Secularity in Different Hues: Racial Variation in Sociopolitical Attitudes Among the Nonreligious

Abstract

Nonreligious individuals have risen to nearly 30 percent of the United States’ population. This notable rise of the “nones” has garnered considerable attention from sociologists of religion and has propelled the study of secular Americans to the forefront of the discipline. However, the study of secularity as its own diverse cultural framework is still limited. Many scholars operate under the implicit assumption that nonreligion carries with it a host of other sociopolitical characteristics that construct the homogeneous “secular” identity. Drawing on data from the American Mosaic Project (n = 2400), we explore how secularity has unique influences among different races on attitudes about affirmative action, same-sex marriage, and immigration. We find that the religious/secular divide is far more pronounced among Whites in terms of political ideology relative to other races, religion plays a significant role in support for affirmative action among all races except Whites, and secularity increases the likelihood of Black individuals disagreeing with limiting immigration. Our findings indicate that American secularity, like American religion, is deeply racialized.