Atheists in the U.S. are more likely to hide their beliefs if they are women, Republicans, if they live in the South or if they’ve previously been religious, according to new research by Rice and West Virginia universities.
“If someone is already in a marginalized group — like women — or are members of a group that is heavily religious — such as Republicans or Southern Americans — it stands to reason they are less likely to take on the additional stigma of being an ‘out’ atheist,” said Jacqui Frost, a postdoctoral research fellow in sociology and the Religion and Public Life Program at Rice University.
With this new study, “Patterns of Perceived Hostility and Identity Concealment among Self-Identified Atheists,” Frost said researchers wanted to explore whether people who affirm atheist labels are more comfortable than other nonreligious people about sharing their atheism with others.
Source: Study: Atheists who are women, Republicans or Southerners more likely to hide beliefs