Atheism @ virtual world: A study of atheist influencers
Principal Investigators
Dr. Di Di
Department of Sociology
Santa Clara University
Dr. Esther Chan
Department of Sociology
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Start and end dates: 1 January 2023 – 30 June 2024
Award: £35,000
This project will reveal the causal mechanisms that lead to or reinforce atheism in online virtual communities by focusing on the role of atheist influencers. We will interview US-based atheist influencers to understand how they became influencers and how they promote varieties of atheism. This research will contribute to the burgeoning scholarship on atheism (and secularism more broadly) by examining influencers who diverge from vanguard leaders, who are usually tied to institutions, and everyday atheists who engage in virtual communities but do not create content that has a wide audience. We will examine how atheist influencers perceive themselves, their audiences, and atheist communities as well as the forms of atheism they are promoting and how they may lead to the reproduction of atheist identities and innovations in varieties of atheism.
