self-identity. It shows that the shifts in America's religious composition, while still significant, were not as large and widespread in 2000-2008 as they were in the 90's. Immigration has played a large part in the shifting of America's religious landscape.

To view the full Survey please click here.

• 86% of American adults identified as Christians in 1990 as compared to 76% in 2008.
• The challenge to Christianity in the U.S. does not come from other religions but rather from a rejection of all forms of organized religion.
• 27% of Americans do not expect a religious funeral at their death.
• 70% of Americans believe in a personal God, roughly 12% of Americans are atheist (no God) or agnostic (unknowable or unsure), and another 12% are deistic (a higher power but no personal God).
• The historic Mainline Christian churches have consistently lost market share since the 1950s, but since 2001 there has been a significant fall in numbers. Much of this has to do with the rise in the use of "non-denominational" Christianity

2006 Mosaic Atheist Study

Despite the declining amount of divisions among religious groups, the separation
between believers and nonbelievers in America remains strong. This article examines the limits of Americans' acceptance of atheists.

Please click here to view the full study.

• Atheists are less likely to be accepted, publicly and privately, than any others from a long list of ethnic, religious, and other minority groups.
• This is rooted in moral and symbolic, rather than ethnic or material, grounds.
• While about 14 percent of Americans name no religious preference, most of these religious "nones" also say that they believe in God and pray regularly
• In 2000; atheists and agnostics together made up a mere 7% of the American population
• Americans are less willing to accept intermarriage with atheists than with any other group, and less likely to imagine that atheists share their vision of American society.
• This study shows that women, African Americans, and older people are more likely to reject atheists, while those with more education, and whose fathers had more education, are more accepting of them.

"Invisible, Marginalized, and Stigmatized: Understanding and Addressing the Needs of Atheist Students"
by Kathleen M Goodman and John A. Mueller

This writing sets out to encourage educators and others who work in the field of Student Affairs to consider non-believing students. Often, atheistic students feel marginalized because while educators do focus on multiculturalism, it is usually a focus on other religious groups and does not include those who do not believe in the supernatural.

For more information, this article can be found in New Directions for Student Services, which can often be accessed with university credentials. You can also email a campus organizer for for information on this article.

• The term atheism is often characterized as a dark force that rejects the values of goodness, ethics, morality, and purpose.
• Many nonbelieving students view their atheism as more than a
  rejection of religion; it is their life philosophy that provides moral direction to do what is right and just.
• Atheists are the least trusted segment of the population, ranking below Muslims, recent immigrants, and gays and lesbians.
• In 2003, 17% of college students picked "none" as their religious preference.
• The authors give several suggestions that will help educators to stay away from marginalizing atheist students.

2010 Pew Forum U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey

Atheists and agnostics, Jews and Mormons are among the highest-scoring groups on a this survey of religious knowledge, outperforming evangelical Protestants, mainline Protestants and Catholics on questions about the core teachings, history and leading figures of major world religions.

Click here to view the full poll on the Pew Forum's website.
Click here to view the questions that were asked.

• On average, Americans correctly answer 16 of the 32 religious knowledge questions.
• Atheists and agnostics average 20.9 correct answers.
• Jews and Mormons are close, averaging 20.5 and 20.3 correct answers, respectively.
• Protestants as a whole average 16 correct answers while Catholics average about 14.7.
• Atheists, agnostics, Jews, and Mormons perform better than other groups on the survey even after controlling for differing levels of education.
• Atheists, agnostics, and Jews do the best on questions about world religions and American Constitutional rights
• Mormons and Evangelical Protestants do the best on questions focused on the Bible

Back to Top