(CNN) 鈥� In September, standing before a room full of听, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made a bold听: 鈥淚 诲辞苍鈥檛 know how you could be a leader without having faith in God.鈥�
Being an atheist is still a political liability in the US 鈥� though it鈥檚 not as bad as DeSantis would have you think. While a 2020听 found that six in 10 people would vote for听a well-qualified atheist presidential candidate, fewer people said they would be willing to vote for an atheist than a candidate who was gay, lesbian or Muslim. Only socialists ranked lower among poll respondents.
Though the听听who say they 诲辞苍鈥檛 believe in a higher power has听听in the past decade, some people still view atheists negatively.听A 2017 study found that听people believe atheists are more likely to be听听than believers, even though听听suggests they are far less likely to commit crimes than religious people.
Just like people of faith, not all atheists believe the same things. Aside from their lack of belief in a higher power听or powers, atheists vary widely in their answers to spiritual and existential questions.
Given the misconceptions surrounding this group, many people are reluctant to听say听that they鈥檙e atheists 鈥� which means it鈥檚 hard to pinpoint connections and differences among their numbers.
What is atheism?
An atheist is someone 鈥渨ho does not believe in the existence of a god or any gods,鈥� according to 鈥檚 online dictionary.
Because atheists are defined by what they 诲辞苍鈥檛 believe, it鈥檚 difficult to generalize what they do believe. In the words of comedian and outspoken atheist听听on X,听鈥淪aying听鈥楢theism is a belief system鈥櫶齣s like saying听鈥榥ot going skiing, is a hobby.鈥欌��
Some atheists, like evolutionary biologist and neuroscientist , are steadfast in their rejection of organized religion. Others are skeptical or apathetic when it comes to philosophical questions of whether a god exists.
Because of the social stigma atheists may face in the US and around the world, some people have complicated feelings about the term, said Nick Fish, president of the organization . Plenty of people who fit the definition of an atheist 诲辞苍鈥檛 self-identify as such, instead preferring less fraught terms such as agnostic, humanist or , he added.
Then there are the cultural Catholics, the non-practicing Jews, the 鈥� people who 诲辞苍鈥檛 necessarily believe in a deity but identify with a particular faith because of their family upbringing, ethnicity or culture.
鈥淎 simple dictionary definition doesn鈥檛 necessarily encapsulate people鈥檚 self identity, and people use a variety of terms even when ultimately they believe the same thing,鈥� Fish said.
What do atheists believe?
Atheists also have different interpretations of what it means to not believe. While nearly all self-described atheists 诲辞苍鈥檛 believe in the God described in the Judeo-Christian Bible, 23% do believe in God or some other higher power or spiritual force in the universe, according to a report published in January.
Belief for atheists goes deeper than the question of whether there is a higher power.
Notably, a fifth of self-described atheists consider themselves spiritual, Pew鈥檚 recent survey on the religious 鈥渘ones鈥� found. The report contains other surprising insights, too: Most atheists say the natural world is all there is, but nearly a quarter believe there鈥檚 something spiritual beyond our present environment. About a third believe animals other than humans can have spirits or spiritual energies, and a slightly smaller share believe spiritual energies can be found in parts of nature, like mountains, trees or rivers. Just under one in five atheists believe cemeteries or memorial sites can have spiritual energies, while fewer than one in 10 say the same about objects such as crystals. Nearly a third of atheists believe humans have souls or spirits in addition to their physical body.
These responses might seem confusing or contradictory, but atheism and spirituality aren鈥檛 necessarily at odds. Though some people associate spirituality with a connection to a god, for others to other people or to something else bigger than oneself.
Indeed, there are atheists who believe in cosmic interconnectedness or in transcendent moments of wonder without considering themselves religious. Long distance swimmer and self-proclaimed atheist Diana Nyad this distinction in a 2013 interview with Oprah.
鈥淚鈥檓 an atheist who鈥檚 in awe,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think you can be an atheist who doesn鈥檛 believe in an overarching being who created all of this and sees over it. But there鈥檚 spirituality because we human beings, and we animals and maybe even we plants 鈥� but certainly the ocean and the moon and the stars 鈥� we all live with something that is cherished and we feel the treasure of it.鈥�
How many atheists are there?
It鈥檚 hard to know just how many atheists there are when some people are reluctant to claim the label.
While a 听found that听10% of US adults say they 诲辞苍鈥檛 believe in any higher power or spiritual force, only about identify as atheists. A puts the number of nonbelievers higher, with 17% of Americans saying they 诲辞苍鈥檛 believe in God.
Some scholars, however, consider these numbers underestimates 鈥� an by psychologists Will Gervais and Maxine B. Najle suggests the true count is closer to 26%. Gervais points to Cold War era associations of atheists as 鈥済odless communists,鈥� as well as Christianity鈥檚 enduring influence on American culture, as some reasons people may be hesitant to identify as nonbelievers.
鈥淭he term atheist has attracted some unsavory connotations,鈥� he added. 鈥淎lso, religion (in the US) is politically and socially rewarded, so people might be reluctant to out themselves as an atheist.鈥�
It鈥檚 also worth noting that atheism 鈥� at least in the West 鈥� is often defined in relation to monotheistic traditions, namely the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. As the organization notes on its website, older dictionaries previously defined atheism as a 鈥渂elief that there is no God鈥� 鈥� the singular, proper noun typically used by Christians and some Jews. Even Gallup鈥檚 2022 poll asked about belief in 鈥淕od.鈥�
Framing atheism in these terms doesn鈥檛 capture a range of other beliefs that atheists could conceivably hold. Strands of atheist thought can be found in non-theistic traditions such as , as well cultures around the world that practice .
What is the difference between an atheist and an agnostic?
There are all kinds of labels to describe nonbelievers. While atheism and agnosticism are among the most common, there are some differences between those terms.
Though the two are often considered distinct worldviews, technically, they aren鈥檛 mutually exclusive. Rather, the terms atheism and agnosticism answer different questions, Nick Fish of American Atheists said. Atheism answers whether a person believes in a god or gods, and agnosticism answers whether it is possible to know if a supreme being exists.
But again, dictionary definitions prove limiting here. In reality, many people think of agnosticism as a less stringent form of atheism.
鈥淚f you spend a bit of time digging in, I think (many agnostics) will ultimately say, 鈥業 诲辞苍鈥檛 believe in a God but I鈥檓 not sure, so I鈥檓 agnostic,鈥欌�� Fish said.
Jocelyn Williamson, co-founder of the , doesn鈥檛 believe in a higher power but says she can鈥檛 be certain. Technically, that fits the definition of an agnostic atheist. But she said she typically tells people who ask about her religious beliefs that she鈥檚 a secular humanist.
鈥淢ost people 诲辞苍鈥檛 know what that means, and then I can actually have a conversation,鈥� Williamson said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 too many preconceived notions if I just say I鈥檓 an atheist.鈥�
The term atheist only conveys what she doesn鈥檛 believe in, Williamson said. The term humanist, meanwhile, signals that she鈥檚 motivated by compassion for others and that she believes societal decision-making should be grounded in reason and science.
What do people get wrong about atheists?
One of the most common misconceptions about atheists is that they lack morals that others typically attribute to religion.
In a , 44% of US residents said belief in God was necessary to be moral and have good values听鈥� in other countries, that share is much higher.
Williamson is all too familiar with such notions. When she was first getting to know faith leaders in her state, through her work with the Central Florida Freethought Community, she recalls a clergy member asking her what stops her from killing other people if she doesn鈥檛 believe in a higher power.
鈥淚 had always thought that was a meme, a trope,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think anybody actually believed that.鈥�
In fact,听听suggest that atheists are no more immoral than religious people. They鈥檙e also just as likely to participate in civic life as those who are affiliated with a religion and just as likely to engage in community service, according to Pew鈥檚 recent survey of
Atheists also get stereotyped as people who vehemently oppose religion and its followers. Like any other population, though, they aren鈥檛 a monolith. Williamson, for example, is part of the Interfaith Council of Central Florida and works with faith leaders toward common goals. Plenty of nonbelievers volunteer with religious organizations out of a desire to serve their communities, she added 鈥� her father worked as a local director for the Christian nonprofit Habitat for Humanity despite not being religious.
Another misconception about atheists is that they鈥檙e certain or unwavering in their beliefs, Fish said. People often tell him that they aren鈥檛 sure on the big existential questions, and therefore can鈥檛 be atheists. But many atheists are figuring it all out, too.
鈥淛ust because we 诲辞苍鈥檛 believe in a god doesn鈥檛 mean that we have all the answers to everything else,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n fact, for many, for most of us, it鈥檚 the opposite. We recognize that we 诲辞苍鈥檛.鈥�
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