Diversity Rules Magazine

Taylor - Con't from page 9 songwriter in ways that I never could have imagined a decade ago." If there is one thing Stewart Taylor has learned these past few years, it's the importance of great friends, crea vity, and walking away from unhealthy rela- onships. "I learned the hard way that being half of a destruc ve duo will never make a person whole," he says. "Walking away is so much easier said than done, but if I can leave the toxic rela onship I was in, I believe anyone can." Stewart Taylor's "Maybe We Shouldn't Talk" is being distributed independently and is available on Apple Music, Spo fy, and all digital pla orms. Its video will be available on YouTube on September 2. Visit stewar aylorofficial.com. Follow on IG @imstewart- taylor On August 16th, the civil rights organiza on Ameri- can Atheists released a data report en tled Nonre- ligious LGBTQ People in America. Coun ng 7,759 nonreligious LGBTQ par cipants (22.9% of the nearly 34,000-person total sample) and organized by a team of researchers at Strength in Numbers Consult- ing Group, this is the largest study of nonreligious LGBTQ Americans. In comparison to cisgender, heterosexual nonbe- lievers, LGBTQ par cipants faced significantly more s gma and discrimina on, researchers found. Amer- ican Atheists warns that, given the make-up of this Supreme Court and the religiously mo vated bias of prominent lawmakers, such s gma and discrimina- on are likely to increase. "LGBTQ atheists face widespread s gma and discrim- ina on," said Alison Gill, Vice President for Legal and Policy, who spearheaded this data collec on project. "With half of LGBTQ people being nonreligious, we o en experience both religious oppression and an - LGBTQ bigotry." A larger percentage of LGBTQ nonreligious par ci- pants faced s gma and discrimina on in various ar- eas of their lives than did their cisgender, heterosex- ual peers, including in the military (54.1% vs. 44.9%), educa on (33.2% vs. 28.1%), and employment (23.6% vs. 21.0%). This disparity was especially pro- nounced in areas like mental health services (23.4% vs. 15.4%), reproduc ve care (20.8% vs. 12.0%), and substance abuse services (20.1% vs. 13.7%). In addi- on, researchers found that more than one quarter (27.9%) of LGBTQ par cipants screened posi ve for depression. This is twice the rate of cisgender, het- erosexual par cipants (13.8%). "LGBTQ atheists and agnos cs already experienced heightened s gma because of their nonreligious be- liefs. But this data was captured before the rampant poli cal a acks targe ng LGBTQ young people and their families over the last two years and the extreme Supreme Court decisions that have opened the door for public school staff to preach an -LGBTQ theolo- gy," said Gill. "We would expect that many members of our community—especially students in very reli- gious areas—may feel even more s gma today." Nearly half (46.5%) of LGBTQ par cipants living in very religious communi es encountered nega ve experiences or discrimina on in educa on se ngs due to their nonreligious beliefs, which is twice the rate of those in less religious communi es (26.6%). Trans and gender nonconforming youth ages 18-24 were significantly more likely to encounter discrimi- na on in educa on because of their nonreligious be- liefs than their cisgender, heterosexual peers (38.9% vs. 28.1%). "Keeping public schools safe and welcoming spaces for LGBTQ nonreligious students is vital," said Nick Fish, president of American Atheists. "It is no won- der that Chris an extremists are targe ng schools: it's where they're most able to harm LGBTQ nonreli- gious students. It's reprehensible and wrong." View the full report at: www.secularsurvey.org/LGBTQ. American Atheists is a na onal 501(c)(3) nonprofit organiza on that defends the rights of atheists, freethinkers, and other nonbelievers; advocates for the absolute separa on of religion and govern- ment; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy. American Atheists was founded in 1963 by Madalyn Murray O'Hair. Diversity Rules Magazine| Sept 2022|11 Heightened Stigma

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