Way More Americans May be Atheists Than We Thought

[fnr]

fivethirtyeight.com/features/way-more-americans-may-be-atheists-than-we-thought/?src=obsidebar=sb_1

 

[Brassring]

And according to polls, Hillary Clinton is the president, too.

I could prove the existence of bigfoot using nothing but poll statistics.

 

[Ryan_Star_Mayor]

I think the difference is that this one is starting to include Agnostics, which changes it up a bit. On top of that, this study likely moved down to more teens/millenials, which are where you’ve started to find a lot more atheists today. I think part of it is that when you see Stephen Hawking and other incredibly smart atheist scientists, people feel like if they become atheists they have the intelectual high ground and overall are superior to those silly theists. I’m not sure if many of these people will get a little older and realize that’s not the most important thing in life (I hope they will) or not, only time will tell.

 

[ClearWater]

If true, that would be very sad news, indeed.

 

[ChurchSoldier]

barna.com/research/state-church-2016/

An interesting article on the state of the church in America.

 

[randomuser]

If true, that would be very sad news, indeed.

And all the more reason for Catholic parishes to stop ignoring single parishioners or/and treating singles like lepers.

 

[Padres1969]

I totally agree with this.

There are many churchgoers who go just for family…and many “nones” who are not linked to any religion at all and never think of gods…but it doesn’t occur to these people to call themselves “atheists.”
Even many atheists like to say “humanist” or “secularist” rather than atheist. It takes a while to get used to this “label” for a variety of reasons.

But I bet this will change in the next few decades.

.

Agreed, I don’t find these results surprising in the slightest. Most of my family, friends, and acquaintances are effectively atheists, agnostics or “nones”, outside of my church, yet if you asked them if they’re atheist many would deny that they are. Not because they aren’t necessarily but because they either ascribe a different variant title to themselves (humanist, secularist, etc…), or they claim link to a religious heritage that they really are not a part of beyond paying lip service when a poll like the typical religious identity poll is taken (ie: saying their Christian, Catholic, etc… when they in practice are nothing of the sort).

And I agree part of is has to do with our culture in the US, it’s expected people are a member of a religion and that they believe in God. Just look at our presidential elections, to point to a recent shared cultural experience, it’s expected that all presidents identify with a religion as a matter of course.

 

[reggieM]

… people feel like if they become atheists they have the intelectual high ground and overall are superior to those silly theists.

Great point.

I was blessed to know some incredibly intelligent Catholic teachers in my life - and from them, be in contact with the great minds of the past.

But many prominent Christians over the recent era do not come across as very intelligent. While they are good people and preachers, they can seem too simplistic.

Modern academia has done a lot to exclude intelligent theists also – and scholars look down on religious belief as unnecessary. Students are influenced in this way and we have a growing generation of atheists as a result.

 

[DaveBj]

There are also many people who, regardless of their stated beliefs, live their lives as practical atheists.

 

[Padres1969]

There are also many people who, regardless of their stated beliefs, live their lives as practical atheists.

I think that’s the overall conclusion of this study. Plenty of people when asked directly will state they’re such and such faith (typically Christian in the US). But when you get down to what they actually believe, they’re agnostics, atheists, or nothing-in-particular. Atheist is something people still seem reluctant to fess up to being in our society, even when it’s pretty obvious people are atheist in how they actually conduct themselves.

I mean I see such people in my daily life. My sister doesn’t go around advertising that she’s at best agnostic. If you asked her in a poll she’s probably respond that she’s Catholic. But she’s got no belief in anything related to the RCC. My brother is the same, he’s an atheist based on his professed belief, or lack there of. But at the same time, if you asked him to openly state what he is, I highly doubt he’s say he’s an atheist. Several of my friends are the same. They’re effectively atheists or agnostics, but they’d come up with a different term when asked, be it humanist, or some other such term. I only know a small handful of atheists like my aunt and uncle who would proudly declare when asked that they’re atheist.

 

[DaveBj]

I think that’s the overall conclusion of this study. Plenty of people when asked directly will state they’re such and such faith (typically Christian in the US). But when you get down to what they actually believe, they’re agnostics, atheists, or nothing-in-particular. snip

I was referring to people who actually do believe in God, but live as if He did not exist. On a survey they would respond that they are Catholic / Baptist / whatever, but look at how they live, and it’s like

 

[Padres1969]

I was referring to people who actually do believe in God, but live as if He did not exist. On a survey they would respond that they are Catholic / Baptist / whatever, but look at how they live, and it’s like

Well to be fair one does not have to live as a good Christian to claim to be a Christian. We’re all sinners who fall short in some way, be it large or small.

 

[DaveBj]

Well to be fair one does not have to live as a good Christian to claim to be a Christian. We’re all sinners who fall short in some way, be it large or small.

That’s certainly true, but there are some folks who fit Romans 2:24 – because of the way they live, the Name of God is blasphemed among the unbelievers.

 

[HerCrazierHalf]

There are societal costs in openly declaring nonbelief. For instance, an instant lack of trust and a massive reduction in the potential dating pool. Add to that, possible family issues and it is no surprise that there are likely large numbers of closet nonbelievers.

If you set aside the more vocal celebrities and New Atheist you’ll find atheists and agnostics whom don’t get why religious preference is such a big deal to so many.

I for one have only admitted my nonbelief to a handful of friends plus my wife. I haven’t told my parents or any family members, though I’m not sure if they’ve figured it out or not.

 

[reggieM]

There are societal costs in openly declaring nonbelief. For instance, an instant lack of trust …

There’s the Christian virtue called “the Fear of God”. This doesn’t mean a person is afraid of God, but rather has a deep respect or reverence for God - and a fear of doing anything that would offend Him. Not, ideally, because of fear of punishment (although that can rightly be part of it) but best because God is very good to us, deserving of our greatest love attention and honor, etc.

When the virtue of the Fear of God is absent - it’s a pretty big deal.
It’s like a person declaring “I believe that nothing is sacred”.
That is a very frightening thing to hear, actually - and it explains why there would be a lack of trust.
So, it’s a question of morality. With a Christian believer, for example, there is a reference point. “God said not to do that”. We know that morals are held and cared-for by our God. When a person has no God - there is no reference point. Again, this would end up with an immediate lack of trust, just as you said.

If you set aside the more vocal celebrities and New Atheist you’ll find atheists and agnostics whom don’t get why religious preference is such a big deal to so many.

That’s one explanation I gave above. Many people give their entire lives to God – all of their work and love and prayer are oriented to God. The best of these believers would suffer death rather than renounce their belief. That’s because God is all goodness - and He communicates that goodness to them all through their lives. Those people (and there are very many) love God more than anything else. So, that’s why religious preference is a very big deal. It’s not a side-issue like a favorite sports team or favorite restaurant.
In fact, when people do not understand that, they don’t know who God is (or are not interested at all in learning about the most important Being possible, in our lives, creator of the universe, redeemer from sin, etc) – that creates a big division between believer and non-believer.
With some effort, some friendship can develop, but it’s much harder. And yes, that would explain why many non-believers are closeted.

 

[Pat_Albertson]

These are fluctuating categories. Many people wander from one state to the next, back and forth, to and fro, hither and yon, for much of their lives. I wouldn’t read too much into any of this.

 

[Padres1969]

These are fluctuating categories. Many people wander from one state to the next, back and forth, to and fro, hither and yon, for much of their lives. I wouldn’t read too much into any of this.

This is true. I myself wandered into Deism and Agnosticism at one point in my life. But that said, on the whole it does seem this atheist/agnostic/N(name removed by moderator) category is growing. If not openly then definitely closeted as this study suggests. Which frankly is dangerous IMO. If so many are quietly becoming atheist and not saying anything, eventually they’ll constitute a large minority, if not majority before we realize it, and will suddenly realize they don’t need to lie to others and themselves about their lack of belief any longer. That time could prove shocking to theists in more ways than one.

 

[reggieM]

This is true. I myself wandered into Deism and Agnosticism at one point in my life. But that said, on the whole it does seem this atheist/agnostic/N(name removed by moderator) category is growing. If not openly then definitely closeted as this study suggests. Which frankly is dangerous IMO. If so many are quietly becoming atheist and not saying anything, eventually they’ll constitute a large minority, if not majority before we realize it, and will suddenly realize they don’t need to lie to others and themselves about their lack of belief any longer. That time could prove shocking to theists in more ways than one.

I agree - shocking, painful and tragic.
I see it already. I live in a highly secularized (“liberal”) urban area with a majority of people roughly under the age of 35. I’m guessing more than 60% are atheist/agnostic/None The churches are empty. The spirit and attitude of the place is changing every year.

 

[rose_kelly]

These are fluctuating categories. Many people wander from one state to the next, back and forth, to and fro, hither and yon, for much of their lives. I wouldn’t read too much into any of this.

Yes that applies to many people, so I try not to read too much into it either, but even though atheism is often a temporary condition, I do find it sad that that so many are leaving the church.

 

[rose_kelly]

Yes that applies to many people, so I try not to read too much into it either, but even though atheism is often a temporary condition, I do find it sad that so many are leaving the church.