Discrimination against atheists, sometimes called atheophobia,[1]atheistophobia,[2] or anti-atheism,[3][4] both at present and historically, includes persecution of and discrimination against people who are identified as atheists. Discrimination against atheists may be manifested by negative attitudes, prejudice, hostility, hatred, fear, or intolerance towards atheists and atheism or even the complete denial of atheists' existence.[5][6][7] It is often expressed in distrust regardless of its manifestation.[8] Perceived atheist prevalence seems to be correlated with reduction in prejudice.[9] There is global prevalence of mistrust in moral perceptions of atheists found in even secular countries and among atheists.[10]
Because atheism can be defined in various ways, those discriminated against or persecuted on the grounds of being atheists might not have been considered atheists in a different time or place. Thirteen Muslim countries officially punish atheism or apostasy by death and Humanists International asserts that "the overwhelming majority" of the 193 member states of the United Nations "at best discriminate against citizens who have no belief in a god and at worst can jail them for offences dubbed blasphemy".[11][12]
^Warf, Barney (2015). "Atheist Geographies and Geographies of Atheism". In Stanley D. Brunn; Donna A. Gilbreath (eds.). The Changing World Religion Map. Vol. 4. p. 2225. ISBN978-94-017-9375-9 – via Amazon.com. [...] to openly discriminate against them [atheists], or practice atheophobia.
^Klug, Petra (2023). Anti-atheist nation: religion and secularism in the United States. Routledge studies in the sociology of religion. Abingdon New York (N.Y.): Routledge. pp. 167–174. ISBN978-1-032-31010-7.
^Cragun, Ryan T.; Joseph H. Hammer; Jesse M. Smith (2013). "North America". In Stephen Bullivant; Michael Ruse (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Atheism. Oxford University Press. pp. xiii, 615+. ISBN9780199644650. Retrieved 13 February 2017 – via Google Books.
^Klug, Petra (2023). Anti-atheist nation: religion and secularism in the United States. Routledge studies in the sociology of religion. Abingdon New York (N.Y.): Routledge. pp. 148–151, 164–191. ISBN978-1-032-31010-7.