Why do people join non-religious groups in highly secular states?

The decline of Christianity in the West - and what will replace it - is of interest both to sociologists and to general society. Likewise, issues of social class and gender are as relevant to society as they are to academia. My project will combine these issues by investigating the rise and importance of non-religious organisations in highly secular modern Britain. While sociologists have long predicted the decline of religion in the West, they also expected people to become merely indifferent, as opposed to consciously opposed to religion as a result. However, overtly non-religious groups are thriving. As yet, no one has satisfactorily provided an answer as to why this is happening.

Current research reveals men and women to be attracted to different types of non-religious groups, but that all such groups attract overwhelmingly from the higher social classes. My project will not only investigate why these patterns occur, but will also address what they reveal about the performance of both gender and social class in Britain. Thus, this study will be of interest to both an academic and non-academic audience. Despite the rapid secularisation of the West, non-religion remains an understudied area of sociology. My study will contribute new knowledge in this area. Likewise, this work will also be relevant to anyone interested in how (and indeed why) men and women continue to make different choices in society, and how social class, and perhaps also status, are being displayed in a post-religious context.