Who does the Secular Coalition for America represent?

The Secular Coalition for America represents the viewpoints of nontheistic Americans. Nontheists use a variety of terms to describe themselves: atheist, humanist, freethinker, agnostic, skeptic, bright, ignostic, materialist, and naturalist, among others.

Specifically, the Secular Coalition for America represents its sponsoring member organizations and their respective supporters, members, subscribers, chapters, and affiliates.

How many nontheists are there in America?

Polling and research on the number of atheists and agnostics vary dramatically based on who asks the question and how the question is asked.

A Harris Interactive survey from 2003 found that 9% of Americans do not believe in a god, while an additional 12% were uncertain about the existence of a supreme being. With the current population of the United States at about 300 million, this means that there are approximately 63 million American atheists and agnostics. The author of the survey stated that his estimate of the number of atheists and agnostics is higher than some other polls (see footnote below - Harris Interactive) because he feels his methods of measuring are more accurate. In particular, his methods reduced "social desirability" bias by using an online survey instead of requiring those polled to talk to an interviewer. Giving socially appropriate responses to pollsters is a well-known phenomenon, which the author believes would reduce the self-identification of atheists and agnostics found in other polls.

In-person surveys do find lower numbers, but still a significant constituency. The 2000 General Social Survey, a biennial academic effort of the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, asks respondents about their confidence in the existence of a god. Three percent respond that they do not believe in God, while another 4% say they do not believe there is any way to find out about the existence of a god (see footnote below - NORC GSS). These combined figures would imply a constituency of 21 million Americans without a god belief. Other surveys place atheists and agnostics at between 3% and 9% of the population, and Gallup says 5% of Americans do not believe in a god or higher power (see footnote below - The Cambridge Companion to Atheism).

A 2006 survey by The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life asked, "What is your religious preference?" and 11% responded, "No religion, not a believer, atheist, agnostic." In this survey 56% responded as Protestant and 23% as Roman Catholics. The other categories -- Jewish, Mormon, Orthodox Church (Greek or Russian), Islam/Muslim, and Other Religions -- totaled just 8%. These results are similar to those of a BBC survey that determined there are more atheists and agnostics than there are Jews, Presbyterians, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and Roman and Greek Orthodox combined in the United States.

One poll, the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS), sought to "determine whether and to what extent American adults consider their outlook on life to be essentially religious or secular." The survey offered respondents categories of "secular," "somewhat secular," "religious," "somewhat religious," or "a little of both." The results determined that "at least ten percent of the population clearly and unambiguously considers itself 'secular' rather than 'religious.' " The survey also found that 13.2% of Americans said they have "No Religion." Of course some of these individuals may be theists, just as individuals who identify as belonging to a religion may be nontheists.