Atheists identified as America’s most distrusted minority

[Wycoff]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
You know, the whole separation of Church and State issue.

Yep, and that's not church. If you're someone who thinks so and you are offended enough by it to take it to court, then you're the reason why athiests are hated by so many.

[Drake Tungsten]

I don't think "hated" is the right word. "Pitied" is probably better...

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Wycoff
Yep, and that's not church. If you're someone who thinks so and you are offended enough by it to take it to court, then you're the reason why athiests are hated by so many.

The term is either meaningless and it shouldn't be there or the term means the US is a religious state and it shouldn't be there.

[Wycoff]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
The term is either meaningless and it shouldn't be there or the term means the US is a religious state and it shouldn't be there.

Doesn't mean that it's a religious state. It's not establishing any religion. It says "under god." Doesn't say which god. Doesn't force me to believe in any god. It reassures the majority of people in this country who believe in god. Making a big issue out of it is ridiculous, and it hurts our credibility when arguing against more intrusive encroachments.

[Az]

19 Israel 6,199,000 15-37% 929,850-2,293,630

could've been worse

[Urban Ranger]

Re: Atheists identified as America’s most distrusted minority

Originally posted by ajbera
Just remember, it's better to be right than popular.

The only problem with this is atheists aren't some kind of group - neither are agnostics. The only thing common among atheists is they reject the notion of supernatural god. That's it. Otherwise one atheist can be completely different from another.

[ajbera]

I don't see how that refutes my comment that it's better to be right than popular.

Although I'm agnostic myself, so I don't even necessarily believe atheists are right. In fact I think agnostics are the ones who have it right (or at least the most sensible perspective given our lack of information about the existence or non-existence of a deity or deities). And we're certainly not popular either.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by ajbera
I don't see how that refutes my comment that it's better to be right than popular.

I was referring to a basic mistake in the survey.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Wycoff
Doesn't mean that it's a religious state.

If the term "under god" doesn't mean the US is a religious state it is meaningless. What is it doing it there? If it implies the US is a religious state it clearly is unconstitional and must be removed.

Originally posted by Wycoff
It's not establishing any religion. It says "under god." Doesn't say which god. Doesn't force me to believe in any god.

None of these are relevant.

The whole "intelligent design" thing overtly doesn't favour any one single religion, either.

Originally posted by Wycoff
Making a big issue out of it is ridiculous, and it hurts our credibility when arguing against more intrusive encroachments.

I think it is rather fundamental for you. It is an insidious addition that most don't think is important.

[Winston]

3 Denmark 5,413,000 43-80% 2,327,590-4,330,400

Yet 85% of the population are voluntary and paying members of the state Lutheran Evangelical church, and I suppose another 5% percent are followers of Islam.

Does not compute.

[Wycoff]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger If the term "under god" doesn't mean the US is a religious state it is meaningless. What is it doing it there? If it implies the US is a religious state it clearly is unconstitional and must be removed.

It's there because the majority of the people in this country are theist and want it there. It's not meaningless to them. Most of the non-theists don't care, because it does nothing to establish a state relgion. It may be "meaningless" to us, but no more meaningless than the rest of the pledge is to someone who isn't patriotic.

None of these are relevant.

You said that this violates the separation of church and state. I say it doesn't, because it doesn't do anything to establish any religion (which is what the 1st Amendment prohibits.) That's why it's relevant.

The whole "intelligent design" thing overtly doesn't favour any one single religion, either.

ID as constituted probably doesn't violate the 1st amendment either. ID is stupid because it's a fake cirriculum designed to undermine the teaching of science. It's orders of magnitude more important than the pledge because its bad public policy.

I think it is rather fundamental for you. It is an insidious addition that most don't think is important.

If it's not important, then why care about it one way or the other? Many people do care about it. You seem to care about it. I don't. I don't care if they take it out, and it doesn't bother me if it's left in. Newdow makes us all look bad because he's a frothing loon. He's the athiest version of "the God Warrior" lady.

[Barnabas]

No, she lost her hand in a hand accident when she was young, when I met her she was fifty something and already had only 1 hand.
She wasnt my school teacher, she helped me with maths after school.


The problem most people I guess have with militant atheists, is their (I cant understand how people in the year 2109874042 can still be stupid enough to believe in god) attitude.


And some attack religion, in modern secular societies where like less than 10% of the population go to church, over 95% of the population contracepts, and no one really pays attention to the church, as if they atheist heroes fighting the church in the midle ages.
Which is quite ridiculous.


They should realize that becoming an atheist is an efortless process, and that it doesnt make them special or smarter.Otherwise being intelligent would be too easy.They are not some kind of underdog.

Atheists also say, religious people are religious because they fear death and religion is comforting.
But they never see the heavy burden which is religion for those who have faith.

Homosexuals who choose to remain celibate and have lonely lifes because they have faith and think that is the right thing to do, it should be easier for him to become an atheist.
Divorced woman with no children who falls in love again but chooses to remain alone the rest of her life because she believes remarriage is wrong, it would be easier for her to become an atheist and get married again.
I could think of many examples like that. Fear of hell etc
Religion brings a lot of unhappiness to the people with faith, it shouldnt be dismissed as something comforting for people who have faith.
Nowadays in modern countries I think it is easier to be secular than religious.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Brachy-Pride
The problem most people I guess have with militant atheists, is their (I cant understand how people in the year 2109874042 can still be stupid enough to believe in god) attitude.

I don't see atheists standing around street corners attempting to deconvert people.

[SlowwHand]

Atheists are just going ro burn for eternity. That's their problem.
Wicca practioners of black magic are weird.

[Wycoff]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
Atheists are just going ro burn for eternity. That's their problem.