Before you get all excited about the Pew Research results and begin thinking that the rising number of those who report no religious affiliation means a more rational approach to all things religious, think again. Yesterday’s release of research by the Public Religion Research Institute shows that fifty-two percent of the American population (52%) believe that to be “truly American” it was very important that you believe in God. A further seventeen percent (17%) thought it was important. That is a whopping sixty-nine percent (69%) of Americans who think that if you don’t believe in God, you’re not truly American. Furthermore, fifty-three percent (53%) of Americans believe it is important or very important that the god you believe in is Christian.

When speaking in Miami last February, one of the gentlemen in the audience had a conversation with my partner, Scott, at the end of the program. He shared with Scott that he had been concerned about the church inviting me to speak there, noting that for many people, being an atheist was the equivalent of being a satanic worshipper. Then, after some consideration he said, “Worse! It’s, well, it’s un-American!” Evidently, he was right on the button.

Add to these statistics the theory that the number of people who actually go to a religious service weekly is significantly lower than reported, perhaps fewer than twenty percent actually attend (over-reporting on religious attendance is called the “halo” effect) and you have a fairly high chance that the beliefs held by those who would argue that not believing in the god called God is un-American do not reflect contemporary scholarship. Like the Hungarian 1950’s immigrant who still uses colloquialisms that are decades old, those whose theological beliefs have been handed down from previous generations are mostly unaware of any advances that have taken place in belief. I differentiate those in the pews from clergy because the knowledge shared from the pulpit is often limited for pastoral reasons. Which adds to the problem. Those who were in the pews a couple of generations ago and who have handed down their beliefs were very likely already several generations of thinking behind their clergy. When the good American people read “In God We Trust” on their dollar bills, they are talking about a god many in mainline denominations would not recognize: a judgmental, all-knowing, all-powerful, theistic being who is going to guide and protect those who act in accordance with his revealed truths.

Sometimes I am alarmed at my naiveté, my belief that everyone will find a way to create a sustainable future for all, that the world is populated by people who care deeply about one another and who would step up to lend a helping hand, no matter what. I know that many, many people use their belief in the god called God to make the world a more beautiful place, doing exactly the kinds of things I believe must be done to ensure that we are working toward a world where all might live with dignity. And there are many, many people in many, many faiths who do that important work.

But to be able to so clearly draw a line between those who believe as you do and those who do not and to think that those on the other side of that line aren’t “truly” your fellow citizens, moots the argument that those who would do so are also using their belief in the god called God to build well-being into others’ lives or to honour and respect them. It gives permission to remove or deny rights, to query loyalty to the state and, in times of social and political unrest, to restrict mobility or imprison. It represents a level of potential hostility that would not split the country down the middle, but would allow the majority to disown a minority in the pursuit of that majority’s own freedoms.

There are some who would try to appease my concern by noting that the up and coming generation is far more likely to accept those who do not believe in the god called God as being as truly American as are they. I’m not soothed by that statistic. Not yet. As long as those who hold the keys to the offices of power, corporately, judicially, and politically continue to be of the generation that discriminates in a country that continues to export its beliefs and the judgmental attitudes inscribed within them. I’ll continue to be concerned.

Originally Published by Gretta Vosper, minister, author, atheist here: American Atheist an Oxymoron