The lived experiences of Australian atheist and humanist women in nonreligious groups: gendered performance and (dis)engagement

Abstract

While there are many studies on why women are more religious than men worldwide, there is limited research into why the overwhelming majority of members of nonreligious atheist and humanist groups are mostly older white men. Given that the nonreligious community using the perceived oppression of women in religion as an argument against religion, why then are there not more women active in groups? The few studies on nonreligious women have mainly centred on the North American context or have focused on how individuals self-identify; they have not focussed on active community involvement. This research aimed to investigate how women who are or used to be members of the nonreligious community in Australia navigate their place within these groups; how they perform their nonreligiosity; and how they respond to microaggressions within these groups. Additionally, this thesis considered the roles of these women’s previous religiosity and community engagement in establishing and sustaining a nonreligious identity as well as creating meaning in their lives and how these are related to feminism. Furthermore, it also explored how whiteness informs the culture of nonreligious groups in Australia. This thesis draws on interviews with 32 women, 17 follow-up interviews and participant observation in 12 online and 24 face-to-face meetings between 2020 and 2023 in Australia. I suggest that nonreligious groups repeat systems of oppression of women found in religious settings as well as in Australian society at large. Although the nonreligious community might be a safer space for women than some religions, it is not devoid of subtle misogyny. I argue that the normalisation of microaggressions within the nonreligious sexist culture is the basis of an atmosphere that makes those groups unattractive to women. Therefore, I suggest that if nonreligious groups are to grow, they will need to become more inclusive and listen to and learn from the experiences of women in them. This study contributes to studies on collective atheism and humanism in Australia and the understanding of the relationship between gender and nonreligion.

Date of Thesis submission	2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Western Sydney University
Supervisor	Cristina Moreira Da Rocha (Supervisor), Selda Dagistanli (Supervisor) & Sarah Wilkin-Laflamme (Supervisor)