Are you a minority?

[THE_oldy]

In Australia most people are non-believers. When ever I see or read someone on the internet saying "With out the bible you can't have morals! Society would break down!" I know they are ether ignorant or lying, because Australia’s society is just fine.

[tacoma_kyle]

I think religous people have a hard time thinking of the world without the guidance of god. Or thats the way it appears anyhow. Should actually be kind personally upsetting if they ever figured that out. For some reason there seems to be a mental block with reason...

[SteveS]

Yeah - once you understand that morals don't come from god, then you understand why nothing like "society collapsing" is going to happen.  Those of us that are atheists don't worry about it, because we know that nobody is currently getting their morals from god  :wink:  

And society is hardly collapsed.  It's weird, it's got issues, but it's not collapsed.

[donkeyhoty]

SteveS, is it really morals that are holding society together?  or is it industry?

Massive unemployment, or starvation, would be a more pressing factor in any "societal collapse" than morals.... also, Zombies would be bad.

[SteveS]

Yeah - I agree, it's more than just morals.  I think either "moral collapse", however that might happen (lol), would be bad --- picture rampant killing, looting, etc.  (it might be fun while it lasted, though...nah, I guess not).  Industrial/Agricultural collapse would be really bad too --- I can't imagine a happy outcome.

But - zombies would be the worst!  Either that or vampires (ala Midnight Mass - remember, the atheist died!!!)

[wereMole]

I live in the Netherlands, attending a technical university. Living in the same city the Uni is settled. The number of Christians is very low, other religions are nihil. Large majority varies between atheist/agnostic so yes being Christian I am a minority.

[Tom62]

Hi wereMole. It is nice to see another dutchman on this forum. Where do you live in the Netherlands? I'm originally from Amsterdam, but now live in Darmstadt, Germany.

[rlrose328]

I live SW of Portland, OR... and our little burg is very religious.  LOTS of Mormons here as well as a good portion of fundies and gellies.  Last election, we had the "one man/one woman" marriage thing going on and EVERYWHERE I looked there were bumper stickers and signs supporting its passing.

So whenever you hear someone talk about how liberal Oregon is, remember it's just Portland and MAYBE Salem... the rest... not so much.

[wereMole]

Hi wereMole. It is nice to see another dutchman on this forum. Where do you live in the Netherlands? I'm originally from Amsterdam, but now live in Darmstadt, Germany.

I currently reside in Enschede so I'm quite close to Germany

[scepticus]

I live in western New York. Western New York is much more religous than the tri state area but it is not as bad as many other states.

Rochester tends to have a high concentration of Catholics, however they have a more liberal outlook than the faithful in other parts of the US. For example, there are Catholic churches with women leaders and the Bishop petitioned to the Vatican in support of gay marriage.

So although the people in WNY are quite religious they're typically open minded of non believers. However the local newspaper appears to be run largely by the militant Christians based on the editorial page.

[Steve Reason]

Yep, I'm a minority. This is Indiana after all. You can get a license plate that says "In God We Trust". But you won't be seeing one that says "In Reason We Trust". And we still have blue laws here.

However I do know several people that are either atheist, agnostic, or apathetic. Indy is a fairly progressive city. Or maybe I should say it has bastions of free thought and expression. But it has plenty of religious events.

As far as I can tell Indy's not hostile to atheists. So we're here, but we are a minority.

[Mister Joy]

I think, especially here, it's very much dependant on generation & other such sub-cultural groups (class is another one). Atheism/agnosticism accounts for most of my age group as well as the younger ones, without any shadow of a doubt: I've known Christian kids who've been bullied for it even in Christian high-schools (which accounts for most of them). I'd say I'm in a very powerful majority, for that reason... though many of my school-mates would rather deny this for the sake of being able to parade around trying to look like rebellious 'non-conformists' if there is such a thing :roll: . With my parent's generation, though, it's a little bit more hit and miss & with my grandparent's it's predominantly believers.

[SteveS]

Wow - I'm sort of in shock over the atheist/agnostic majority in other countries!  We are a decided minority in the US.  So hard for me to conceive of.

trying to look like rebellious 'non-conformists'

That's a whole interesting sub-topic:  It seems that the rebellious take a simple pleasure in being contrarian - just align themselves with the minority and feel good about it (because it is a minority).  I wonder how many rebellious people in the states have adopted atheism for the "shock value".  For me, I could give two craps if the minority agrees with me or not.  At the risk of seeming too self-assured, let me offer the following quotation:

The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority.
The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority.
The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking.

I would say being an atheist for the simple reason that it gives you an excuse to be a minority and enjoy pissing people off is a really bad reason.  Those who have adopted atheism because it makes sense to them are exhibiting characteristics of the "first-rate mind".  Those who have adopted atheism to piss-off their parents and shock their friends are exhibiting characteristics of the "second-rate mind".  So, you could always accuse your classmates who are posturing for a minority status of possessing "second-rate" minds!  :wink:  

This is Indiana after all. <snip> And we still have blue laws here.

Ture.  But, Indiana is not the only one.  Whenever I travel for business, it is always a source of frustration when I can't get a beer on a Sunday night because of some dumb blue law.  Ridiculous.  I ran into this in Indiana when I was in college, but I'm sure there are some dry towns in Illinois as well.  I've encountered them all over the American mid-west and parts of the American south.

[Steve Reason]

That's a whole interesting sub-topic:  It seems that the rebellious take a simple pleasure in being contrarian - just align themselves with the minority and feel good about it (because it is a minority).  I wonder how many rebellious people in the states have adopted atheism for the "shock value".  For me, I could give two craps if the minority agrees with me or not.

Ha ha, stupid atheists!

 

True. But, Indiana is not the only one. Whenever I travel for business, it is always a source of frustration when I can't get a beer on a Sunday night because of some dumb blue law.  Ridiculous.  I ran into this in Indiana when I was in college, but I'm sure there are some dry towns in Illinois as well.  I've encountered them all over the American mid-west and parts of the American south.

I think the law here lets you drink in a tavern or bar on Sunday, but not buy alcohol for home consumption. What kind of stupid shit is that? Of course, I think it was last year that New Years Eve landed on Sunday, so the Governor suspended that law for one day because of how big of a day that is for liquor stores. Hypocrite...  

[Mister Joy]

I would say being an atheist for the simple reason that it gives you an excuse to be a minority and enjoy pissing people off is a really bad reason. Those who have adopted atheism because it makes sense to them are exhibiting characteristics of the "first-rate mind". Those who have adopted atheism to piss-off their parents and shock their friends are exhibiting characteristics of the "second-rate mind". So, you could always accuse your classmates who are posturing for a minority status of possessing "second-rate" minds!

I prefer the expression "dim-witted attention whore". It generates more of a reaction That's a good quote, though. I'd actually lump second and third rate minds into one category since they both amount to the same thing: they allow other people around them to control their opinions.

I think the law here lets you drink in a tavern or bar on Sunday, but not buy alcohol for home consumption. What kind of stupid shit is that? Of course, I think it was last year that New Years Eve landed on Sunday, so the Governor suspended that law for one day because of how big of a day that is for liquor stores. Hypocrite...

I think it'd be fair enough if the tavern (now there's a word I've not heard used in a long time) owners where Christian themselves and made the decision on their own, but to make it a legal requirement? That's a wee bit absurd if you ask me. And your Governor sounds like a moron.

Is working on Sunday a sin or isn't it, Mr. Governor sir?
Erm... ask God. I have no real conviction, I just like making laws to piss people off.