Americans down on atheists, poll finds
* Have you hugged an atheist today?
Muslims, gays and lesbians don't win many popularity contests in America. But a recent study has discovered a group even more despised: atheists.
Americans view atheists -- those who don't believe in a higher being -- as unethical and materialistic and they don't want their children to marry one, according to University of Minnesota researchers.
They found 47.6 percent of those polled would disapprove of their child marrying an atheist. And 39.6 percent said atheists do not share their vision of American society.
But the researchers offered a caveat.
"It's not actually about atheists," said Doug Hartmann, Minnesota associate professor of sociology. "It's more about what we think about atheists.
"(The study) suggests how important religious belief and practice is to our conception of who the good American is."
The study will be published in the April issue of the American Sociological Review, a leading academic journal. It's part of a series of national polls by the American Mosaic Project on race, religion and cultural diversity in America.
The study was based on more than 2,000 phone calls to households during summer 2003, with follow-up interviews conducted in 2004. Those polled were a wide mix of ethnicities living in diverse parts of the country.
Researchers were not prepared for how poor atheists fared when compared to other groups -- Muslims, blacks, Asians and homosexuals, for example -- named in the poll.
"How much (atheists) stood out from other groups did surprise us," Hartmann said.
In general, respondents perceived atheists as either coastal cultural elitists (the wealthy, movie entertainers, writers, artists) or people on the border of society drowning in drink and drugs.
Christopher Meyers, professor of philosophy and director of the Kegley Institute of Ethics at Cal State Bakersfield, was disturbed by the findings.
"There is overwhelming evidence that one does not need a religious foundation to be concerned about ethical matters or to have compassion for others," Meyers said.
"In fact, there is overwhelming evidence that religious faith is not a necessary condition for ethical grounding," he added.
Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists, a civil rights group in New Jersey, said nonbelievers have the same public relations problem that gays had 30 years ago.
"Viewing atheists as immoral is the old cliche, like viewing gays as promiscuous and Italians as involved in the mafia," she said.
"Essentially, people are just not familiar with atheists because we are hiding in the closet," Johnson said. "And how are we going to come out of the closet when we are thought of so badly?"
Johnson said there are about 45 million atheists in America.
A recent University of California at Berkeley poll showed that 3 percent to 4 percent of Americans asked were nonbelievers, which would be closer to 10.4 million.
One Bakersfield atheist willing to peek out from the closet is Alice Cook.
Cook finds wisdom in the teachings of Christianity, Buddhism and Judaism, but she does not believe in a higher supernatural power.
Cook recoiled when told that many people polled in the American Mosaic study said atheists are self-centered.
"I think we just have to be out there and not be afraid to talk about our beliefs," Cook said.
Putting in a good word for atheists was the Rev. Mark Harrison of Free Will Baptist Church in Bakersfield.
"Just because they are atheist doesn't mean they are a bad person," Harrison said. "And even if a person is atheist, it doesn't exempt him from God's love. I have met atheists who are good, moral people."
Muslims fared only slightly better than atheists in the sampling. More than 33 percent of people polled said they would disapprove of their child marrying a Muslim. 
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About a quarter said Muslims do not share "their vision of American society."
"This negative response shows the ignorance of many American people regarding Islam," said Imam Sayed Rashed, spokesman for the local Muslim community.
"If American people knew the faith of the Muslim people and how much we believe in Jesus and accept Christianity," Rashed said, "they would change their minds."
People in downtown Bakersfield Friday had little sympathy for atheists. Eating lunch at the city bus stop was Ellis Gupton.
"They can be good, but they are self-righteous," Gupton, 58, said of atheists.
"They want the credit for the good they do. They don't want it to be known that the God inside of them brought it forth."
At St. Mary's Catholic Supply on Chester Avenue, owner Jim Mena heaped scorn on atheists.
"If they are atheists they are probably relativists, so they would have no grounding in (Christian) ethics," Mena, 50, said. "What they do is based on feeling, and that varies for each atheist.
"You could say homosexuals have some ethical foundation," Mena said, "but an atheist devises his own moral foundation."
Handing out brochures about her faith on Chester was Maria Maldonado, a member of Jehovah's Witnesses.
"Sometimes there are good people who keep the golden rule but don't believe in the true God," Maldonado, 66, said.
"But when they suffer, you want them to know there is a God who will help them."
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PHONE POLL
The American Mosaic Project is a three-year study by researchers at the University of Minnesota that measures race, religion and cultural diversity.
Two thousand people were polled by phone in summer 2003 for the first study of the series. Below are two results from the study.
• I would disapprove if my child wanted to marry a member of this group:
1. Atheists, 47.6 percent
2. Muslims, 33.5 percent
3. African-Americans, 27.2 percent
• This group does not agree with my vision of society:
1. Atheists, 39. 6 percent
2. Muslims, 26.3 percent
3. Homosexuals, 23.6 percent
