Posts tagged politics

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(via wetcelery)

“The presidential election is over and the Pew Research Center has released new data on November 7th, which suggests that there may be a new voter bloc on the rise. The religiously unaffiliated might have decided this election and will almost certainly decide the next election.

The religiously unaffiliated made up an estimated 12% of voters in the 2012 election based on exit polling. This number was unchanged from the 2008 election despite the fact that religiously unaffiliated Americas increased significantly since then. This indicated that many religiously unaffiliated Americans felt disenfranchised this election cycle and decided not to vote in this election cycle.

Out of those religiously unaffiliated Americans who did vote, 70% of them voted for Barack Obama compared to only 26% for Mitt Romney. Even despite the fact that many atheists have lost their enthusiasm for the president.

It is true that not all religiously unaffiliated are necessarily atheists however. According to another recent Pew Research Center study, the religiously unaffiliated or “nones” can be broken down into three district categories:

“Unattached believers” (23%): describe themselves as religious despite having no formal religious identity, and are more likely than the general population to be black or Hispanic and to have lower levels of educational attainment;

Seculars” (39%): describe themselves as secular or not religious, and roughly mirror the general population in terms of racial composition and levels of educational attainment;

Atheists and agnostics” (36%): identify as atheist or agnostic, and are more likely than the general population to be non-Hispanic white and to have significantly higher levels of educational attainment.”

There is likely crossover between the second two groups. Many secularists may lack a belief in deities, but do not feel comfortable with labels like “atheist” or “agnostic.” In other words, it appears that the bulk of the religiously unaffiliated probably do lack belief in deities and are therefore atheists.

If the Democratic Party could get more religiously unaffiliated Americans to the polls, that would certainly help them in the next election. But if the Republican Party could appeal to more atheistic voters, they would be cutting into one of their opponent’s most loyal voting blocs. Plus, if trends continue, it is likely that in 2016 there will be even more religiously unaffiliated Americans. Whether or not those unaffiliated Americans become religiously unaffiliated voters could very well swing the next presidential election.”

I read this article awhile back and found it very interesting and well informed. Did any of you atheists vote in this presidential election? Did being an atheist have anything to do with who you voted for? Do you think atheists could decide the next election? Give me some feedback on this, I’d love to hear what you guys have to say :)

-Vanessa