Atheists identified as America’s most distrusted minority

What's this "vision of american society" crap?

they think atheists can't get fat, or take too many drugs, or sit at home and watch 10 hours of television a day?

Admittedly this distinction may be lost on a lot of true believers.

I am an atheist, but my husband's parents "allowed" him to marry me.

Scratch an agnostic, find a theist. They're hedging their bets because they're still afraid of going to hell. I don't see why any atheist would say they're an agnostic. Total wuss move.

i used to work with a guy like that. he belonged to some sort of atheist organization. atheism was his religion.

once you stop believing in god, shouldn't god cease to be a big deal? guess those religious atheists feel really put upon by society's theistic religiosity or something. jerks. they're like people who brag about not having tv.

doubt the people in the survey were basing their distrust of atheists on negative experiences though.

the conversation didn't really go anywhere.

well i'm an atheist and i live in america (although i'm a buddhist which puts me in some sort of strange middle ground) and while i do occasionally feel put upon by christians, i can appreciate that their situation is complex - containing good and not so good qualities, and a lot of inbetween.

i find the superior attitude that a lot of atheists display to be particularly retarded, because while they may not be classic monotheists they still display theistic attitudes - just with different objects of veneration: material things, science, themselves, aggression, etc.

OTM

Exhibit A:

Scratch an agnostic, find a theist. They're hedging their bets because they're still afraid of going to hell. I don't see why any atheist would say they're an agnostic. Total wuss move.

-- Beth Parker (marthasminion...), April 8th, 2006.

well i'm an atheist and i live in america (although i'm a buddhist)

my guess is that most americans, while thinking you are "weird," would not classify you as an atheist. buddhism is seen a religion.

if I lived in a place where my beliefs were constantly portrayed as being inherently unpatriotic and even immoral, then yes, I would feel a little put upon.

welcome to the world of democratic voters and "liberals."

OTM

once you stop believing in god, shouldn't god cease to be a big deal?

First of all, who said that atheist believed in God in the first place. Secondly, it seems to me (compared to Britain) that God is a big deal in America, whether someone wants it to be or not.

true. put upon wasn't really what i meant - aside from a little teasing when i was a kid, i've never really experienced the intolerance reflected in the poll. of course if i'd grown up in rural missipppi rather than a wealthy boston suburb things probably would've been different. And now i live in nyc, so i've pretty much been ensconced in the low murmur of npr my whole life.

i guess what i meant was disturbed. our crusading government being the most disturbing example of christianity resembling nothing more than a social disease. on the other hand, i think atheists are perfectly capable of starting wars. i mean, you think dick cheney believes in god?

First of all, who said that atheist believed in God in the first place.

just using that timeline as a device. sure there was a better way to say it.

I'm a Leo, so sue me.

Setting aside my dismay at being lumped in with these nasty folks, I must ask you, jhoshea, do you really encounter that many people like this? Seems a little over-the-top, but if it's true, my condolences.

oh ok, well then he's just being an idiot there.

my beef with your statement was just that i don't think it's accurate to generalize all agnostics as being simply closet theists afraid to commit to a strong position. while it certainly may be that many are like that, most agnostics i'd assume just aren't convinced either way about the existence of god, or whether questions like that are even knowable.

(for the record i consider myself atheist or 'non-theist' in that i don't believe in a personal god or gods. and that's about as far as my commitment to the concept of atheism goes.)

Can someone explain Ayn Rand to me?!

Doesn't the pope like, wear fancy robes? Terminally?

If this makes me a milquetoast who wishes I had Madelyn Murray O'Hare's clanking brass balls, so be it.

You do know what "controlled conditions" means, right?

Not likely. The guy already said he sells a DVD that explain my "routine." He hasn't responded to my follow up email about performing under any temperature with my hands in my lap. I'd say those are controlled conditions, no?

What could be done to correct that problem? Surely something better than seeing a representative of International Humanist and Ethical Union or American Atheists on talk shows.

Also, atheist morality has so much more of a higher-ground argument to it than religious morality: it is based on altruism, responsibility and respect rather than punishment or reward.

Honestly I don't know which has been worse since Paris, all the right wing bullshit, feel good "this will restore your faith in humanity" bullshit or smug atheists. I just had to point out um yeah Stalin & Mao bro when it was suggested that atheists aren't capable of the evil acts caused by religion

Atheist or not evil acts are usually motivated by the desire to gain more power/control. Religion is a tool, politics is a tool, violence is a tool... whatever combination gains more influence.

what are some other tools?

maybe we can start a thread

open goal there

I only meant they're tools in that context.

Casually throwing violence in there, good work

Brimstead: "violence not a tool for power/control" hmm interesting, good work, etc

Evan's post otm

Mostly

ISIS is a political organization who obviously want to gain more power and control, but for individual ISIS suicide bombers, religion is the final motivating factor. There is no end outside of glorifying Allah for these people, it seems

Brimstead: "violence not a tool for power/control" hmm interesting, good work, etc

― MONKEY had been BUMMED by the GHOST of the late prancing paedophile (darraghmac), Saturday, November 21, 2015 4:32 PM (58 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

brimstead casts "context" spell

sorry, brimstead casts "chaos orb"

to assist the intellect-impaired darraughmac, i was just pointing out that there are MANY other things one could substitute into that sentence besides violence

i don't think he did that to equate religion with violence. the idea was that coercion takes many forms. Violence is probably the most basic form

Just to add on to what Evan said, for what I'd call "believing" violent groups -- whether it be religion or some other ideology -- I think there's often a substantial overlap between belief and recognition of the usefulness of the ideology in gaining power. Reading The Looming Tower now and it identifies a sort of confluence of people feeling humiliated by the west with a sense that they had turned away from "true Islam," and Qutb and Zawahiri and the figures the book discusses are among the ideological ancestors of ISIS, so I think it's this combination of "genuine" religious belief with recognition of the power of a religious ideology that claims to have the one true answer, bolstered by a sense that Islam is the opposite of the west and therefore the ideology to adopt in fighting the west.

I also think most of the atheist ideologies that are responsible for atrocities take on a kind of quasi-religious fervor, or at least they have the same sort of absolutist, redemptive bent.

some videos i was forwarded recently by my atheist friend

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyfuv46z5pM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_hS-JXoTMk

Yes, I was not equating religion and violence. I was saying they're both elements taken advantage of in different degrees by those seeking control/power.

Adam you keep bringing up this particular atheist friend- I wouldn't say this person is the ideal representative for the majority of atheists!

then don't! i haven't.

you are otm in that first post btw

To assist the personality-impaired brumstead, I was suggesting that a consistent approach of terse sarcastic repetition of another person's point just makes you look like a cunt.

Something to watch ;-)

lol thanks i will take that into consideration if i ever give a shit what u think of me

but thanks for helping me realize the title of this thread asshole.

i didnt wander in here and call u a cunt so fuck off

something to watch ;-)

tips fedoraa

uh...

Having trouble keeping the assholes apart

You illiterate moron.
Xxp

literacy-impaired

Lol ur alright bruneau if u read the post again it was aimed elsewhere

Cool it's an situation

no place for persecution complexes in this thread

Lol

lol i love u all

oh i feel like an idiot

Fwiw I've always appreciated yr level headedness itt!

no place for persecution complexes in this thread

― when's international me day? (Noodle Vague), Sunday, November 22, 2015 10:27 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

dying

yall my rib