Abstract
This chapter focuses on secular people’s fundamental paradox, (non)belief, and it provides an overview of the belief-centered terms they use to describe themselves. Some secular people refuse to be called “nonbelievers” because they insist they have beliefs; others resist the language of “belief” because it is too religious. Both are right. Nonbelievers share with one another ideas about what is real and the best way to know reality, and their assertions differ from those of most religious people. They draw from a constellation of overlapping labels to emphasize the negative or positive aspects of their ambiguous identities. The secular paradox fuels disputes among nonbelievers over what to call themselves, which impede their ability to make themselves fully legible in American life.
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