Maria Jensen, “Atheist Influencer’s Perceptions of the Atheist Community”
Mentor: Esther Chan, Sociology
Poster #151

This poster examines answers from fifteen qualitative interviews conducted by a research team in order to illustrate common narratives about how atheist influencers view themselves as being in a digital community, and how the influencers view their own roles and content in such a community. It also examines the role online platforms play in community building and if atheist influencers participate in more traditional, in-person communities as well. Findings suggest that atheists predominantly do not consider atheism to be a religion, but that they do perceive themselves as being in a community, albeit a loose one. Most do not consider themselves leaders or influencers, but many express a desire to create a small community with their own content by providing a safe space and setting an example for how people should act through their own content. While this study focuses specifically on atheists, aspects of this project can be applied more generally to the shifting of in-person communities to online communities and the increasing role of online spaces and interactions in everyday life.