A Qualitative Study of Black Atheists: "Don’t Tell Me You’re One of Those!"(Religion and Race)

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.

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

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

Review :
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. 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. 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. [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.