Why Are There Not More Atheists ,???

[Godfree]

The science has been there to prove evolution , the age of the earth etc for years now .
And yet places like America are still entrenched in the dark ages of superstition and religion.
The world is still in most parts lost in illusion , floundering in the dark.
How can this be ,?? is religion so big and powerful we can't stop it,??
Are we the Atheists just not stepping up to the plate and letting rip,??
What do we have to do to get through to these people.?
Do we need to form our own political party and lobby to have the laws changed,?
Web sites like this one are certainly a step in the right direction.
I have been doing this Atheist blog thing for about 6 years and have found little support or agreement on any of the sites. I tried expressing my Atheism on the dating sites , and it didn't get me many dates. Atheists are still seen by most societies as extremists,
and are not really welcomed by main stream society.
What can we do to change this.???

[Whitney]

From what I have read gen y is practically 50 percent non-religious and the overall percentage of non-religious/atheist people in america is growing quickly too

I don't really see why evolution or the age of the earth should make anyone an atheist but from my experience almost anyone who has made it through college in the last 10 years knows that evolution is valid and the earth is really really old.

All we can do is be ourselves and calmly try to confront those who carry prejudices.

As fro laws...the ACLU and Secular Coalition seem to be doing a pretty good job of combatting areas of the law that need to be brought into public attention.  However, I don't necessarily think there are many laws I'd put at the top of my to do list.

Unless you are in the deep south I'm not sure how you can think America is in the dark ages...sure there are a bunch of nitwits with loud voices but not so many that it's suffocating.  Even Texas has a strong network of freethinkers/atheists who are able to openly interact with their communities.

[The Magic Pudding]

Welcome Godfree, that is a good name.
I'd like to see some humour aimed at theism such as Monty Python and Douglas Adams did years ago.
Religion is so ridiculous, it should supply libraries of books, armies of comedians and many movies with material.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Why not more atheists?  Perhaps we worry about more important things.  Perhaps we hold our opinions about god(s) close in order to avoid social opprobrium.  Perhaps because we don't tend to be evangelistic (with some sad exceptions) we don't get so noticed.  

I'm pretty sure that there are more atheists in America than the 14% [max] indicated by some polls.

At any rate, hail and well-met.

[Godfree]

Thank you for the warm welcome , I'm delighted to be here , I have struggled to find places to express myself as an Atheist , usually resorting to dating site forums and talk back radio.
I was on the Sam Harris "The Reason Project" , which I enjoyed.
I would describe myself as a pro-active Atheist . Here in New Zealand we have about 50% religious . Our previous and current Prime Minister , do not believe in god. So for all of this century NZ has been lead by a non believer. How far away is America from having an Atheist president???, politics and religion are still not separated as the term secular would suggest.
Even here in NZ we have charitable trusts promoting religion using tax payers money.
Millions of $. Probably billions in America if you have the same 60% tax return on charitable donations.
So I get a little suspicious , and wonder just how much we are being deceived. Secular??
I don't know how we can call ourselves secular when government is funding religion??
I'm even suspicious about the "Big Bang" why they keep insisting that "Time " began with this bang makes me think it's a piece of religious propaganda.
I agree religion is laughable , but I tend to use terms like irrational.

[The Magic Pudding]

I agree religion is laughable , but I tend to use terms like irrational.

OK, but thanks for sharing John Clarke anyway.

On the other hand Our Lord might just
Have had a Scottish mother. There's a nice
Sardonic touch about creating both
Life and Glasgow in the same week.
The reading today is from the second book of Laing.
Life is a sexually-transmitted disease
With a one hundred per cent mortality rate.

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/poetica/featur ... clarke.htm

[Recusant]

Hello, and welcome to HAF, Godfree.  I think that simple sociological inertia is all we need to explain the prevalence of theism in the US.  Things are changing, though, as Whitney pointed out, and as has been documented in recent surveys.

...Perhaps because we don't tend to be evangelistic (with some sad exceptions) we don't get so noticed.

There is at least one Atheist Evangelist who's no cause for sadness.  (This is for you too, The Magic Pudding!)

 [youtube:1as722qy]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JloO47PZf5k[/youtube:1as722qy]

(EDIT:  Too many videos in this post, so I trimmed it.  You can find more Brother Sam on youtube.)

[The Magic Pudding]

There is at least one Atheist Evangelist who's no cause for sadness.  (This is for you too, The Magic Pudding!)  

Ye, he's got my vote.

[philosoraptor]

Why are there not more atheists?  To be simple, I'd say it's in part because there are a lot more idiots (literally).

Obviously, it varies from place to place, but do a search on the average IQ by country.  The results are pretty interesting-some of the countries with the higher average IQ's are also countries with higher rates of atheism.  Statistics would also indicate that there are higher rates of atheism among the intelligent and the the educated as well.  When you think about it that way, it does make sense.  The world is populated mostly with people of average or below average intelligence who don't have access to education and who aren't as likely to ask the kind of questions that lead an atheist to arriving at the conclusion that there is no god.

[Tank]

There are loads of atheists, you just have to be in the right place. This survey deals with the UK http://www.vexen.co.uk/UK/religion.html

[joeactor]

... in a word: Marketing.

Think of it like computer operating systems...

Why is Windows so popular?  Why not Unix?

Windows has a concerted marketing effort behind it.  It propagates because there is a focused, driving force.
Unix, while it may be "superior", is splintered and has many different foci.
That is its power, and its downfall.

Ultimately, Unix has found a wide following.  But it is not as well known and didn't experience the meteoric growth that Windows did.  Apple adopting it has helped somewhat.

And speaking of Apple, I think you'll see the same thing happening with the iPad.
There are a slew of better Android based tablets about to hit the market.
They're more powerful, have more features, and potentially cost less.
Yet they have an uphill battle against the focused marketing might of Apple.

... Apple says you don't need Flash, USB, Camera, Replaceable Battery, Reading in Sunlight, Expandable Memory... Things that other tablets had 10 years ago.  But people buy the products in droves.

Why?

Marketing.

(IMHO),
JoeActor

[Godfree]

joeactor ,  I am running Linux  Puppy  4.3 , I have a dual boot so I can do windows stuff if I need to , on my other computer I have Ubuntu studio , dual booted with something called tiny xp , I managed to get my xp and tiny xp for free , xp is legal because the old computer had on the box the code for xp , but I don't go online with it .
The IFAD , what a load of rubbish , the introduction of the disposable computer and the world flocks to it like it was gold . Hell people are stupid , it's no wonder religion has such an easy time ripping people off .
So that would be something to take to the human rights commission ,
Surely taking advantage of the ignorance of people and selling them heaven , which is obviously something they can't deliver , should be against the law. Most businesses have to prove their product works. Why not religion , in this secular world , why is it that religion has special laws just for it???, these special laws were given in the time of colonization , which is now illegal , seems like we could challenge those special deals as also being illegal...

[joeactor]

joeactor ,  I am running Linux  Puppy  4.3

Yeah... Go Linux!
(still using VI to edit my web site - even on Win7)

The IFAD , what a load of rubbish , the introduction of the disposable computer and the world flocks to it like it was gold .

Ah, but it does sell, yes?

Most businesses have to prove their product works. Why not religion , in this secular world , why is it that religion has special laws just for it???, these special laws were given in the time of colonization , which is now illegal , seems like we could challenge those special deals as also being illegal...

Although religions can't prove their product works, they can easily prove their business model works.  They make enough money to stay in operation (and then some), and have managed to get the laws altered to their favor.  Other businesses have done the same.  Tax breaks, subsidies, and special considerations are everywhere.

It's probably easier in the USA to keep a church afloat than it is to keep a restaurant going.  Amazing since we have to have food on a daily basis.  Seems like some level of the supernatural is seen as a necessity by most of the population.

Dianetics anyone?,
JoeActor

[Whitney]

[youtube:3onk0hds]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JloO47PZf5k[/youtube:3onk0hds]

Shameless plug...If you want to meet Brother Sam come to the Texas Freethought Convention in October.  

ok..you may carry on now.

[The Magic Pudding]

So it's all because they're stupid eh.
So Catholics give away those wafers that probably taste crap.
So what should an atheist evangelist give away, a fish oil capsule?