"...they are seen as a threat to the American way of life by a large portion of the American public."

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apparently im a member of the country's least trusted minority - http://www.ur.umn.edu/FMPro?-db=releases&-lay=web&-format=umnnewsreleases/releasesdetail.html&ID=2816&-Find

― +++, Thursday, 23 March 2006 21:15 (twenty years ago)

Heh weird.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 23 March 2006 21:19 (twenty years ago)

I thought the headline read ATHLETES at first.

Everyone I know is an atheist! Or a Mormon.

― Abbott (Abbott), Thursday, 23 March 2006 21:20 (twenty years ago)

I know like four people though.

― Abbott (Abbott), Thursday, 23 March 2006 21:20 (twenty years ago)

yeah same here, except the mormon part

― +++, Thursday, 23 March 2006 21:20 (twenty years ago)

i mean 3 percent wtf?? is this cuz nonreligious still culturally self identify as jewish or baptist or muslim or catholic or whatever??

― +++, Thursday, 23 March 2006 21:21 (twenty years ago)

I wonder how many of the people who took this survey have ever even knowingly met an atheist.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 23 March 2006 21:22 (twenty years ago)

I can't believe that 3% is really true either.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 23 March 2006 21:22 (twenty years ago)

arent they too busy in their war on school prayer duing xmas marriage headquarters in liberal hollyfranciscomanhattanwood

― +++, Thursday, 23 March 2006 21:23 (twenty years ago)

ive always been such a big apologist for religion but if this is what i get in return then fuck em

― +++, Thursday, 23 March 2006 21:23 (twenty years ago)

Oh, whoa, now they really don't trust you.

― Abbott (Abbott), Thursday, 23 March 2006 21:25 (twenty years ago)

i mean 3 percent wtf?? is this cuz nonreligious still culturally self identify as jewish or baptist or muslim or catholic or whatever??

yeah probably!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Thursday, 23 March 2006 21:26 (twenty years ago)

I think the real atheist figure is probably above 3%, but the bigger and harder to quantify figure is not agnostics or somesuch but people who really don't think about or care about this kind of thing.

― Abbott (Abbott), Thursday, 23 March 2006 21:27 (twenty years ago)

That's me, incidentally.

― Abbott (Abbott), Thursday, 23 March 2006 21:27 (twenty years ago)

the cultural identification is a big one. most of my jewish friends are spiritually atheistic but still self-identify as very much jewish.

― gbx (skowly), Thursday, 23 March 2006 21:29 (twenty years ago)

ihttp://www.cockedandlocked.net/images/Target_Newdow.jpg

― W i l l (common_person), Thursday, 23 March 2006 21:30 (twenty years ago)

To be honest "jewish people who are spiritually atheistic but still self-identify as very much jewish" probably rank just below normal atheists as a threat anyway. Cuz there is always a chance they might suddenly come to their senses and turn into Matisyahu.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 23 March 2006 21:31 (twenty years ago)

i always figure thats who casual right wing anti-semites mean when they talk shit bout 'jews' anyway, jew-controlled hollywood or whatever

― +++, Thursday, 23 March 2006 21:34 (twenty years ago)

they sure dont mean michael medved

― +++, Thursday, 23 March 2006 21:34 (twenty years ago)

They always enjoyed his Golden Turkeys.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 23 March 2006 21:36 (twenty years ago)

that scheming hook-beaked turkey was asking for it

― +++, Thursday, 23 March 2006 21:39 (twenty years ago)

Because, while you may THINK that you and your kind are the center of the universe, you're really not.

― King Hot Shit, Religious Millionaire, Thursday, 23 March 2006 21:41 (twenty years ago)

To be honest "jewish people who are spiritually atheistic but still self-identify as very much jewish" probably rank just below normal atheists as a threat anyway.

I sort of feel like our stock has risen since 9/11 though, cause at least we're not Muslims! ("Hey, you guys hate them too, right?")

I've been hearing "Judeo-Christian" bandied about much more than I used to.

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Friday, 24 March 2006 05:47 (twenty years ago)

Jefferon and the rest of the Enlightenment crowd must be spinning in their subtle dust right about now... or not since they're dead.

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 24 March 2006 06:03 (twenty years ago)

http://www.teecommerce.com/images/models/megan-atheist-small.jpg

― timmy tannin (pompous), Friday, 24 March 2006 06:35 (twenty years ago)

i figure atheists tend to be more morally upstanding ppl (in my experience at least) coz they figure there's nobody to forgive them their indescretions &c.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Friday, 24 March 2006 07:06 (twenty years ago)

Yes, but there's also no one to punish them for their sins.

― Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Friday, 24 March 2006 07:38 (twenty years ago)

Apart from the CPS, IRS, your parents,society etc

― Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Friday, 24 March 2006 07:39 (twenty years ago)

and THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

― j blount (papa la bas), Friday, 24 March 2006 07:44 (twenty years ago)

yeah atheists and mormons seem totally upstanding and nice except when they're talking about their thing or whatever (for 'atheists' and 'mormons' feel free to substitute anyone with any interest or hobby ever).

― j blount (papa la bas), Friday, 24 March 2006 07:45 (twenty years ago)

Reading the article gave me a sputtering Dawkins moment.

― Dan I. (Dan I.), Friday, 24 March 2006 07:55 (twenty years ago)

It sounds like the survey was conducted among 27 old people in rural Minnesota.

I have lots of religious friends who know that atheists don't descend to rampant "lawlessness and crime" just because they don't believe in a god.

― Yoo Doo Nut (donut), Friday, 24 March 2006 07:58 (twenty years ago)

I think the majority of Americans are people who identify as Christian, or just someone who claims to believe in a generic God, in order to fit in and be what they perceive as normal. Atheists are seen as weird, angry, bitter, depressed, etc. "Just go with the flow, maaan. Why you gotta be such an outspoken dick all the time?"

― josh in sf (stfu kthx), Friday, 24 March 2006 07:59 (twenty years ago)

"atheist" sounds too evil.. like "satanist".

It needs a nice happy-happy euphemism like "non-deiphobic" or something dopey like that.. for good PR.

― Yoo Doo Nut (donut), Friday, 24 March 2006 08:00 (twenty years ago)

Really, honestly, there are NOT a lot of out atheists - but there are good agnostics who are able to tell you the word means 'I don't know' and they are happy with that (I also think half of America is in this category). I feel like the survey was a little too quick to use words like "Americans believe" but that is a caveat with surveys. The whole problem with believing in a supreme being is that it teaches you that SOME OF US are closer to the deity in question than OTHERS OF US WHO ARE SUBNORMAL HEATHENS. I can't say I appreciate the jumped-up behaviour of the religious or those who hide behind God to be shitty to people. These tedious people know nothing of faith and everything about fear; the best you can hope for is that you leave the world in better form than you found it.

I am an atheist because I do not believe in the supernatural, full stop. Religious texts are interesting because of the tropes and archetypal stories. Most of my religious friends use their faith like a grounding activity or ritual they do once a week. Also I loathe the way religions push a message of delayed gratification/masochism to the poor, a message which is barked at them by much wealthier people who seem hypocritical in their beliefs. If that makes me job and relationship poison, so be it.

― suzy (suzy), Friday, 24 March 2006 08:08 (twenty years ago)

What this shows isn't any active feeling towards atheists, is it? so much as it does a lack of any incentive not to hate atheists. "atheists" is like "commies", just a word with vague negative associations that it's socially okay to dislike since no one that most people know will admit to it.
Also since it's a belief rather than a more immutable form of identity, theoretically people's minds could be changed (this is a big hypocrisy though, since even religions that aren't technically ethnicities are given all the practical rights of such).

― Dan I. (Dan I.), Friday, 24 March 2006 08:11 (twenty years ago)

xxpost haha Yoo Doo Nut you mean like "brights"? errgh

― Dan I. (Dan I.), Friday, 24 March 2006 08:12 (twenty years ago)

haha america hasn't seen enough moderate atheist leaders speaking out - all we see are these radical atheiofascists ranting about ~~danish cartoons~~ nativity scenes!

― j blount (papa la bas), Friday, 24 March 2006 08:14 (twenty years ago)

Brights? Good heavens no, it is redolent of patronisation, or worse, $¢13n+010g¥.

― suzy (suzy), Friday, 24 March 2006 08:16 (twenty years ago)

I think the atheist-hate in American is because of a cultural belief that God (and His Church, be they Protestant, Jew, or . . . Other) is the only conceivable source of ethical behavior. This boggles my mind, but you hear it often enough if you ever discuss losing your Christian faith with most believing Americans ("but if you don't believe in God, how can you believe in ANYTHING?")

N.B. I am not an athiest.

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Friday, 24 March 2006 09:12 (twenty years ago)

Well, have they ever heard of personal responsibility? Sometimes I am not so sure, in my dealings with more religious types.

― suzy (suzy), Friday, 24 March 2006 09:15 (twenty years ago)

(I'm not an atheist either. Living bilingually sucks -- I can't spell in TWO languages.)

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Friday, 24 March 2006 09:38 (twenty years ago)

this all depends on how you ask the question. not many people explicitly identify as atheist -- i know lots of agnostics and/or people who kind of vaguely identify as one thing or another but not in any exclusionary way (e.g. someone who calls herself a christian, but doesn't actually think christianity has any monopoly on spiritual or philosophical insight, just that it gives her a framework she can use to work things out).

other polls show "unaffiliated" as a fairly rapidly growing group, albeit still a minority, 14 percent or so.

i've never called myself an atheist -- even though for all intents and purposes i might as well be -- because i think there is such a thing as spiritual insight and knowledge (even if it's rare and hard to find in our religious institutions) and i don't think it should be walled off or thrown out.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Friday, 24 March 2006 09:57 (twenty years ago)

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