Religion offers numerous community assistance and serenity, the faith of believing that some greater force has your back. But, as the LGBTQ group knows well, faith can have a darker side, too. Bigoted philosophy pushes some people out of the church they were raised in, and like the LGBTQ community, those who do not believe in God are often labeled as reprobate and evil by religious people and treated as such.
While the challenges are not the same, gayness and atheism find cooperation in shame, the fight against religious doctrine intruding on politics, and the need for community.
Overlap
Gay people are more likely to be religious than the general public: 48 percent reported having no religious involvement in a study done by the, compared to 20 percent of the general public. On the flip side, skeptics are increasingly accepting of the LGBTQ community, with 94 percent saying “homosexuality may be accepted”, even compared to 62 percent of the general public.
According to, 30 percent of people who left their past religious associations did so because of “negative spiritual teachings about or care of LGBTQ people”, and as “religious liberty” continues to be used as an excuse for prejudice against the LGBTQ community, its antagonism finds allies in the atheist area.
“New Atheists believe that society will be more just, more prosperous, and more peaceful when elected officials can set policy based simply on a reasoned weighing of the evidence, and not appeals to scripture,” atheist Adam Lee wrote for. “So, our say is that by weakening the power of religion, both spiritual liberals and liberal philosophers stand to gain.”
The overlap between communities is unsurprising when you consider the historical religious attitudes toward both same-sex relationships and nonbelievers. Religious stigma unites the LGBTQ and atheist communities, while queer people often face the stigma and disgust of being labeled “sinner,” atheists are often similarly treated as immoral. In fact, from the University of Minnesota found that 42 percent of people believed atheists “do not at all agree with my vision of American society” and 43.7 percent said they would “disapprove of an atheist marrying their child.” These stigmas may lead to mental health issues, as both groups are more likely to attempt suicide than their counterparts, according to studies published in the and.
Distinctions
While the overlap between the LGBTQ and atheist communities is significant, there are still many religious queer people — for whom, as queer atheist Camille Beredjick argues in her book, “Queer Disbelief: Why LGBTQ Equality is an Atheist Issue”, atheists should still advocate.
“I do not need to be freed from the Catholic Church,” Bryan, a Catholic trans man, told Beredjick in an interview for the book. “I am a devout man who can really make a difference in my community. I would not feel freer without religion. I have tried it, and I felt lost and alone without it. Please do not pity me or look down on me. I know the Catholic Church is imperfect, but it is mine and I love it deeply.”
Furthermore, many atheists are clear that when it comes to stigma, anti-atheist sentiments rarely manifest in the same ways homophobic and xenophobic stigmas do and should not be equated.
“Personally speaking, I rarely fear for my safety as an atheist in the U.S., but I frequently do as a queer person,” gay atheist Chris Stedman told. “I have been physically assaulted for being queer, and many of my Muslim and Jewish friends have also been the victims of hate crimes. This is not to say that anti-atheist hate crimes do not happen, but statistically they are extremely less common.”
Finding Community
However, while anti-atheist stigma may not necessarily be life-threatening, it is still damaging, and since atheism is not often organized around, atheists may lack the community and support from other atheists that religion offers.
If you’re an atheist looking for community, resources you can turn to include a hub for people detaching from harmful belief systems,, the premier organization fighting for the civil liberties of atheists since 1963, and the. The meetup group also meets monthly around the metro area, the next meeting is on March 24 at Steinbeck’s in Decatur.
