Atheism as a religion, even a church

[Severian]

YouTube: Colbert Report (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkvRMZWEA5w)

Some people on this board could stand to watch it.

BROKEN

[ichneumon]

in actuality, this is almost inevitable, especially in the US where atheists are the most hated and mistrusted minority. it amuses me.

[freakazoid]

in actuality, this is almost inevitable, especially in the US where atheists are the most hated and mistrusted minority. it amuses me.

I don't think that there is that big of a gap between the amount of atheists and theists. And I really don't think that there is that much hatred towards them.

[Councilman Doug]

I don't think that there is that big of a gap between the amount of atheists and theists.



A 2005 survey published in Encyclopædia Britannica states that the non-religious make up about 11.9% of the world's population, and atheists around 2.3%.
wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism)


And I really don't think that there is that much hatred towards them.


The most recent study was conducted by the University of Minnesota, which found that atheists ranked lower than "Muslims, recent immigrants, gays and lesbians and other minority groups in 'sharing their vision of American society.' Atheists are also the minority group most Americans are least willing to allow their children to marry." The results from two of the most important questions were:

This group does not at all agree with my vision of American society...

Atheist: 39.6%
Muslims: 26.3%
Homosexuals: 22.6%
Hispanics: 20%
Conservative Christians: 13.5%
Recent Immigrants: 12.5%
Jews: 7.6%


I would disapprove if my child wanted to marry a member of this group....

Atheist: 47.6%
Muslim: 33.5%
African-American 27.2%
Asian-Americans: 18.5%
Hispanics: 18.5%
Jews: 11.8%
Conservative Christians: 6.9%
Whites: 2.3%



source (http://atheism.about.com/od/atheistbigotryprejudice/a/AtheitsHated.htm)


A 1999 Gallup poll conducted to determine Americans' willingness to tolerate a Jewish president (Joseph Lieberman was the Democratic candidate for Vice President at the time). Here are the percentages of people saying they would refuse to vote for "a generally well-qualified person for president" on the basis of some characteristic; in parenthesis are the figures for earlier years:

Catholic: 4% (1937: 30%)
Black: 5% (1958: 63%, 1987: 21%)
Jewish: 6% (1937: 47%)
Baptist: 6%
Woman: 8%
Mormon: 17%
Muslim: 38%
Gay: 37% (1978: 74%)
Atheist: 48%

source (http://atheism.about.com/od/atheistbigotryprejudice/a/AtheistSurveys.htm)

[RevMARKSman]

Originally posted by [email protected] 07, 2007 12:41 am
YouTube: Colbert Report (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkvRMZWEA5w)

Some people on this board could stand to watch it.
Haha, "big hat". Anyhow those of us who actively fight theists aren't ready to, you know, have churches, a hierarchy, stuff like that. In fact, that's not what we would ever want. So you can shut up now.

[freakazoid]

A 2005 survey published in Encyclopædia Britannica states that the non-religious make up about 11.9% of the world's population, and atheists around 2.3%.

What about the US? I think that in another thread someone said that it is a little less than 50%, and in some other countries atheists make up a lot more than 50%.

And for the other stuff you said, I stand corrected.

[Councilman Doug]

What about the US? I think that in another thread someone said that it is a little less than 50%...
:lol: Are you really that cut off from reality?


* A 2006 online Harris Poll of 2,010 U.S. adults (18 and older) found that only 58% of those surveyed were "absolutely certain" that God exists while 6% were "absolutely certain" that God does not exist.[3] The other 36% to 38% reported that they were only "somewhat certain" or "unsure" regarding the existence of God (21% reported they were "somewhat certain that there is a God," 11% that they were "not sure whether or not there is a God," and 6% that they were "somewhat certain that there is no God"). The poll showed that an "absolute certain" belief in God increased with age: while only 43%-45% of those aged 18-29 were "absolutely certain" that God exists, 54% of those aged 30-39 were "absolutely certain" that God exists, and 63%-65% of those aged 40 and older were "absolutely certain" that God exists.

* A 2006 CBS News Poll of 899 U.S. adults found that 82% of those surveyed believed in God, while 9% believed in "some other universal spirit or higher power," 8% believed in neither, and 1% were unsure.

wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_States#Belief_in_God)


And for the other stuff you said, I stand corrected.

It's a shame you don't apply the same standards in the other debates you were proven wrong in and have yet to respond.

[Kwisatz Haderach]

Regarding statistics of theists vs. atheists:

We all know that a huge number of self-proclaimed theists in the Western world do not attend Church or practice their faith in any way, shape or form. Statistics are likely to vastly underestimate the number of secular people because so many people are de facto atheists but refuse to admit it to themselves.