I found this the other day, it's an article from a Christian site that is worried about the closet atheists attending church just because they keep up the cultural rituals or just don't want to stand out in their community.
http://www.christian...1yWFWAhkrT3c.99
Researchers: 'Ritual' Atheists and Agnostics Could Be Sitting Next to You in Church
In a new study of the various types of nonbelievers, researchers from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga say "one of the most interesting and unexpected" types they examined is the "ritual" atheist or agnostic, who finds some value in religious teachings and practices.
Those who fall into this category, according to the researchers, are nonbelievers who may have a philosophical appreciation for certain religious teachings, who like being part of a community, who want to stay in touch with their ethnic identity or who simply find beauty in certain religious traditions, symbols or rituals.
"The implication of this particular typology is that you could be sitting next to somebody in church right now who may, in fact, not buy into the theology that the rest of the congregation buys into," said principal researcher Christopher F. Silver in an interview with The Christian Post.
Thomas J. Coleman III, who also worked on the research, said he interviewed one person in particular who participates in church services and sings in the church choir, but doesn't believe in God.
The goal of the research was to more closely examine nonbelievers, who are a diverse group of people that are often lumped together in other studies. The study identified six different kinds of nonbelievers, though Silver says even more types could appear as the number of nonbelievers in the U.S. climbs.
The study was conducted in two parts. First, researchers conducted personal interviews with 59 people who were given the opportunity to speak freely, with some guidance, about their life and non-belief. They then conducted a mass survey of nearly 1,500 nonbelievers nationwide (though the results posted online as of Thursday morning reflect only 1,153 surveys).
The results showed that the largest portion of unbelievers are Intellectual Atheists/Agnostics (38 percent), who actively seek out knowledge on non-belief and the search for truth, followed by Activists (23 percent), Anti-theists (15 percent), Ritual Atheists/Agnostics (13 percent) , Seeker-Agnostics (8 percent) and Non-Theists (4 percent).
Silver and Coleman say the terms they used to classify each group may not align with what some nonbelievers consider themselves to be, which is why it is important for them to refer to the study's definition of each term rather than to focus on the term itself.
Silver, who has played a key role in several Chattanooga area organizations for nonbelievers and has worked on a number of psychology of religion studies in the last 12 years, says the complexity of unbelievers as a group should be considered by churches and other organizations that are attempting to reach out to them.
"In some ways, I would almost encourage those that are at least trying to work with or connect with this community, in whatever way they are, that they need to take into account that a variety of different people that come from different backgrounds, and that really they need to be speaking to the person more than the identity," he said.
The researchers also found that only a small percentage of nonbelievers, the Anti-Theists, would be considered "angry, argumentative and dogmatic," while more than 85 percent of those sampled would be considered normal based on current societal norms. Anti-Theists, they say, may be part of the reason why certain negative stereotypes continue to be associated with nonbelievers in general.
"They're the ones who get noticed," said Coleman. "When someone says, 'Oh man, atheists are angry.' Well, it's a zero-in, a focusing on, perhaps, some bad experiences with a very small percentage...of nonbelievers."
During the personal interview portion of their study, researchers also discovered that college was often a turning point in the lives of those who would become nonbelievers. They emphasized that college education in and of itself may not be the cause, however, as a number of other factors could play a part.
"It's not to say that college is a transformative process for everyone, but in our interviews we heard time and time again that, for many of the folks who identified themselves as nonbelievers, college seemed to be a milestone in their life's story. College seemed to be a transition point," said Silver.
Silver also said he was "surprised" to find that approximately half of nonbelievers are not publicly or socially engaged somehow in their non-belief.
More info about the types: http://www.alternet....page=1#bookmark
The 6 Types of Atheists and Non-Believers in America
Researchers polled non-believers to find out who abandons religion and why. The answers tell us a lot about religion and non-belief in America.
With the rising number of people in America—now nearly one in five—who have no religious affiliation at all, more people are asking questions about who exactly these unbelievers are. Not all of them identify as atheist or agnostic or a non-believer, but plenty do, and while there are many people offering to defend this particular community, few are willing to speak for them.
After all, unlike religious believers, non-believers have no authorities, no hierarchies, no theology, nothing for us to look at to determine exactly who these people are. In addition, the public image of atheists, who are a diverse group in reality, is being shaped by a handful of vocal white men—Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens being the most famous—who, while well-respected in the atheist community, are not really representative.
Because of this, researchers at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga decided to poll and interview non-believers to find out what kind of people abandon religious faith and why. Based on this research, the project authors were able to divide non-believers into six basic categories, some of which may surprise you.
First things first: While atheists have a public image of being dogmatic and belligerent—an image that famous atheists like Bill Maher only end up reinforcing—researchers found that to absolutely not be true. Only 15 percent of non-believers even fit in the category of those who actively seek out religious people to argue with, and the subset that are dogmatic about it are probably even smaller than that. But that doesn’t mean that the majority of non-believers are just sitting around, twiddling their thumbs and not letting atheism affect their worldview. On the contrary, researchers found that the majority of non-believers take some kind of action in the world to promote humanism, atheism or secularism. Here is a breakdown of the types.
1. Intellectual Atheist/Agnostic. By far, the most common kind of non-believer, at nearly 38 percent. This group enjoys intellectual discourse, and while they’re often very certain about their beliefs, they’re not belligerent about it. These types often get mistaken for dogmatic atheists, however, because they have a tendency to join skeptic’s groups or otherwise find avenues to discuss non-belief with others. However, as researchers note, these non-believers “associate with fellow intellectuals regardless of the other’s ontological position,” so long as their friends “versed and educated on various issues of science, philosophy, ‘rational’ theology, and common socio-political religious dialog.” They like debating religion, but aren’t particularly interested in chasing down believers to give them a hard time.
2. Activist. This group also gets commonly accused of being dogmatic, but like the intellectual atheist, while they’re firm in their beliefs, they’re intellectually flexible and don’t prioritize attacking believers. Instead, they are motivated by a strong sense of humanist values to make change in the world, often making related issues—such as feminism, gay rights, or the environment—a priority over simply advocating atheism. This group also advocates for a better, more egalitarian atheist community, according to researchers: “They seek to be both vocal and proactive regarding current issues in the atheist and/or agnostic socio-political sphere." Because of this, they unfortunately attract a lot of abuse from a small but vocal minority of atheists who disapprove of linking secularism with larger social justice issues, but they do have the numbers on their side. They are the second biggest sub-category of non-believers, making up 23 percent of non-believers.
3. Seeker-Agnostic. This group, which makes up 7.6 percent of non-believers, are unlikely to be as critical of religion as most other groups. They prioritize not-knowingness. If you ever come across people saying, “I don’t know, but neither do you!” regarding religious belief, you’re dealing with a seeker-agnostic. They don’t really believe in anything, but they are uncomfortable committing to non-belief completely. They routinely get accused of intellectual cowardice by atheists, but researchers defend them, saying, “For the Seeker-Agnostic, uncertainty is embraced.”
4. Anti-Theist. This group tends to get conflated with all atheists by believers, but they only constitute 15 percent of non-believers. Like the Intellectual Atheists, they like to argue about religion, but they are much more aggressive about it and actively seek out religious people in an effort to disabuse them of their beliefs. While most atheists limit themselves to supporting a more secular society, anti-theists tend to view ending religion as the real goal. While plenty are aggressively angry, researchers point out this isn’t necessarily a bad thing: “For example, many of the Antitheist typology had responded as recently deconverted from religious belief or socially displeased with the status quo, especially in high social tension-based geographies such as the Southeastern United States,” and being combative with believers might help them establish their own sense of self and right to non-belief.
5. Non-Theist. They don’t believe in any gods, but don’t think about those who do very often. In such a religious society, simply opting out of caring much about religion one way or another is nearly impossible, which is why this group is only 4.4 percent of non-believers. “A Non-Theist simply does not concern him or herself with religion,” researchers explain. In some skeptical/atheist circles, this group is disparagingly referred to as “shruggies," because they simply shrug when asked their opinion on religion. However, some quite likely are indifferent because they’re fortunate enough to live in a bubble where belief doesn’t matter one way or another.
6. Ritual Atheist/Agnostic. While you might think the anti-theist is the non-believer type that scares Christians the most, it turns out that it may very well be the Ritual Atheist/Agnostic. This group, making up 12.5 percent of atheists, doesn’t really believe in the supernatural, but they do believe in the community aspects of their religious tradition enough to continue participating. We’re not just talking about atheists who happen to have a Christmas tree, but who tend to align themselves with a religious tradition even while professing no belief. “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." The Christian Post clearly found this group most alarming, titling their coverage of this study “Researchers: 'Ritual' Atheists and Agnostics Could Be Sitting Next to You in Church,” and giving the first few paragraphs over to concern that people in your very own congregation may not actually believe in your god.
The atheism, it seems, might be coming from inside the house (of God).
While a lot of non-believers don’t really do much when it comes to acting on their non-belief, for those who are trying to create a more organized atheist community that takes up activism and offers community, there is plenty of reason to hope. The Intellectual, the Activist and the Anti-theist all, to one extent or another, discuss their non-belief with others or let their non-belief have significant impact on their activities. Taken together, they make up nearly three-quarters of non-believers. That’s a big group that has a lot in common, and perhaps that energy could be harnessed as a force of good.
Wow, almost as many church-going ritual atheists as there are antitheists. Isn't that funny?
I'm somewhere between the intellectual and the activist, but more in the intellectual side, because the only thing I have in common with the activist description is my thick humanistic & humanitarian streak (but I oppose sticking atheism into all kinds of political matters because of how people react to just seeing the word "atheist," and because I oppose bringing religious positions into political issues).
Also glad that a survey confirmed our estimation of the relative rarity of the antitheist among atheists.
Who else was nailed by these categories? Post and let us discuss. 
Edited by Duchykins, 05 August 2015 - 05:43 AM.
