Atheists most distrusted minority?

[Duke]

Atheists are America's most distrusted minority, University of Minnesota study finds.

I'd be interested to know what 2,000 fmailies they called and how they picked them. I assume it was random and nationwide, but that's just an assumption.

 

[Carl.]

I never thought atheists would represent such a low percentage of the population... a whopping 3%??

 

[Zardoz]

I never thought atheists would represent such a low percentage of the population... a whopping 3%??

Only five percent globally.

This survey is no shock. I always would've assumed this to be true. I mean, how can your average American be expected to trust somebody who ain't got no religion?

I like the line about "accepting religious diversity". Yeah, right. That's hilarious.

 

[Swift]

I have to say that I'm not at all surprised. A person that doesn't have a definable moral center at least from an average person's point of view, would be very distrustful.

 

[Sage]

I have to wonder if they made a distinction between atheists and agnostics? I’ve noticed that there are far, far more agnostics than atheists (at least around here), which would change things a bit.

Well, damn American, damn atheist, damn moderator – I’m just everything that’s wrong with mankind right now, huh?

 

[amp88]

I just don't understand it...

Being an atheist doesn't necessarily mean anything about your personal values or beliefs, you just don't believe in (a) God.

Atheists still have values and things which they believe are right and wrong, but instead of being TOLD what's right and wrong, they make their own choices, through the thought process.

 

[Swift]

I just don't understand it...

Being an atheist doesn't necessarily mean anything about your personal values or beliefs, you just don't believe in (a) God.

Atheists still have values and things which they believe are right and wrong, but instead of being TOLD what's right and wrong, they make their own choices, through the thought process.

I know that, you know that and people that take the time to get the correct information know that. But to be honest, the very term "atheist" sounds a bit on the not so good side.

Also, I would say that "some" atheists have morals and what not. Just like "some" christians do.

 

[Zrow]

I have to say that I'm not at all surprised. A person that doesn't have a definable moral center at least from an average person's point of view, would be very distrustful.

Why do I need a God in order to be moral? I direct my own morality.

 

[Duke]

Well, damn American, damn atheist, damn moderator – I’m just everything that’s wrong with mankind right now, huh?

So, when are you telling your parents you're gay?

 

[Swift]

Why do I need a God in order to be moral? I direct my own morality.

Did you read my other post or just throwing things out?

I know that, you know that and people that take the time to get the correct information know that. But to be honest, the very term "atheist" sounds a bit on the not so good side.

Also, I would say that "some" atheists have morals and what not. Just like "some" christians do.

 

[Pako]

So, when are you telling your parents you're gay?

Dang Duke, that's a bit harsh don't you think? I mean, let him come out in his own time.

 

[Pako]

Why do I need a God in order to be moral? I direct my own morality.

The core morals that laws have been written from resonate from Biblical morals. Therefore, it is assumed that if you lack Biblical belief then you must also lack Biblical morals and therefore are a bad person.

Is this logic right, no....does it happen? Yes.

 

[Danoff]

The core morals that laws have been written from resonate from Biblical morals. Therefore, it is assumed that if you lack Biblical belief then you must also lack Biblical morals and therefore are a bad person.

Is this logic right, no....does it happen? Yes.

I was trying to address this with the human rights thread I started in the opinions forum (which I'll get back to eventually).

 

[Swift]

I was trying to address this with the human rights thread I started in the opinions forum (which I'll get back to eventually).

Honestly bud, that doesn't matter in this particular case. In this case, what matters is what people percieve and think. Most people think that a godless person simply isn't capable of trust or morals. That has nothing to do whether it's true or not or even where the morals come from. It's simply the way it is.

 

[Max_DC]

Only 5 % ? wtf... well tbh I kind of doupt that. For example I'm Roman Catholic and I don't believe in god. As Sage said that percentage will increase massivly when you add the agnostics....

 

[Pako]

Only 5 % ? wtf... well tbh I kind of doupt that. For example I'm Roman Catholic and I don't believe in god. As Sage said that percentage will increase massivly when you add the agnostics....

Sorry for being off topic, but is Roman Catholic your nationality then? I'm confused...

 

[Swift]

Only 5 % ? wtf... well tbh I kind of doupt that. For example I'm Roman Catholic and I don't believe in god. As Sage said that percentage will increase massivly when you add the agnostics....

I'm with Pako...

Roman Catholic is a religion, not a nationality. Unless you were born in vatacant city.

So, how can you be a catholic and not believe in God?

 

[Danoff]

I think the biggest boost to these numbers is people who don't have a particular religion, but don't want to lose hope on an afterlife. So they believe in some God, and some kind of afterlife... but not necessarily any particular religion.

 

[Swift]

I think the biggest boost to these numbers is people who don't have a particular religion, but don't want to lose hope on an afterlife. So they believe in some God, and some kind of afterlife... but not necessarily any particular religion.

Hence the distrust of people that don't share that common concept.

 

[Event]

Sweet, I'm not trusted. I am just a shady character because I don't believe in a God. I might take a crap in a catholic's yard, or steal a jewish person's yamukah(sp?) and mock him for believing in something, watch out! That's why I never had a ton of friends in grade school, it's because everyone's parents told their kids to stay away, he might become an athiest!

I'm not all atheist, though. I consider myself athiest-agnostic.

 

[Swift]

I'm not all atheist, though. I consider myself athiest-agnostic.

Elaborate please. As from what I understand you can't be both at the same time.

 

[Earth]

I can think of aot of people that I would have less trust in then an ahtiest...I don't get it.

I don't stereotype. Common sense tells me who to trust. Not your beliefs

 

[Event]

Elaborate please. As from what I understand you can't be both at the same time.

Essentially, I believe that there is no God, but I can't prove it, neither can anyone else. There could be a God for all I know, but I really don't care, it doesn't effect me.

Here's what Wikipedia says about Agnostic Atheism:

Agnostic atheism is a fusion of atheism or nontheism with agnosticism, the epistemological position that the existence or nonexistence of deities is unknown (weak agnosticism) or unknowable (strong agnosticism). Agnostic atheism is typically contrasted with agnostic theism, the belief that deities exist even though it is impossible to know that deities exist, and with gnostic atheism, the belief that there is enough information to determine that deities do not exist.

Agnostic atheism's definition varies, just as the definitions of agnosticism and atheism do. It may be a combination of lack of theism with strong agnosticism, the view that it is impossible to know whether deities exist to any reliable degree. It may also be a combination of lack of theism with weak agnosticism, the view that there is not currently enough information to decide whether or not a deity exists, but that there may be enough in the future.

Gnostic atheism is a more rarely used term, because often anyone who is not labeled as agnostic is assumed to be gnostic by default. Gnostic atheism also has varying meanings. When nontheism is combined with strong gnosticism, it denotes the belief that it is rational to be absolutely certain that deities do not, and perhaps cannot, exist. When it is with weak gnosticism, it denotes the belief that there is enough information to be reasonably sure that deities do not exist, but not absolutely certain. The term should not be confused with Gnosticism.

Gnostic atheism is also sometimes used as a synonym of strong atheism, and thus agnostic atheism is occasionally a synonym for weak atheism. This is similar to the more common confusion of the terms implicit atheism and explicit atheism with strong and weak atheism.

 

[King Crockery]

I think that the statistics don't do any justice atheists. I'm pretty sure that there are loads of "closet atheists" that don't really care whether to believe in god or not, or they just don't go around expressing their thoughts and participating surveys.

 

[Swift]

Essentially, I believe that there is no God, but I can't prove it, neither can anyone else. There could be a God for all I know, but I really don't care, it doesn't effect me.

Here's what Wikipedia says about Agnostic Atheism:

To me that's still a direct contradiction. Agnostic people say there is a god but we're not sure about exact details. Atheism says, nope, no god at all.

So basically, you saying that you could be wrong but you don't care. If there is a god, but the very definition of God, it would effect you. And I don't say that "if" with an uncertainty.

Anyway, basically it sounds like since you don't want to disprove or prove it either way, you're taking the "Maybe, but I don't care stance" Interesting...

 

[Zrow]

Agnostic
1. One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God.

Considering religion is based on faith and belief (not absolute certainty), from that definition I'd say it's possible to be Agnostic-Christian.

 

[Event]

Don't take things as Black and white. My beliefs are in the grey reigon. I'm not saying "Their is no God, case closed." I'm saying I don't believe there is a God, and I believe that I, nor anyone else, can prove it.

If there happens to be a God, I wouldn't worship him. I believe that a "God" is a person, or thing, that people follow because they believe that this thing or person is pretty much the best person/thing there is, so they do what he/it would do or what it wants. Theists say that this God is physically real. I believe that that is not possible, but is impossible to prove its existence/absence. (AKA, I don't think there is a God, but I could be wrong)

I don't do what some all-knowing being says is right, I follow what I think is right. With my definition of what a God is, that makes me my own God. I live by my own mantra: Do what makes me happy. I won't kill people because even if I did find that killing was fun, it would make others who believe killing is wrong (most theists) shun me. This would make me unhappy, so I will never kill. My decision not to kill is not based upon some old guy saying killing is wrong, so don't kill or you will be punished. This basic "Be happy" mantra ultimately is my deciding factor in major decisions about how I should live my life.

I want to die happy. I don't know what will happen after I die. There could be a Heaven or a Hell, and if there ends up being a God, I will probably go to Hell for not believing in it (from what I understand about Christianity, non-believers go to Hell). However, this is what I think about death: If you live a life full of hate and killing, once you die, the hate and killing is all you remember, so you essentially relive the hate and death once you die, which would be like Hell if the sub-conscious does lives on. If you die and lived a happy life, you sub-conscious (if it does continue on) will remain happy, and since we all like being happy, it is a Heavenly feeling! But, all science says that you basically just rot in the ground, and you won't know what the afterlife is.

I'll admit it, the most scary part about life is death. I really do get scared if I think about when I die. I have no idea what's going to happen... what fun is it to rot in darkness in the ground? I don't like thinking about it, so I try to get the most out of life and try to be happy by not pissing myself or others off.

And that, is pretty much my beliefs in a rather large nutshell.

Now, who here wouldn't trust me?

 

[Anderton Prime]

Could the anxiety and hostility many people feel towards atheists stem from the fact that someone who does not believe in a God or an afterlife is more likely to behave recklessly in their daily lives? I know this assumption is mostly hogwash, but I think a lot of people might feel this way towards atheists...

 

[Swift]

Agnostic
1. One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God.

Considering religion is based on faith and belief (not absolute certainty), from that definition I'd say it's possible to be Agnostic-Christian.

How can you have faith in something that you don't know? A Christian is someone that believes Christ is their personal saviour. How could you have a personal relationship with someone you don't know?

(AKA, I don't think there is a God, but I could be wrong)

Yep, that's what I was thinking. I'm still trying to figure out why everyone is afraid of going black and white on some things. But, if that's what you believe you're entilted to it.

 

[Keef]

According to those definitions I'm an agnostic atheist. I don't believe there is a God, and I think it is impossible to find out if there is one or not.
I also place more trust in people who are not highly religious. I believe that the most trustworthy people in general are those who study facts and use logic and known laws to come up with an answer, as opposed to those who ask an imaginary God for advice. I also think that those religious people confuse "God" with instinct. Say you're about to get in a fight with someone. You either run or fight, and those people would say "God told me to do what I did." No, actually it was an instintive decision that you didn't even conciously know you were making. It annoys me when people say "I prayed to God and he answered my prayer." Actually, a lady on Fox News said this yesterday after a car chase cam to an end and she was expressing her joy that he hit no pedestrians. God had nothing to do with it, he just didn't hit anyone. Simple as that. Or when Jeff Gordan says "I'd like to thank God for giving me the strength to win this race." No, you just ate a healthy breakfast.
My religion is called S**t-Happensism. S**t happens, and there is a reason for it.