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Sandlot
Guest
It wasn’t true in my case, and I doubt in many others. Many nominal Christians seem to find it pretty easy to square their Christian theology with womens’ reproductive rights.
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puzzledtoo
Guest
Thank you Clearwater for that post. It appears there is a link between being pro abortion and folks that identify as Christian even if not a clear link between those that identify as atheist. At least for those having the abortions. I for the record am neither and I’m anti-abortion.
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ThinkingSapien
Guest
**Who’s having abortions (religion)? **
Women identifying themselves as Protestants obtain 37.4% of all abortions in the U.S.; Catholic women account for 31.3%, Jewish women account for 1.3%, and women with no religious affiliation obtain 23.7% of all abortions. 18% of all abortions are performed on women who identify themselves as “Born-again/Evangelical”.
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ComplineSanFran
Guest
As do many devoutly practicing Christians.
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Lucretius
Guest
So, according to the data, atheists as a group are more OK with abortion than all the other groups. Why?
Christi pax,
Lucretius
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ThinkingSapien
Guest
Atheist are not specifically called out. They have a number for “no religious affiliation.” That description is usually inclusive of atheist but not limited to them; for example, someone that describes themself as spiritual but not religious could fall in this group.
But those with no religious affiliation account for 23% of the abortions while those affiliated with a religion account for a much greater portion. How did you infer from those numbers that “atheist are more okay than all other groups”? It’s possible I missed an item of data that motivated this statement, but I don’t see it. Could you point it out?
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Bradski
Guest
That’s probably because the number of people who claim no religious affiliation (assuming that the number contains a reasonable number of atheists) is a lot smaller than those who claim to be Christians. Therefore those with no affiliation who have abortions are over represented.
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Lucretius
Guest
I didn’t notice this. Thank you for making me aware of it.
There are a lot more women who identify as Protestant , Catholic, etc. than as atheist. Even though more Protestant women get abortions there still is a lot more of Protestant women overall. On the other hand, there are not a lot of atheists, yet a much larger percentage of them get abortions. A larger portion of atheists get abortions than Protestants when compared to each’s own population.
Now that I know the data didn’t consider atheist per se, my claim isn’t clear. More data is needed.
Another potential misunderstanding is that the data considered how many people actually got an abortion with their proclaimed religious views, rather than how many people believe abortion is morally tolerable with their religious views. A lot of men might be atheists and pro-choice, or a lot of women might be atheists and pro-choice, but never actually had an abortion.
Christi pax,
Lucretius
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Lucretius
Guest
^ Beat me to it
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ericc
Guest
If the mother’s life is not at stake, it is not a health care issue, it is a lifestyle choice.
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brian_custer
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brian_custer
Guest
i think abortion is mostly acceptable among the secular and/or agnostic group
not sure if that is the same thing
people who don’t care about religion one way or the other
in other words they think, :“an abortion works for me now”
done deal; my personal problem solved
not sure if that is the same thing
people who don’t care about religion one way or the other
in other words they think, :“an abortion works for me now”
done deal; my personal problem solved
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BlueEyedLady
Guest
I have a hard time imagining that. I know lots of atheists and about 2/3 are pro choice. The other 1/3 believe that we only get one shot at this life, we don’t know if the fetus is aware or morally significant, so we should err on the side of caution.
Personally, I felt so much grief and guilt in the 7-10 years it took me to come to terms with being an atheist, as did many other atheists I know. Most of us want there to be a god, an afterlife, and to spend eternity with those we love. If we could believe it were possible, we would. After the sadness and guilt, I went through the stereotypical smug, angry phase. But it wasn’t because I felt superior, it was just anger and frustration at finally realizing I couldn’t make god real, no matter how hard I tried.
The idea of abortion playing a role in that struggle (especially since I’ve never had one) just doesn’t make sense. However, I know many pro choice Christians, so I’m not sure I ever even saw it as much of a religious issue anyway before coming to CAF.
***I’m not going to respond to criticisms, mockery, or arguments to this post. This is not to debate my views on abortion or god. This is just to give an honest answer to the OP, since he’s one of the posters I like and respect the most.
Personally, I felt so much grief and guilt in the 7-10 years it took me to come to terms with being an atheist, as did many other atheists I know. Most of us want there to be a god, an afterlife, and to spend eternity with those we love. If we could believe it were possible, we would. After the sadness and guilt, I went through the stereotypical smug, angry phase. But it wasn’t because I felt superior, it was just anger and frustration at finally realizing I couldn’t make god real, no matter how hard I tried.
The idea of abortion playing a role in that struggle (especially since I’ve never had one) just doesn’t make sense. However, I know many pro choice Christians, so I’m not sure I ever even saw it as much of a religious issue anyway before coming to CAF.
***I’m not going to respond to criticisms, mockery, or arguments to this post. This is not to debate my views on abortion or god. This is just to give an honest answer to the OP, since he’s one of the posters I like and respect the most.
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brian_custer
Guest
i am glad to see that the atheists who post here give this most important issue at least the chance of an intellectual debate in their mind and heart
i think the majority of abortions occur where the mother has no religious or anti-religious formation whatsoever
an abortion is simply an answer to a personal “health” issue
like taking a flu shot
i think the majority of abortions occur where the mother has no religious or anti-religious formation whatsoever
an abortion is simply an answer to a personal “health” issue
like taking a flu shot
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Peter_Plato
Guest
A more recent 2011 Gallop Poll does demonstrate that atheists along with the unaffiliated are more likely to be pro-choice than those with a religious affiliation.
Now unless you can make the case that atheists would not be fairly represented in that poll as “nonreligious” or that the poll somehow skews the data, I would think it is conclusive.
Also given that religiously affiliated individuals are much less likely to be pro-choice would mean that religion generally makes individuals much less likely to be pro-choice. Ergo, atheists in that sample which includes the religiously unaffiliated would likely be even more pro-choice than the broad “unaffiliated with a particular religion including atheists” group, since the presence of religious belief seems to make a significant difference.
Do we have any reason to think atheists would be more pro-life than the broader unaffiliated group representing them in the poll?
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Dirk_Skene
Guest
when you meet God you will know. i just want you to do it now. Later will be too late.
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on_the_hill
Guest
Wow, thanks for the great answers. Illuminating, for sure.
I didn’t mean to imply that atheists were more pro-choice, but I guess I had that bias without thinking about it.
The reason I asked was seeded by a conversation with a young woman who is avowedly pro-choice and “progressive” in her socio-political views. She comes from a very conservative Christian family (I assume Catholic but am not certain.), and is something of an atheist. (again, I assume, because she doesn’t believe in any sort of afterlife).
I didn’t mean to imply that atheists were more pro-choice, but I guess I had that bias without thinking about it.
The reason I asked was seeded by a conversation with a young woman who is avowedly pro-choice and “progressive” in her socio-political views. She comes from a very conservative Christian family (I assume Catholic but am not certain.), and is something of an atheist. (again, I assume, because she doesn’t believe in any sort of afterlife).
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ThinkingSapien
Guest
There’s a significant number of people that identify as Christian that also hold those values. If it were only atheist/non-religious people that held those values then there wouldn’t be enough people for it to have significant impact in the politics and laws.
You think she was first convinced that there is no afterlife and because of that conviction she lost conviction that there is a God? That sounds unusual.
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on_the_hill
Guest
No, that’s not it. I am wondering if her liberal viewpoint didn’t square with her family’s Christianity and conservative politics and in trying to justify her position she was led her turn away from faith in God.
I’m using her disbelief in an afterlife as an indication that she is likely atheist.
It might help if I asked her directly.
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on_the_hill
Guest
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