What does Autism have to do with atheism?

What does Autism have to do with atheism? Maybe nothing, maybe everything. A quick Google search brings up a correlation based on theory of mind, but that's a little controversial in the autistic community and something I talk about more in this blog. 

Instead, I want to start by looking at the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)* to look at the criteria for an autism diagnosis and discuss how each of these criteria might make an individual more likely to be atheist or religious. Please bear in mind that not every autistic person will meet all of these criteria, and not everyone will meet them at the same level as another autistic person. It is a spectrum for a reason, and if you've met one autistic person, you've met one autistic person. If you know someone who is autistic, and you are curious if these apply to them, the best thing to do is just ask.

*Quick side note, the DSM is not inerrant, it, like any other form of science is constantly being updated to match what we currently know. There is still a lot of misunderstanding about how each of the criteria actually effect an individual, especially as it pertains to neurodivergencies. 

The criteria are broken down into two basic categories: Social deficits and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior. 

We will start with the first one which has three subcategories: 

Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction

The first subcategory we will look at is Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity. I believe that in some individuals this might explain why we are less likely to be drawn in by the emotional aspects of religion. Part of the brainwashing the church does is to play music that is designed to trigger emotional responses, and I believe that with the exception of a minority of autistic individuals, this "deficit" protects us from this form of brainwashing. There are quite a handful of autistic individuals who are music-minded people, and there is a chance that since they are so naturally drawn to music, that the music would sway them towards religion. 

The second subcategory is Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction. This is mostly talking about ability to read body language, facial expressions, gestures, etc... I don't really think this applies here. I don't think ability to read non-verbal communication would have any impact on someone's religious beliefs (or lack thereof). If you know of any correlations, I would love to hear them in the comments below.

The third subcategory is Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships. I think this can go one of two ways and to be fair, is probably a pretty even split. Fellowship is a big part of religiosity, and I think that in some individuals who struggle with making and maintaining friendships, church may not be worth the time and effort. And in others, church fellowship may be the only relationships they are able to build and maintain, drawing them into religion. 

Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities

This category has four subcategories, and again I will go over them one at a time and discuss if I think it has an impact on someone's religious beliefs and what the impact may be. 

The first subcategory is Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech. This is talking about things such as rocking, pacing, fidgeting, and finding comfort in repeating phrases or sounds. This could honestly go either way. On the one hand, one could find comfort in the repetition of religious songs, and quotes. But on the other hand, the same can be said about secular songs. (I, like many others like to listen to certain songs by Linkin Park, or Papa Roach when I'm having a bad day. repeating some of their songs brings me comfort)

The second subcategory is Insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior. With this one, the autistic individual will tend towards whatever they are raised as. If they are raised in an atheist or non-religious home, they will have a harder time accepting religion, and if they are raised in a religious home, it will be harder to discard those religious beliefs. This is not to say that it can't happen, it does. I was raised Christian and am now an atheist. I'm also not saying that breaking away from religion isn't hard for those who aren't autistic, it is hard for everyone. I am simply stating that this trait of autism is one that will make it harder to leave whatever they were raised as and change their beliefs and patterns of living. 

The third subcategory is Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus. This is talking about hyper-fixations (also sometimes known as special interests, but I'll talk about that in another blog). This is again something that could go either way. Literally, anything can be a hyper-fixation. There's been a point in time where space has been my hyper-fixation. Dinosaurs, rollercoasters, animals, cats specifically, and even religion (especially Christianity) have all been hyper-fixations of mine at various points in my life. That being said if someone's special interest is their religion, that could make them even more religious than a person who is not autistic. However, if they have a special interest that is science or history based, they are more likely to shun religious beliefs. 

The fourth and final subcategory is Hyper- or hypo-reactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment. This is talking about the sensory integration aspect of autism. Aside from the possibility that the environment of a typical church service (loud noise, a bunch of people all wearing different colognes, bright lights) could trigger sensory overload in some people, there's not really much impact sensory integration is going to have on an individual's beliefs. 

One last commonly accepted trait among autistic individuals

There's one more trait that's widely accepted trait of autism that's not mentioned in the DSM that I think is worth mentioning here. Autistic people tend to be more likely than their non-autistic peers to approach things with a logical approach as opposed to an emotion-based approach. This logical mindset is a factor in what leads us to STEM-related careers and interests. It is what leads us to skepticism about religious beliefs and fuels our desire for knowledge. I believe that our logic-based thinking improves our ability to think critically.

Being logic-based thinkers, I believe is the main reason why autistic individuals are more likely to be atheist or non-religious. 

Summary

I believe that for a variety of reasons, autistic individuals are more likely to be atheist or non-religious than their non-autistic peers. The main reasons are our tendency towards STEM interests and our logic-based thinking. Thank you for reading. 

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