Goodbye Religion, Hello Receipts: Why Atheists Aren't Sad, Immoral Gremlins After All

We've all heard the tired line: "Without God, life is empty." Or the classic: "Atheists just hate morals, meaning, and family."
Cute. Also? Complete nonsense.

Ryan T. Cragun (a former Mormon missionary turned secular sociology badass) and Jesse M. Smith took this fear-based narrative and politely wrecked it in their book Goodbye Religion: The Causes and Consequences of Secularization. The verdict? Leaving religion doesn't make you miserable, immoral, or useless to society.

They don't just say it; they prove it with actual data. Let's dig into their findings and expand on what makes secular life so damn livable.

🔍 Claim #1: "Religious People Are Happier"

This one's been canonized in think pieces and Sunday sermons alike. But Cragun and Smith dug into real data from:

• 📊 General Social Survey (GSS) – A major U.S. survey used by researchers since 1972
  

• 🌍 World Values Survey (WVS) – Covering 100+ countries across cultures and continents
  

• 📐 Methodology: Controlled for age, race, income, education, and gender, and compared religious, formerly religious, and never-religious people.
  

🧠 The Result:

Once the emotional hype is stripped away, what is the difference in happiness between religious and nonreligious folks?
About 0.1 on a 3-point scale. Translation: meh. Not significant. Not meaningful.

Even Pew's cherry-picked headlines collapse under scrutiny when you run clean, controlled models.

🎯 So What Does Make Nonreligious People Happy?

In secular countries, where religion isn't welded to national identity or moral worth, nonreligious individuals thrive. Why?

✅ Key Factors:

• Robust social safety nets (universal healthcare, housing support)
  

• Low-income inequality
  

• Higher trust in government and civic institutions
  

• Widespread cultural acceptance of nonreligion
  

• Freedom to define one's values, purpose, and identity
  
  

You don't need a pastor when your country isn't falling apart and people aren't judging you for skipping church. In nations like Sweden, Denmark, or the Netherlands, not believing is so normal that nobody cares. And mental health outcomes are better across the board.

😬 But What About the "Exiters"?

Great question. Cragun and Smith distinguish between:

• ✝️ Formerly religious (people who left a faith)
  

• 🚫 Never-religious (those raised outside of religion)
  

The difference matters a lot.

🚪 Exiters often face:

• Family rejection
  

• Internalized guilt or shame
  

• Loss of community
  

• An identity crisis, especially in highly religious cultures

Walking away from faith, especially the fire-and-brimstone kind, can wreck your sense of self. One day you're in the pews; the next, you're battling guilt, isolation, or existential whiplash. If you're struggling post-deconversion, check out Recovering from Religion. They've support groups, secular therapists, and a hotline run by people who genuinely understand because losing your faith shouldn't mean losing your sanity.

Their well-being often depends on how supportive their environment is after leaving religion. In places like the U.S. Bible Belt, leaving the church isn't just a shift in beliefs; it's a social rupture. Mental health support, new community networks (such as atheist meetups), and access to secular therapy can help ease the transition.

By contrast, people raised without religion typically experience no trauma, no guilt spiral, and no awkward Thanksgiving debates; just vibes. This sense of shared values and community among nonreligious individuals is a powerful and comforting reality.

🗳️ Claim #2: "Religious People Are More Civically Engaged"

Ah, yes, the "religious folks care more about their communities" trope. Cragun and Smith analyze this one too, and find that when you control for demographics and remove statistical manipulation, secular folks participate just as much in:

• Unions
  

• Political orgs
  

• Educational groups
  

• Social activism
  

The only area where religious people "engage more"?
Religious activities. Shocker.

📚 What Future Data Could Help?

Cragun and Smith lay a solid foundation, but more research could sharpen the picture. Some ideas:

🧪 Longitudinal studies could explore:

• How civic engagement changes over time for people leaving religion
  

• Whether secular communities provide long-term substitutes for religious social networks
  

• How "belief without belonging" (spiritual-but-not-religious types) affects civic and social engagement
  

We need better tools to measure nonreligious community-building efforts, such as mutual aid networks, online activism, and secular parenting groups, because they're not always tracked in the same way as churches.

😇 Claim #3: "Nonreligious People Are Less Moral"

Let's just say it: this one's a favorite among religious apologists. Because if they can't guilt you into belief with hellfire, maybe they can shame you with moral panic.

However, Cragun and Smith evaluated actual behavior and attitudes, rather than scripture. They focused on universal ethics, not religious purity codes.

They asked:

• Would you welcome LGBTQ+ neighbors?
  

• Do you support gender equality?
  

• Are you tolerant of immigrants and people with AIDS?
  

And who scored highest in acceptance, compassion, and fairness?
Atheists and nonreligious folks.

So much for needing divine commandments to be a decent human.

💬 Anticipating Pushback

Some counterarguments will inevitably pop up. Let's tackle the usual suspects:

1. "But religion gives life meaning!"
   Cool, if it works for you. However, nonreligious people often create their meaning through relationships, passions, creativity, or social causes; no burning bush required.
   

2. "Religious people give more to charity!"
   Often true, but most of that giving goes back into churches. When it comes to secular causes and time volunteered, the differences vanish.
   

3. "Without God, what's to stop you from being evil?"
   If the only thing keeping someone moral is fear of hell, that's not ethics; it's divine blackmail. Nonreligious people tend to act ethically because… wait for it… empathy and social responsibility.
   

🔚 Final Thoughts: It's Not About Who's "Better." It's About What's True.

Cragun and Smith don't argue that atheists are morally superior; they say that religious superiority myths collapse when exposed to honest, well-controlled data. This understanding and acceptance of the truth about atheism and secular life bring a sense of reassurance and peace.

So yeah, you don't need a sky wizard to be happy, kind, or civically helpful. Who knew? (Oh right, we did.)

If someone starts ranting about how godlessness leads to moral chaos, throw 'em some cold, hard stats. Because we're not crumbling; we're questioning, rebuilding, and actually giving a damn. This is the kind of empowerment that comes from challenging misconceptions and promoting a positive view of secular life.

We're not lost. We're just not buying the snake oil anymore.

And that, dear heretics, is the kind of sacred rebellion this world needs.

Stay loud. Stay skeptical. And if the facts trash your theology? Maybe don't double down; maybe just… evolve. 🖤