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
This project examined the causal mechanisms that lead to or reinforce atheism in online virtual communities by focusing on the role of atheist influencers.
Rather than vanguard leaders who are usually tied to institutions, we were interested in examining influencers and atheists who engage in virtual communities but do not create content that has a wide audience. What these groups may tell us about the causal factors underlying atheist identities has received little attention in the literature to date.
We interviewed US-based atheist influencers to understand how they became influencers and how they promote varieties of atheism, examining 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.
Publications
Publications from this project are forthcoming, check our Publications page for updates
