Predictors of Adopting an Atheistic Worldview: An Analysis of Survey Data Containing a Retrospective Measure of Belief in God

Abstract

Many studies have used retrospective survey measures to examine changes in individuals’ religious affiliation, but studies examining changes to individuals’ core religious beliefs are comparatively rare. This is likely because surveys rarely contain measures of both current and past beliefs. Using data from a probability sample of U.S. adults that includes a measure of individuals’ current and age 16 belief in God, the authors examine the predictors of an individual’s adopting an atheistic worldview. Overall, 6 percent of the sample report moving from a nonatheistic worldview to an atheistic worldview. This rate is higher among those who said they had weaker belief in God at age 16, men, those with higher incomes, and some sexually minoritized groups. This rate is lower among older individuals, political conservatives, and some racially or ethnically minoritized groups. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for the study of nonbelief and the measurement of religious change.