Dominus Paradoxum

Well, that's the number the aris survey gave. You can check it yourself if you don't believe me.

LogicMage

The decline in christianity isnt happening fast enough. Damn you genocide for being both morally wrong AND illegal!:boohoo: :banghead: :banghead:

admice

Thank you Clark. I DO forget what is being acheived and attempted.

Yes. Yes! I will take action on this, too.

Shake:
So what's the solution to THAT? SPEAK UP, SPEAK OUT. Let people know, in appropriate ways, your beliefs and values. Most of the people here have said they are quiet about their non-belief. We need to create a climate where non-believers feel more comfortable speaking out. (see some of my other posts and the one about Atheist Charity).

Sorry, got on the soap box, I'll get off now.

chagrinned
admice

lpetrich

Which reminds me of that favorite comment in Monty Python's Life of Brian:

Fight the real enemy!

gcameron

I believe you, I just wonder how reliable that survey is. It probably comes down to how many people really define themselves as "fundamentalists," etc...

GPLindsey

I agree with the opinion expressed earlier that there's a significant group of people out there who go through the motions of being religious, and that maybe the polls are showing that they are finally taking sides. These are the people who say in a poll that they "believe in God," yet they never attend church, they accept evolution, they accept that the universe is billions of years old, they disagree with the religious right's views on most matters, etc. etc. Some people in this group may have a very sincere, spiritual belief that does not fit in with the established religious groups. However, IMO the majority of the people in this group are de facto atheists. When confronted by a pollster, they have not been able to admit to themselves that they do not believe in God, either because they were untroubled by the logical inconsistency of their position, or a small voice in the back of their minds tells them that maybe there is a God, so no need to annoy him by denying his existence. Hopefully, this new study may be showing that they are finally moving over to the openly non-religious camp.

I've always been annoyed that the religious right routinely points to polls that say 90+% of Americans believe in God, yet they do not want to address how the views of those God-believers are all over the place. For example, I saved an old Newsweek article on "Heaven," that cited a 1988 Gallup poll on the afterlife (March 27, 1989 issue of Newsweek). Some stats: 77% of respondents believed in heaven, and of those, 83% think they will be with God when they get there. IOW, 17% of people who believe in heaven don't think they will find God there, which contradicts a central tenet of Christianity! It would also indicate that 23% of respondents either did not believe in God at all, or believed in God but did not believe in an afterlife. This same poll also found that only 58% of respondents believed there was a hell. How can the religious right be so proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with people who casually say they believe in God, yet reject the notions of heaven and hell and other basic tenets of religion?

Some day I would also like to see some polls that do a regression analysis on the correlation of religious belief to other supernatural or non-scientific beliefs--UFOs, Big Foot, ESP, ghosts, reincarnation, Elvis faked his death, etc. If anyone has seen a study along these lines, please post a link or fill me in on what was found. Thanks!

Jack the Bodiless

British 2001 census data now available.

From here:

Three-Three

.... Lone-ranger spirituality is not conducive to taking us to the depths God designed us to go.....[/QUOTE]

Yep, *designed* to send You, me and Tonto straight to the bottom of the Lake of Fire...