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 Post subject: post for the religious and a-religious
PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 5:56 pm 
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Atheists identified as America’s most distrusted minority, according to new U of M study

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (3/20/2006) -- American’s increasing acceptance of religious diversity doesn’t extend to those who don’t believe in a god, according to a national survey by researchers in the University of Minnesota’s department of sociology.

From a telephone sampling of more than 2,000 households, university researchers found that Americans rate atheists below Muslims, recent immigrants, gays and lesbians and other minority groups in “sharing their vision of American society.” Atheists are also the minority group most Americans are least willing to allow their children to marry.

Even though atheists are few in number, not formally organized and relatively hard to publicly identify, they are seen as a threat to the American way of life by a large portion of the American public. “Atheists, who account for about 3 percent of the U.S. population, offer a glaring exception to the rule of increasing social tolerance over the last 30 years,” says Penny Edgell, associate sociology professor and the study’s lead researcher.

Edgell also argues that today’s atheists play the role that Catholics, Jews and communists have played in the past—they offer a symbolic moral boundary to membership in American society. “It seems most Americans believe that diversity is fine, as long as every one shares a common ‘core’ of values that make them trustworthy—and in America, that ‘core’ has historically been religious,” says Edgell. Many of the study’s respondents associated atheism with an array of moral indiscretions ranging from criminal behavior to rampant materialism and cultural elitism.

Edgell believes a fear of moral decline and resulting social disorder is behind the findings. “Americans believe they share more than rules and procedures with their fellow citizens—they share an understanding of right and wrong,” she said. “Our findings seem to rest on a view of atheists as self-interested individuals who are not concerned with the common good.”

The researchers also found acceptance or rejection of atheists is related not only to personal religiosity, but also to one’s exposure to diversity, education and political orientation—with more educated, East and West Coast Americans more accepting of atheists than their Midwestern counterparts.

The study is co-authored by assistant professor Joseph Gerteis and associate professor Doug Hartmann. It’s the first in a series of national studies conducted the American Mosaic Project, a three-year project funded by the Minneapolis-based David Edelstein Family Foundation that looks at race, religion and cultural diversity in the contemporary United States. The study will appear in the April issue of the American Sociological Review.

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they mean they trust us less than the chenks and the camel jockies? damn jews....... :)


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 5:59 pm 
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don't vehement atheists only need the trust of themselves or some bullshit?

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:04 pm 
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We represent only 3% of the population? I better start making some godless babies right quick!


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:04 pm 
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Borg166 Wrote:
We represent only 3% of the population? I better start making some godless babies right quick!


haha you read the article.

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 Post subject: Re: post for the religious and a-religious
PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:07 pm 
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Northern Soul Wrote:
From a telephone sampling of more than 2,000 households

Well, it's indisputable then.

Personally, I prefer to hold the belief that Americans in general are much smarter than that.


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:08 pm 
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there will be a single parent mexican half jew woman who is president of the USA before there is an admited Athiest.

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:09 pm 
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I know the US is a much more religious country than the UK but I was shocked that only (apparently) 3% of the population was atheist.

According to Norris and Inglehart (whoever they are) these are the percentages in various countries.

65% Japan
64% Sweden
48% Denmark
48% Netherlands
44% France
39% United Kingdom
31% Norway
31% Germany
28% Finland
24% Russia
22% New Zealand
22% Canada
17% Switzerland
15% Spain
15% Israel
12% Uruguay
8% Albania
6% Italy
6% USA
6% India
4% Romania
4% Ireland
3% Chile
2% Mexico

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:18 pm 
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jewels santana Wrote:
there will be a single parent mexican half jew woman who is president of the USA before there is an admited Athiest.


Chile's president is female, a single mom, a socialist, and an agnostic in a conservative, Catholic country. I don't know what's in their drinking water down there, but maybe we could import some of it.


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:21 pm 
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MEGA Wrote:
Borg166 Wrote:
We represent only 3% of the population? I better start making some godless babies right quick!


haha you read the article.


awesome.


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:23 pm 
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Borg166 Wrote:
jewels santana Wrote:
there will be a single parent mexican half jew woman who is president of the USA before there is an admited Athiest.


Chile's president is female, a single mom, a socialist, and an agnostic in a conservative, Catholic country. I don't know what's in their drinking water down there, but maybe we could import some of it.


did we both watch Real Time?

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 Post subject: Re: post for the religious and a-religious
PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:26 pm 
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Northern Soul Wrote:
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (3/20/2006) -- American’s increasing acceptance of religious diversity doesn’t extend to those who don’t believe in a god, according to a national survey by researchers in the University of Minnesota’s department of sociology.


Did someone actually prove that acceptance of religious diversity is increasing or are they just throwing that in there as a given?


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:28 pm 
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i wish i was a sociologist so I could get paid to make generalizations. I could probably submit most of my posts on this board as my resume... including this one.

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:30 pm 
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Actually if you look at the countries with more than 20% atheist populations they have all contributed the most terrible evil of the last few centuries.

65% Japan - SCHOOLGIRL PANTY PORN
64% Sweden - FLAT PACK FURNITURE
48% Denmark - LARS ULRICH
48% Netherlands - LEGALISED POT
44% France - BALDY EXISTENALISTS
39% United Kingdom - INVENTED GOLF
31% Norway - HORDES OF VIKING RAPISTS
31% Germany - THE NAZIS
28% Finland - SUPPORTED THE NAZIS
24% Russia - KILLED APOLLO CREED
22% New Zealand - KILLED THE MOA
22% Canada - RADCLIFFE

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:32 pm 
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Kon sponsored by Volvic Wrote:
Actually if you look at the countries with more than 20% atheist populations they have all contributed the most terrible evil of the last few centuries.

65% Japan - SCHOOLGIRL PANTY PORN
64% Sweden - FLAT PACK FURNITURE
48% Denmark - LARS ULRICH
48% Netherlands - LEGALISED POT
44% France - BALDY EXISTENALISTS
39% United Kingdom - INVENTED GOLF
31% Norway - HORDES OF VIKING RAPISTS
31% Germany - THE NAZIS
28% Finland - SUPPORTED THE NAZIS
24% Russia - KILLED APOLLO CREED
22% New Zealand - KILLED THE MOA
22% Canada - RADCLIFFE


qual

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:37 pm 
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Kon sponsored by Volvic Wrote:
Actually if you look at the countries with more than 20% atheist populations they have all contributed the most terrible evil of the last few centuries.

65% Japan - SCHOOLGIRL PANTY PORN
64% Sweden - FLAT PACK FURNITURE
48% Denmark - LARS ULRICH
48% Netherlands - LEGALISED POT
44% France - BALDY EXISTENALISTS
39% United Kingdom - INVENTED GOLF
31% Norway - HORDES OF VIKING RAPISTS
31% Germany - THE NAZIS
28% Finland - SUPPORTED THE NAZIS
24% Russia - KILLED APOLLO CREED
22% New Zealand - KILLED THE MOA
22% Canada - RADCLIFFE


most brilliant post of 2006.


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:59 pm 
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Bastids.


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 7:06 pm 
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While I admit a self-proclaimed atheist will never get elected, who goes around asking people if they are atheist? I'd never guess half the people who are. Most of the ones I meet are irrational Christianity bashers who annoy me as much as the Christian Right. I just don't see how you can lump atheist into the "minority" ranks. I'd venture to guess that even with this so called distrust issue, they get treated better than anyone from Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, etc.


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 7:11 pm 
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Penn Jillette was talking about this on his show today. He was taking issue with polls in general, but more specifically how the poll went about asking people to identify themselves as atheists.

According to Penn, if you include non-religious people who term themselves differently, e.g. non-theists, you can get a number closer to 20%.

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 7:20 pm 
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more about...

About religious data:
Reliable religious information is hard to come by.

Some religions count every person that has been baptized into the denomination as a member. Many individuals change their religion later in life and thus may be double or triple-counted.

Other religions have no accurate accounting system. For example, Wiccans and other Neopagans are almost completely decentralized; probably half are solitary practitioners who do not belong to a coven. Estimates of their total number in the U.S. vary over a 20:1 ratio.

Some religions, like Christian Science and the Church of Satan have a policy of not releasing membership statistics to the public.

Some faith groups count only confirmed, baptized or initiated members; others count total adherents. Some count only adults; others include children.

There is an enormous range of estimates of the number of Muslims in the U.S. The ARIS study in 2001, described below, estimates "a national total population, including children, of up to 2.8 million." However, the Council on American-Islamic Relations states that "There are an estimated 7 million Muslims in America."

Many U.S. sources of religious information include the major religions -- Christianity, Islam, Judaism -- and many of their denominations or sub-divisions. But they often ignore what might be called "underground" religions. These are religions that often keep a very low profile to avoid conflict attacks from an uninformed public -- religions like Santeria, Vodun, and Wicca.

Many sources also ignore an amorphous group who may variously describe themselves as Agnostics, Atheists, Ethical Culturalists, Freethinkers, Humanists, or Secularists. In addition, there are also the "none of the aboves" -- individuals who may believe in God and may follow the Golden Rule, but regard themselves as not being part of any organized religious group.

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PostPosted: Fri Mar 24, 2006 12:39 pm 
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this makes me angry.

why am i distrusted? we (atheists) are not starting any religious wars or disputes.

i think we should be the most trusted.


in government we just learned about a case where religion was involved (one of many, i know) but my teacher said that "those who aren't religious won't understand how big of a deal this is.."

that made me very angry. just because i'm not religious doesn't mean i can't grasp that someone elses beliefs are a big deal to them.

i highly doubt only 3% of the population of america is atheist. perhaps it's true. but i thought it was a pretty common thing.


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