Politics, Individualism, and Atheism: An Examination of the Political Attitudes of Atheist Activists in a Canadian City

Jonathan Simmons

doi:10.5334/snr.112

Abstract

Given the growth of atheism in the Western world (including activist organizations), and atheists becoming more political, it is essential to understand the identities and values that motivate atheist activism. One avenue for exploring these identities and values is through an examination of individual political attitudes. Although the scholarship on atheist activists’ political attitudes is limited, some scholars have identified the apparent growth of right-wing sentiments within the US atheist movement (LeDrew 2016). Others have identified a contentious relationship between prominent atheists’ political attitudes and egalitarian views (e.g., anti-sexism and anti-racism) (Amarasingam, Amarnath, and Brewster 2016). Of those scholars who have commented on atheists’ viewpoints, most emphasize the liberalism of the broader population of atheists. The purpose of this article is to examine the political attitudes of atheist activists in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and highlight a core set of political attitudes and values that atheists share despite intra-movement disagreements about the relationship between atheist identity and political ideology. My findings show that some Canadian atheist activists’ share a cluster of liberal and Enlightenment ideals that includes personal liberty, individualism, and an absolutist view of free expression. This article will be of interest to scholars of atheist activism as well as social movement scholars.

Highlights

Given the expansion of organized atheism and the potential emergence of atheist politics, it is essential to understand how atheist activists conceptualize their atheist identities and relevant political attitudes and values
These attitudes were in turn reflected in their approaches to atheist activism and their viewpoints regarding the emergence of New Atheism, a primarily American literary phenomenon as well as a more strident form of atheist activism
The empirical analyses within this article represent a significant contribution to scholarly research into the political attitudes and values of Canadian atheist activists

Summary

Introduction

Given the expansion of organized atheism and the potential emergence of atheist politics, it is essential to understand how atheist activists conceptualize their atheist identities and relevant political attitudes and values. Most of my participants found themselves united by significant personal attitudes and values that eclipsed their more pedestrian concerns regarding party politics. These attitudes were in turn reflected in their approaches to atheist activism and their viewpoints regarding the emergence of New Atheism, a primarily American literary phenomenon as well as a more strident form of atheist activism.. The article is organized as follows: first, I describe the literature addressing the political views of atheist activists. I conclude with a discussion of the implications of this article and offer suggestions for further research

Objectives

Methods

Findings

Conclusion