Atheists Identified as America’s Most Distrusted Minority

[minorwork]

Since the increased sense of being watched increases moral or ethical behavior, it's a reasonable logical extrapolation (but not proof) that belief systems which engender a sense of being watched all the time generate increased moral and ethical behavior all the time, whereas a belief system where one is not being watched some of the time promotes less ethical behavior where one is not being watched. These studies directly indicate this; when they prime people with god beliefs (or other watchful beliefs or influences) before such tests, they behave more ethically and morally.

Horse manure. Give me a break. If theists can accept the possible as actual then won't they also be prone to confuse truth and falsehood? Take the theist who feels he must lie in the name of his god. The atheist would have no such reason to lie.

Alan Bonsell and William Buckingham were two members of the Dover, Pennsylvania school board that have been accused of blatantly lying during their testimony by Judge John E. Jones III in his conclusion of the ruling on the case Tammy Kitzmiller, et al. (Plaintiffs) v Dover Area School District, et al. (Defendants.) Part H, starting on page 136.

Unofficial account.
Judge: Ex-members lied in testimony

Do you suppose the two would lie again? Those theists had more reason to lie than atheists. Bonsell and Buckingham behaved less ethically and morally because of their theism. You might say they were willing to damn their souls to Hell for God. They were both voted off the board next election. Real theist role models, those two.

[WindWip]

The researchers also found acceptance or rejection of atheists is related not only to personal religiosity, but also to one’s exposure to diversity, education and political orientation—with more educated, East and West Coast Americans more accepting of atheists than their Midwestern counterparts.

From my experience the younger generation (particularly the college crowd) is more likely to be atheist than the baby boomers. Ran across this on wikipedia - "A 2009 study reported that two thirds of teenagers in the UK do not believe in God." -source

I am assuming that the younger generation was probably not as highly represented in the interviews, which could skew the results a little but probably not enough to make a big difference. I would like to see the results from the same survey taken in 10 years. I bet that the results would be drastically different.

[SoylentGreen]

They collected at the door before entering AND had the nerve to ask for more from the willing... but no plates were passed.



The kid that brought me, my daughter's ex bf, has been trying to become an atheist for three years now. He was sorely disappointed with Carrier's presentation. The first third was a sales pitch for his book, the next third was disparaging Holding (the man himself), and the last third was a brief on the content of his book in light of Holding's original claims. I read Carrier's web refutation before coming and was looking forward to a good discussion on comparative martyrdom and motives. Unfortunately, I was cut-off before getting into the meat of the matter.

I fail to see your point, I could have a similar event to you by going to any church service. Are you trying to argue that only theists have the right to present nonsense to the world?

[barts]

Atheists Are Distrusted | American Sociological Association

Curious to hear your opinions (and challenge them )

What's really interesting about this thread, Jack, is that it is so uniquely American. In all other developed countries, this would not be an issue.

It seems to me the antagonism towards atheists by Americans ought to be a matter of concern for Americans. Such intolerance and bigotry is not something to be proud of nor condoned.

[ItsDarts]

What's really interesting about this thread, Jack, is that it is so uniquely American. In all other developed countries, this would not be an issue.

It seems to me the antagonism towards atheists by Americans ought to be a matter of concern for Americans. Such intolerance and bigotry is not something to be proud of nor condoned.

These are good points, but shouldn't it also be noted that these results could also be expected from developed muslim countries as well? (Is developed muslim countries an oxymoron?)

[Praxius]

Atheists Are Distrusted | American Sociological Association

Curious to hear your opinions (and challenge them )

So does this mean Atheists are next on the the chopping block when it comes to trying to weed out of the US?

Might be the next civil war, should be interesting *pops some popcorn*

Here's some other interesting information in comparison:

Canadian Data: (Out dated due to 2001 data, but I imagine Trends remain the same)
Non-Christian religious data in Canada

• Canada is becoming increasingly secular, as more people no longer associate with any organized religion.
• Wiccans and other Neopagans had the highest percentage growth rate, at over 280%.
• Native Canadian Spirituality is recovering from centuries of oppression, with a growth rate of about 175%.
• The growth of many non-Christian religions is influenced by immigration.
• "NOTAs" (None Of The Above) -- persons with no religious affiliation -- had the greatest numerical growth; they increased by 1,463,080 individuals.

As Well:

Atheism 101: Trivia for and about non-believers
Atheism 101: Trivia for and about non-believers

- The rise of the Canadian atheist: If Canadian atheists, humanists and agnostics seem to be pushing their weight around a lot lately, it has a lot to do with their rising demographic heft. According to the 2001 Canadian Census, folks stating they have "no religious affiliation" (about 16 per cent of the population) are the country's second largest religious affiliation after the Roman Catholic Church! More so, a few commentators note that this already larger-than-expected figure is likely lower than lived reality for a couple of reasons, including the fact that 16,000 largely atheist and humanist Unitarians (not to mention 5,500 "Pagans" and the 20,000 folks who listed Jedi worship as their faith of choice) are listed as "believers," as well as the fact that many non-believers will still list themselves under the religion of their ancestors when polled. For example, hyper-secular Quebec, boasting some of Canada's lowest church attendance figures, is more than 80-per-cent Roman Catholic according to the same census, a figure that reflects historical religious identity rather than actual spiritual realities.

- Young, and growing fast: Not only is the number of Canadian non-believers impressive in and of itself, it's all the more fascinating given that the 1971 Census reported that only ONE PER CENT of Canadians reported that they had no religion. Factoring in the decline and aging demographics of contemporary church attenders (i.e., Canada's Protestant church attendance dropped from 9.4 to 8.6 million people from 1991 to 2001), and the relatively young average age of the non-believer segment, the number of religiously non-affiliated Canadians seems poised to continue growing at a quick pace.....

So maybe Canada is responsible for such corruption in the US

[Questatement]

I fail to see your point, I could have a similar event to you by going to any church service. Are you trying to argue that only theists have the right to present nonsense to the world?

My only point in the post you responded to was answering a couple of questions asked of me by another party.

[Jinei]

I don't think it has to go to the point of considering education... just geography. People in mid-America are, typically, of the more extreme Christian variety. Naturally they would score higher on the distrust of all things non-Christian.

It also makes sense that they would trust them less than other groups... because all those other groups still profess, or could profess, a belief in *some* kind of higher power.

Disagree with them on a fundamental difference of ideology, and they won't trust you, just like the rest of us.

I agree.

I don't see what's debate-worthy about the topic.

Do you not see the questionable claims being thrown around here???

[samsara15]

From my POV, what I see here is a lot of mutual animosity. Theists don't like atheists, and vice versa. Lots of heat, and very little light.

A lot of flawed studies cited as evidence. A lot of unsubstantiated claims about how one group is better than the other.

Can't religious debate be put to more fruitful uses?

[barts]

Can't religious debate be put to more fruitful uses?

Fruitful? There is a debate about Jesus hating figs.

[samsara15]

That was another thread, Barts.

Fruit for fruitcakes.

Beam me up Scotty, there's no intelligent life on this planet.

[Compugasm]

To me, this whole argument is like not trusting someone who doesn't know how to swim. Or not trusting someone who doesn't eat meat. Seriously, "atheism" seems like some interchangeable variable you could replace with just about anything. Like, Canadian, black, communist, rich, weird-looking... whatever.

Just reading the Mormon Blog justifications for why he likes atheists, seems like the exact same reasons to like Mexicans. They're hardworking, brave, and honest. Just be wary of the Mexicans who don't know how to swim. Because honestly, what self-respecting Mexican can't swim right? Exactly.