6 Types of Non-Believers in America
Researchers at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga recently conducted a study to identify the types of non-religious groups that people identify with. The researchers were able to divide the respondents into six groups.
Agnostic
The most common kind of non-believer, at nearly 38 percent. This group enjoys intellectual discourse and are often very certain about their beliefs.
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They have a tendency to join skeptic's groups and these non-believers "associate with fellow intellectuals regardless of the other's ontological position."
Activist
They are motivated by a strong sense of humanist values and advocates for a better, more egalitarian community. According to researchers: "They seek to be both vocal and proactive regarding current issues in the atheist and/or agnostic socio-political sphere."
Seeker-Agnostic
They prioritize not-knowing and are exemplifyed with the phrase: "I don't know, but neither do you." "For the Seeker-Agnostic, uncertainty is embraced."
Anti-Theist
This group likes to argue about religion and are much more aggressive about by seeking out religious people. Anti-theists view ending religion as their end goal.
Non-Theist
They don't believe in any gods. "A Non-Theist simply does not concern him or herself with religion,"
Ritual-Agnostic
This group doesn't really believe in the supernatural, but they do believe in the community aspects of their religious tradition. "Such participation may be related to an ethnic identity (e.g. Jewish)," explain researchers, "or the perceived utility of such practices in making the individual a better person."
