Atheists in America

The “new atheism” has given atheists in America a new lease on life, but there have been comparatively few studies of atheist beliefs, backgrounds, and experiences. Melanie Brewster’s compilation, Atheists in America, tries to fill that gap by presenting “voices of atheist individuals who represent a diverse array of racial groups, socioeconomic classes, and genders are presented; their relationships to the broader atheist community and outspokenness about religion vary greatly.”

The atheists who contribute to the book claim that, despite growing tolerance and reduced sectarianism among Americans, atheists are still outside the pale. Brewster finds similarities between atheist experience and that of gays and lesbians: “some academics, activists, and scholars have begun to draw communalities between LGBTQ people and atheists, notably, that both may ‘closet’ or choose to conceal their identities as members of stigmatized groups. . . . once a person reveals having an atheist (or LGBTQ) identity, other people are likely to react to these identities as if they are master statuses that dictate all aspects of the individual’s behavior.”