They Don’t Hate You: What the Data Really Says About the Nones

One of the reasons I love my work is that I can quantify things that we often only understand through “vibes.” That’s a common refrain I hear in comments from folks: “I feel like this is happening…” And they want me to provide hard data that either reinforces or challenges their perceptions.

I think that’s especially common among Christians. Many feel that a significant share of Americans are against them, their beliefs, and their way of life. There’s a good reason for that: the loudest voices on social media often hold the most extreme views. People calling believers “Christo-fascists” are certainly going to get a lot of shares on Facebook. Still, that kind of rhetoric warps our understanding of how the average person actually feels.

I get the general impression that most evangelicals believe the non-religious really don’t like them. But I’ve been looking at data on perceptions of religion