Can the Godless Market Evolve Beyond Bumper Stickers?

By Karen E. Klein on September 07, 2012

Religiosity has declined in the U.S. by 13 percent since 2005, according to a new poll (PDF). The Millennial generation, born between 1981 and 2000, is the least religious yet, with one in four identifying themselves as religiously unaffiliated, atheist, or agnostic in a 2010 PewResearchCenter survey. That works out to about 15 million Americans who describe themselves as “convinced atheists,” more than many mainline Protestant denominations, Jews, or Muslims.

Is there a market for merchandise for the godless? Retailers who cater to evangelical Christians with items including books, apparel, gifts, and Bibles represent $4.63 billion annually, according to the Association for Christian Retail. Those who sell to nonbelievers tend to be small business owners who are true nonbelievers. While bumper stickers and T-shirts are obvious favorites, books about evolution, educational games for children, and science-themed jewelry also hold appeal, says Derek Colanduno, an Atlanta computer programmer who hosts a podcast for skeptics.

The relative newness of the modern freethought movement, a collection of secular-minded organizations and nontheistic individuals, is partly responsible for the immaturity of the business market. It was Internet message boards, blogs, and podcasts that brought together younger skeptical and science-minded individuals to establish communities and attend regular conferences, says Colanduno. “Before the Internet, it was the old guard, the old white-haired men meeting in peoples’ basements,” he says.

The largest such conference is the Amaz!ng Meeting, hosted by the James Randi Educational Foundation, a nonprofit founded by magician and debunker James Randi in 1996. It hosts conferences around the world; its annual Las Vegas gathering drew about 1,200 in early July, along with 20 nonprofit and for-profit vendors, says the group’s president, D.J. Grothe. “There are a growing number of businesses that cater to skeptics and the larger community of reason,” he says, noting that attendees make up a well-educated, well-off niche market. “This is a subculture that really is hungry and has money to play with.”

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-09-07/can-the-godless-market-evolve-beyond-bumper-stickers

Capitalism is the ultimate cockroach. It survives anything.

So far.