Childhood Experience and Religious Affiliation Survey

Abstract Are negative experiences in childhood factors for why people are atheists? This paper notes the significant correlations between divorce, paternal abandonment, maternal abandonment, paternal death and maternal death when one is a minor and the likelihood one is an atheist or non-atheist as an adult. The results of the 2021 Childhood Experience and Religious Affiliation survey, were analyzed within gender, citizenship, generational, educational and raised-affiliation groupings. The death of one’s father or mother was found to most notably correlate with atheism in adults. If you are interested in receiving a PDF version of the report please email me at  Iannewton8888@gmail.com . 

In question 7 of the survey respondents were asked "Throughout your childhood did your father do any of the following with you a few times or more? (Check all that apply.)" Five possible responses were given:  -Pray with you  -Practice meditation with you -Go to a place of worship with you -Say grace before meals -None  In the graph below: "Atheists, raised Protestants" refers to current atheists who were brought up Protestant. " There were 218 respondents in the grouping.  "Non-atheists, raised Protestants" refers to current non-atheists, who were brought up Protestant. There were 710 respondents in the grouping.  "Atheists, raised Catholic" refers to current atheists who were brought up Catholic. There were 323 respondents in the grouping.  "Non-atheists, raised Catholic" refers to current non-atheists, who were brought up Catholic. There were 490 respondents in the grouping.  Graph 1 Father involvement in prayer during childhood

  The abandonment of a father before adulthood was not found to be general cause of atheism. Although a few positive correlations exist (with Anglo-Europeans, Australasian-others and those raised-Catholic when the abandonment occurred between 7 and 12, and among Australasians-others if it occurred in the teenage years) this was certainly not a widespread correlations across most lines of analysis. There was however, a positive correlation between atheism and being abandoned as an adult. This was true among Females, Australasian-others,  the younger generation group, the older generation group and the less-so-educated.  A much more valid can be made that abandonment of a father, before age 6 makes atheism less likely.  Males, Females, Anglo-Europeans, people in the older generation group,  Less-so educated, More-so Educated, and those raised atheists groups were less likely to be atheists if they had been abandoned by their fathers before age 6.  "PA Pre-6" stands Paternal Aba

MA 18+ stands for Maternal Abandonment after the respondent turned 18.  Across nearly all lines of analysis I used to look into the data regarding maternal abandonment, atheism and maternal abandonment after 18 were positively correlated.  What I can't tell you is whether the abandonment or the atheism usually preceded the other.  Graph 1/2 Graph 2/2

I.)  Methodology  II.)  Disclaimer  Findings Findings III.)    Select Differences Between Atheists, Agnostics & Everyone Else IV.)    Education V.)     Parental Divorce VI.)    Abandonment by Father VII.)   Death of Father VIII.)  Abandonment by Mother IX.)    Death of Mother X.)  Father’s Involvement XI.)    Mother’s Involvement XII.)     Gender and Conversion XIII.)    The Survey Itself I.) Methodology The Childhood Experience and Religious Affiliation survey was conducted in the month of January 2021. The survey was 20-questions, and can be found attached at the end of this report. 3079 people participated across more than five countries. About half, were American (n = 1310), with Canadian citizens (557), British (310), Irish (279), Australians (275) and New Zealand (108) as well with some overlap. Other citizens, both from European countries (237) and Non-European countries (281) participated. The survey was sent out online mostly on Facebook, IDW.com and Agnostic.com