The Sociology of Atheism
Atheism changes over time and is a reaction to the dominant religious beliefs of the time. Today's atheism is, in part, a reaction to the political activism of conservative Christians, or the "Christian Right." This is one of the conclusions found in a new study of American atheists, There is No God: Atheists in America, by University of North Texas sociologists David A. Williamson and George Yancey.
For their research, Williamson, associate professor of sociology, and Yancey, professor of sociology, used an online survey, with open-ended questions, of 1,451 atheists and conducted face-to-face interviews with 51 atheists from two separate regions of the country.
