I’d like your help. Please share this post far and wide, especially to faculty members at research universities and other organizations who do and/or fund social science research.

(Image via Wikipedia Commons)

I’d like to get someone to study the effects of “firebrand atheism.” Is it effective at advancing the causes of movement atheism? Does it do more harm than good?

If you’re not familiar with the term “firebrand atheism,” you can watch this relatively short video of American Atheists president David Silverman:

If you don’t have time to watch it, here’s the bottom line: Silverman claims his data shows that there have been 942,000 new self-described atheists and 1,250,000 agnostics as result of the firebrand atheism of American Atheists. During a recent Twitter conversation, I asked Silverman to clarify this statement, and he said that those numbers represent “closeted atheists” and not new converts. Furthermore, he emphasized that the goal of American Atheists isn’t to seek new converts to atheism. Let me just state for the record that I think it’s great that that many closeted atheists have come forward to self-identify as nonbelievers, specifically as atheists.

However, it’s my current opinion that American Atheists’ strategy, particularly their billboard campaign, is doing more harm than good. I base this on my personal experience and what I hope is sound reasoning. I don’t have hard data to back this up. That’s why I want a formal study. Like I told Silverman on Twitter, I don’t want this study because I want to prove him wrong, but because I want it proved right, if in fact it is.

In the above video, Silverman bases his claim that firebrand atheism is working on the data he has collected via an analysis of various Google searches regarding atheism, and the correlations that arise. He admits that correlation is not causation, but emphasizes that “there is A LOT of correlation.”

But I’d like to see if there really is causation at work here. If there is, I’d be happy to change my opinion. I’m currently not a firebrand atheist. I’m not ashamed of my atheism; and I work in my own way toward a more religion-free society; but my experience—and my best reasoning based on that experience—tells me that firebrand atheism is counterproductive.

If I’m wrong, I will gladly say so. So let’s see if we can get someone to formally study it! Specifically, what I want to test is this:

Does firebrand atheism create a backlash amongst religious believers that hinders their cooperation on social justice issues and other values important to atheists?

Does firebrand atheism alienate other atheists?

If you can think of other things to test, or better ways to formulate the questions, let me know. I’m just a starving artist, so I certainly can’t afford to fund such a study. Nor do I have the expertise to do so. Also, if you know of studies that already do address these issues, please let me know that as well!

The impetus for this study comes from my idea about the New Chimera. I’d like to live my life in such a way that I incorporate the reasoning power of the philosopher and the unrelenting empiricism of the scientist. And, like David Hume admonished, “a wise man proportions his belief to the evidence.”

So please, spread this post as much as you can. Thanks!