Atheists are only 3% of American population. Are they all on here?

Question

The country is 91% Christian get used to it! Yes these numbers are right!!!!!

Answer 1

It appears that they are drawn to this site.
They are being drawn here to get the message.
Fight as they might, they are getting the message.
Kicking and biting they are getting the message.

Answer 2

"These number are right", no matter how many exclamations you use, is not evidence, let alone proof.

But let's say your 3% is a good estimate, although you would need to include another figure for agnostics, who sound much the same on Answers. I am convinced 91% is unrealistic concerning Christians.

Still, the people who (a) sign on to Answers and (b) ask or answer questions in the Religion & Spirituality category, are not a random sample of the population. They are self-selected, in the terms of the sociologist, and therefore not representative.

Answer 3

I don't know where you get your statistics, but here's what I found online:
"The proportion of the [American] population that can be classified as Christian has declined from 86% in 1990 to 77% in 2001." ARIS Study

Answer 4

Or perhaps that 91% is just a lot people saying they are Christian so they can avoid having someone yarking in their face about Jeeeeeesus.

The few avowed atheists (myself included) have taken a lot of guff from believers over the years. I admit there are times when I don't say anything because I get too tired of the arguments.

I'm used to the numbers of Christians. I just wish the Christians would get used to the numbers of non-Christians.

Answer 5

3% is a severe underestimate.
Note that, if there were a public poll being taken somewhere in your town/city on a Saturday and some four-eyed nerd asked you what were your favourite books, what religion were you ... and especially when one is filling in an official form of application for something ... that's when so very many people automatically rein themselves in from their true disbeliefs and spit out "Roman Catholic" (or whatever they were as a small child) rather than, especially in the US, publicly and proudly stating their true status of atheist. Statistics? Phooey! Some people will believe anything!
Another form of delusion exhibited by Americans is that they see themselves as the centre of the Universe and have limited knowledge of the rest of the world. It is common knowledge that the US is a glaring anomaly in the ratio of atheists among the general population, where, for example, the UK, Holland, Sweden and many more are practically all non-religious (ie atheist) societies.
Get used to that.

British atheist (for 53 years), living in ultra-religious Philippines and saddened by the foolishness that I see about me.

Answer 6

It's more than 3%. Unfortunately many atheists are afraid to come right out and say it because of the very real fear that they may suffer hardships as a result (loss of job when loving christian boss finds out, etc.). I think the real number is probably around 10%. I know lots of people who say they don't believe or are agnostic but if they were questioned by bosses, co workers, etc. they wouldn't admit it.

Answer 7

Might makes right, eh? There are far more atheists than that. But being in a country of a bunch of militant religious idiots, you know to keep your mouth shut sometimes. Anyway of that 91% (your numbers) who claim to be christian, I'd wager at least 40% of them took Pascal's wager. And of that 91% who claim to be christian, I'd wager less than 10% have actually read the bible.

So you can have them.

Answer 8

yeah i'm english. And 3% of the american population is quite alot..
when i visited america i saw someone write 'Jesus loves you' in the sky, you don't get that in England! You can be a Christian and not shout it from the rooftops. I'm sure much more of the English population are athiests.

Answer 9

Ah yes America, land of the electoral system which is a laughing stock to all actual democratic nations, home of the very brave so long as there are more of us and we've got bigger sticks.

I won't challenge your figures, but I find them suspect, as I actually know many intelligent and rational Americans. In fact I guess I'd have to say the concept of "America" is a lot like "Christianity" in my (Australian) mind. I like many individual Americans, and many individual Christians, but as organisations they both reek.

Answer 10

I think you'll find there's more atheists than that in the USA and some of us on here come from different parts of the world.

I come from Australia, where the rate of non-believers is substantially higher than the USA, as it is in all developed nations outside America.

Answer 11

This isn't an exclusively American site. Get used to it.
Your numbers are off by at about 10%. The United States is a SECULAR nation, according to the second Congress in 1798, Treaty of Tripoli, get used to it.
Just because christians make up a majority of the people who answer a survey, doesn't change the constitution.
People are leaving christianity in droves.. get used to it.