Fewer people are affiliated with religion in the United States, but that hardly means that they’re all atheists.
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Social factors, from wealth to politics, may shape whether people who do not believe in God identify as an atheist.
Sunday Assembly is one of the larger secular congregations aiming to provide community and ritual for nonreligious people.
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A sociologist of religion explains how atheist churches are helping people find meaning and community – serving many of the same purposes as religious churches.
Chaplains talk with anyone, regardless of whether or not the patient has a religious affiliation – and some chaplains themselves are not religious.
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As more Americans step away from organized religion, so do more chaplains – but they are prepared to offer spiritual care regardless of a patient’s beliefs.
Politicians all over the spectrum have long tried to appeal to religious voters. What about atheists, agnostics and nothing-in-particulars?
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Nonreligious voters are poised to make an impact, but sweeping statements about the ‘nones’ don’t tell the full story.
An empty church in Hiers-Brouage, France.
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Secularization has fascinated sociologists for 200 years – but that doesn’t mean they always agree on what it is, or how much it’s happening.
Supporters of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party describe their presidential candidate and his running mate as unifiers because of their ethnic and religious mix.
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Damage to the fragile Nigerian state is one possible fallout of mixing religion with politics.
A chaplain hugs a registered nurse at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Los Angeles.
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Chaplains have always provided spiritual care outside traditional houses of worship, but their significance is growing as Americans’ religious identities change.
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A look at whether modern Buddhists adhere to the faith’s original religious principles or simply guilty of a cherrypicking cultural appropriation that turns religion into a fad.
The interior of the International Church of Cannabis in Denver, Colorado.
International Church of Cannabis Denver, Colorado
America’s religious landscape is getting more diverse as people find new ways of expressing spirituality.
Religion shapes how many people vote – and lack of religion does, too.
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Winning elections isn’t just a matter of how many players you have. It’s how engaged they are.
Congress includes people of many faiths – but not many who profess no faith at all.
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Despite a growing number of non-religious Americans, self-declared atheists are few and far between in the halls of power – putting the US at odds with other global democracies.
Christians hold signs as they march on the streets of Abuja calling for peace and security in Nigeria.
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Recent incidents have been read as a campaign against Christians, but other religious groups feel they are targets too.
Amina Ahmed, wife of Mubarak Bala, recently convicted of blasphemy, displays her husband’s photo in Abuja, Nigeria.
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Insults against religion are illegal in Nigeria’s multi-faceted legal codes.
Pupils in a school in Nairobi, Kenya, pray before a meal.
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Statistics on religious affiliation in Africa are often questionable - partly because of religion’s link to ethnicity and politics.
Members of the Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh take part in a march in Ahmedabad, India.
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A scholar on South Asian affairs traces the growth of Hindu nationalism, started by an atheist anti-colonial revolutionary, to the one adopted under Modi’s government.
The public often assumes that scientists are atheists. The reality, however, is more complex.
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Two sociologists conducted interviews with atheist scientists and found that their views on religion are not as strident as the public perceives. Some even go to church.
People in attend a talk at the American Atheists National Convention in 2014. Many Americans remain distrustful of atheists, surveys show.
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Americans are getting more comfortable with new forms of spirituality, but their views of atheists are still complicated.
Fifty years ago, did John Lennon tell us not to pray?
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Regularly topping lists for ‘greatest song of all time,’ the former Beatle’s classic 1971 song is taken by many as an atheistic anthem.
Walter Plywaski fought for atheists to be given citizenship rights.
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Polish-born Holocaust survivor paved the way for atheists to refuse pledge to God in citizenship oath. But discrimination against nonreligious Americans remains.
Christian nationalists are pushing for ‘In God We Trust’ to be omnipresent.
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‘In God We Trust’ became the national motto of the US on July 30, 1956. Since then, it has been used to forward a conservative Christian agenda.