In America there are more atheists than Jews or gays, and almost as many atheists as blacks. And unlike homosexuality, atheism can actually spread around, and it's on the rise. But damned if you're going to see an atheist TV show or an atheist TV station. But people on these very forums have stated that atheists shouldn't be allowed to get married. (I'm a married atheist, booyah!)

And then to add to the confusion, many Jews are only culturally Jewish and don't practice their religion, so they're actually atheist. If you're mother was Jewish you're considered Jewish... whether you practice or not. So when asked what religion they are, they can either say a non-practicing Jew or an atheist, and they can flip flop. We don't have a census that asks "what religion were you raised with?" and "do you still practice it?" with differences for non-practicing, atheist, and agnostic, so we're never too sure. Some places, like Fox News or certain religious programs, will try to argue that only 2-6% of people are atheists, and they're a really weird different minority. Others will say it's 10 or 15% and growing.

But yeah, like sapphi_snake said, we're supposed to assume everybody on TV is a non-practicing Christian. TV stations are afraid to rock the boat. And where the hell are the Muslims on TV?

There were a lot of rumors that both McCain and Obama were atheists but pretending to be religious to get elected, since atheists are pretty much unelectable in this country. We have more out gay congresspeople than atheist congresspeople. In fact, Pete Stark was in Congress for 34 years before he finally confirmed he was an atheist in 2007, and he was the first congressperson to ever do so, and nobody else has done it since. I wonder how many secretly atheist politicians there are. The Secular Coalition claims there are 22 more who wish to remain unidentified. http://thedailyprofaner.com/2009/01/05/22-members-of-congress-are-secret-atheists/

And then there's always fun stuff like George Bush saying atheists shouldn't be considered as citizens or patriots. http://www.positiveatheism.org/writ/ghwbush.htm

That's the thing about movies, they're not real.

They dominate the news.

Atheists are tricked by Satan and  TV and movies realistically portray them.

Are atheists actually underrepresented?

I mean, how would you know?

How many shows ACTUALLY deal with religion. 

To have an atheist in a show you would need.

A) A show about religion or that deals with religion a lot.

B) A show who also needs a counterpoint to that.  Aka not a show SOLEY about religion.

I think you'll generally find on the shows where they talk about religion but it isn't the main theme, there are plenty of Atheists.

I just got done watching Babylon 5 again through netflix.  There are a number of atheists on that show.

Or heck, Look at Star Trek.  Every single person on Star Trek I think is an atheist.  Outside of Worf anyway and maybe Riker.  The thing is, nobody knows that... because atheism is kinda useless as a storytelling device. 

I mean, if Chandler from friends was an atheist.  Or George Costanza or the fat guy from king of queens... how would you know?   And why would you care?

There is nothing you can do with an "hey i'm an atheist" angle that would work in a comedy or super drama.  Basically you'd need to have it in a dramadey... and even then it's likely to be a plot point that lasts all of 1 episode because there isn't anything you can do with it.

Unlike say, religions where you can have a crisis of faith or there are things you can go to.

The only thing atheism is really "functional" for from a writing perspective is to show a pessimism to a greater force pulling you out of trouble.  Like during  a big war.

There is quite a popular show in Canada that is centred on a Muslim family - Little Mosque on the Prairie. It's pretty good, too.

I have to agree, though, atheists are grossly under-represented in television. A good writer would no doubt be able to make an interesting openly atheist character.

An interseting openly atheist character sure... but a charcter who was interesting because he was atheist?  Not  likely the case.   There just isn't anything you can do with atheism.

While I'm not saying that atheists are under-represented on TV (because personally I couldn't care) I disagree that atheism can't be interesting in a character. Have you seen Bones at all?

I disagree, a character being atheist could definitely add to a show in an interesting manner:

Take The Big Bang Theory for instance. Sheldon being an atheist would create an interesting/comical strain with his relationship with his mother or any other 'regular' people that he meets.

thats what i was thinking.

I just asume in a film or program, if someone isnt showed preying or in a chrch then they are just athiests. So really 9/10 people in films i consider to not be religious.

Also most people i know do not believe in anything to do with religion but if you mentioned the word athiest to them they would not no what you are talking about. I dont consider myself an athiest because i dont think i should get catogrised. I think religion is a lot of crap. About as real as the tooth fairy and santa comming down me fire. So just because i think that then that makes me an athiest?

I find it stupid and i would bet that most peopel in the world dont agree with the being a god and all that