Are autistic/ASD people more likely to be atheist?

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NibiruMul
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01 Dec 2023, 6:51 pm

Do you think autistic people are more likely to be atheist than the general population? Why or why not?

I honestly think they're about even. I've met both religious autistic people and autistic atheists. I'm Catholic, but I'm not particularly religious (I'm probably more culturally Catholic than religiously - being Italian-American means I grew up around Catholicism).



funeralxempire
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01 Dec 2023, 6:54 pm

I think atheists might be over-represented among austistics, but that religious fundamentalism also might be more common among autistics and undiagnosed autistics.


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TwilightPrincess
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01 Dec 2023, 7:08 pm

Religious fundamentalism appeals to black and white thinkers and some on the spectrum are black and white thinkers. On the other hand, autistics are more likely to deviate from social norms, so they might be more apt to question and leave religion behind if they were brought up in a religious household. From a personal standpoint, I just wasn’t getting anything positive out of religion because I was not a social person and had little in common with people from church.



blitzkrieg
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01 Dec 2023, 7:56 pm

Church is a very social thing for religious people and some people who don't even believe in God join churches for the social aspect of it all.

Religious beliefs can be held privately however.

I personally find that there seem to be more autistic atheists than autistic religious folk.