So how many atheists are there in this country?

[laconicsax]

http://b27.cc.trincoll.edu/weblogs/AmericanReligionSurvey-ARIS/reports/ARIS_Report_2008.pdf

Page 5, table 3:
0.7% self-identify as atheist.

Page 8, table 4:
2.3% deny the existence of God.
6.1% refused to answer.

How many of the 2.3 self-identify as agnostic, 'no religion,' or a specific religion in table 3? What's the breakdown of the 6.1%?

[progressoid]

1. Seems a lot of people would rather not say they are atheist or even agnostic

Fear of committing? Fear of pollsters? Maybe they just don't know, or don't care? :shrug:

Do we need a poll to find out why people answered the poll the way they did?

[laconicsax]

2. I'm just curious about the numbers.

2.3% is more than any single minority religion and 4.3% is more than all minority religions combined.

There's no doubt that social stigmas sadly associated with identifying as A/A reduces the number of respondents, but I'm curious if the 1.6% who deny the existence of God but don't identify as atheist and the 3.4% who say the question can't be known but don't identify as agnostic identify with a specific religion or just the generic "no religion."

[sarcasmo]

3. I bet it's double that, think of all of the closeted Atheists who have a spouse and go to church to

Keep the spouse happy.