A Qualitative Study of Black Atheists: "Don't Tell Me You're One of Those!"

by Daniel Swann

Overview

A Qualitative Study of Black Atheists: "Don’t Tell Me You’re One of Those" is an interdisciplinary examination of a group that is rarely the study of inquiry, Black Atheists. Using in-depth, qualitative interviews, Daniel Swann builds a foundation for understanding Black Atheist identities, how Black Atheists conceive of themselves, how they perceive, internalize, and manage stigma, how they view in-group belonging, and how they understand their experiences as Atheists to be racialized. The author argues these unique circumstances have produced a distinctive identity at this particular intersection of race and religion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498592390
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	01/22/2020
Series:	Religion and Race
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.36(w) x 9.09(h) x 0.76(d)

About the Author

Daniel Swann earned his PhD in sociology from University of Maryland and is visiting assistant professor of sociology at Goucher College.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

List of Tables

List of Figures

Preface

Introduction: Statement of the Problem and Roadmap

Chapter 1: Atheism and Stigma Focused Literature Review

Chapter 2: The Connection of Religiosity to Black Culture

Chapter 3: A Brief History of Black Atheists and Black Skeptics

Chapter 4: Exploring the Sample and Data Collection

Chapter 5: Racialized Understanding of Atheism and the Black Atheist Identity

Chapter 6: Black Atheists Relationship to Mainstream Atheism

Conclusion

References

Appendix A: Interview Protocol

Appendix B: Obtaining Consent

About the Author

Editorial Reviews

In his groundbreaking work, Daniel Swann addresses both the most intriguing religious trends of our time—the rapid increase in the religious unaffiliated—and one of the most tenacious stereotypes about religious identity—the inexorable linking of race with levels of religious adherence. His portrait of Black Atheists unsettles societal and academic assumptions alike by exploring the causes and manifestations of stigmatization in society and underrepresentation in research as well as the nature and justification for this chosen identity. Though focused on this very particular demographic, Swann provides a unique and fascinating window into the role of religion in society and individual identity construction as well as the evolving religious identities of contemporary Americans.

Ann Duncan

In this book, the author discusses the complicated experiences of Black Atheists, in both larger Atheist movement and with respect to their ideological position among Blacks and religion. The book succeeds at its initial goal. It gives a robust literature review of Black Atheism, while at the same time pointing to contemporary issues that Black Atheists face. It is a valuable piece of scholarship in terms of understanding Black life and identity, particularly religious identity.

Sociology of Religion: A Quarterly Review

In this much-needed, extremely welcome addition to the burgeoning study of contemporary secularity, Daniel Swann draws from the voices of non-religious African Americans, exploring and exposing their world views, values, and identities. A sound and thoughtful sociological investigation into the Black Atheist experience, this is essential reading for anyone interested in race and religion—or more importantly—race and irreligion.

Phil Zuckerman Ph.D.

[Swann’s] A Qualitative Study of Black Atheists is a finely tuned quantitative analysis. The chapters are formatted on long standing sociological conventions. The format makes the text extremely accessible for those familiar with the social psychology of religion. Concurring with Evans, Cameron, and Hutchinson in decrying the dearth of scholarship about Black atheism... Sadly, the scholarly avoidance of Black secular history, aesthetics, and identity is neither incidental nor accidental but rather a deliberate evasion with real-world consequences. Methodological choices, tools, and norms are never innocent decisions and devices. Researchers’ procedures and proclivities, whether conscious or unconscious, reinscribe and

repurpose dominant domains and periphery perspectives of knowledge and power.

Nova Religio: The Journal Of Alternative And Emergent Religions

In this much-needed, extremely welcome addition to the burgeoning study of contemporary secularity, Daniel Swann draws from the voices of non-religious African Americans, exploring and exposing their world views, values, and identities. A sound and thoughtful sociological investigation into the Black Atheist experience, this is essential reading for anyone interested in race and religion—or more importantly—race and irreligion.

Phil Zuckerman Ph.D

In this much-needed, extremely welcome addition to the burgeoning study of contemporary secularity, Daniel Swann draws from the voices of non-religious African Americans, exploring and exposing their world views, values, and identities. A sound and thoughtful sociological investigation into the Black Atheist experience, this is essential reading for anyone interested in race and religion—or more importantly—race and irreligion.

Phil Zuckerman