Atheism in the African diaspora

Black Nonbelievers table at AACon August 2017
Black Nonbelievers table at AACon August 2017

Atheism in the African diaspora is atheism as it is experienced by black people outside of Africa. In the United States, black people are less likely than any other ethnic groups to be religiously unaffiliated, let alone identifying as atheist.[1][2][3] The demographics are similar in the United Kingdom.[4] Atheists are individuals who identify with atheism, a disbelief, denial, or simply a lack of belief in a God or gods.[5] Some, but not all, atheists identify as secular humanists, who are individuals who believe that life has meaning and joy without the need for the supernatural or religion and that all individuals should live ethical lives which can provide for the greater good of humanity.[6] Black atheists and secular humanists exist today and in history, though many were not always vocal in their beliefs or lack of belief.[7][8]

Issues that face black atheists include the fact that they are "racially different" from the larger and more visible atheist movement and "religiously different" from the black community.[9] Black atheists are often a minority group in their own countries and locations and then are an even smaller minority in the atheist group, which is itself often a minority.[10]

Sometimes, atheism is seen as a whites-only club by black people and in the United States, African American history, slavery and the civil rights movement are all closely tied to Christianity.[11] Religion has very much become part of the tradition of black history and culture.[12] Even when there is a strong atheist or secular humanist movement in the African diaspora, it has been ignored. In surveys of history, black expressions of humanism and secularism have been ignored by historians.[13]

  1. ^ "America's Changing Religious Landscape". Pew Research Center. The Pew Charitable Trusts. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  2. ^ "Atheists". Pew Research Center. The Pew Charitable Trusts. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  3. ^ "The Unaffiliated". Pew Research Center. The Pew Charitable Trust. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  4. ^ McLaughlin, Liam (7 August 2013). "Is It Harder to 'Come Out' As an Atheist If You're Black?". New Statesman. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  5. ^ "What is Atheism?". American Atheists. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  6. ^ "Definitions of Humanism". American Humanist Association. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  7. ^ "About AAH". African Americans for Humanism. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  8. ^ "Black Americans See the Biggest Shift Away from Faith". 15 February 2022.
  9. ^ Jefferson, Cord (29 November 2011). "The Rise of Black Atheists". BET. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  10. ^ "Black Atheists on the Rise". Essence. October 28, 2020.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference :9 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Erdman, Shelby Lin (13 July 2015). "Atlanta Atheist Wants To Erase Stigma In Black Community". 90.1 WABE. NPR Atlanta. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  13. ^ Jones, William R. (2001). "Religious Humanism". In Pinn, Anthony B. (ed.). By These Hands: A Documentary History of African American Humanism. New York: New York University Press. pp. 26–27. ISBN 9780814766729.