by breakfast of champions 173 Replies latest jw friends
http://www.christianpost.com/aboutus/aboutus.html
So, are you as serious as a timing belt failure on your ferrari or as serious as the chain snapping on your rolls?
All of that, and I am also as serious as a timing chain tensioner failure on my Porsche 993.
But we are off topic - only the Ferrari, the Beer Fairy, and Wibble are never off topic on any thread.
Our stats might fall in line.
"If the facts don't fit, besmirch!"
So much for a leading member of the board's "evidence based" community.
Lulz.
26% of survey results not listed = FACT.
Considering the source is valid. What is the source? A Catholic blog? Yep. shocker.
Considering the source is valid. What is the source? A Catholic blog? Yep. shocker.
Besty is doing his best to "poison the well." If data analysis is presented by Catholics that in any way contradicts what Besty happens to believe, it must therefore be false.
About the blog
http://nineteensixty-four.blogspot.com/2012/06/reverts-catholics-who-left-and-came.html
Nineteen Sixty-four is a research blog for the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University edited by Mark M. Gray . CARA is a non-profit research center that conducts social scientific studies about the Catholic Church. Founded in 1964, CARA has three major dimensions to its mission: to increase the Catholic Church's self understanding; to serve the applied research needs of Church decision-makers; and to advance scholarly research on religion, particularly Catholicism. Follow CARA on Twitter at: caracatholic .
Mark M. Gray's bio:
http://cara.georgetown.edu/AboutCARA/gray.html
MARK M. GRAY, PH.D.
Mark M. Gray is the Director of CARA Catholic Polls and a Research Associate at CARA. He has a Ph.D. in Political Science and a M.A. in Social Sciences from the University of California, Irvine.
Methodologically, Mark specializes in survey research, trend analysis, and cross-sectional time-series studies. Some of his recent work at CARA has included national surveys of adult Catholics, surveys for Catholic schools, diocesan-level trend analyses, program evaluations, and Catholic media studies. Academically his research focuses on political culture, political participation, and religion and politics. He has taught courses on Introduction to the Social Sciences, Introduction to Political Science, Societal Issues, and Latino/a Culture in the United States.
As a graduate student he worked as a journalist forThe Orange County Register and as a volunteer editor of ABILITYMagazine, a national publication for people with disabilities.
Mark M. Gray is a published researcher:
http://explore.georgetown.edu/people/mmg34/?action=viewpublications
The analysis was performed by someone with serious credentials and a public reputation to maintain, not some anonymous blogger. Now, go ahead and accuse me of argument from authority all you like Besty, but it is upon you to prove his analysis is fallacious. He used data independently collected by a respected polling firm (Pew) to analyze retention rates. He works for a prestigious university, and the data are available for you to peruse (linked earlier).
Speaking of the source - how do you do a poll like this?
I guess you would ask people question 1 - what religion are you? question 2 - what religion were your parents?
Maybe the missing 26% just simply did not answer question 1?
how do you do a poll like this?
don't worry about that - just cut and paste a secondary interpretation from a blogger that matches your world view
from a Catholic perspective I wonder why the Catholic blogger hasn't focused on why only 10% of atheists think Catholicism is a good idea? surely that should be his primary concern...answers on a postcard please..<not such a compelling headline for his audience would be my 1st guess>
Given the global religious mix there should be significant percentages of atheists converting to Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism?
It seems from this survey that atheists who convert all become Christians, or just sort of disappear off the map...seems a bit strange... and then 26% are missing altogether...
I'm confused now...
It is interesting enough to keep in mind. I don't place all my bets on polls and stats, of course, but I find this interesting nonetheless.
People find their own way, as long as they have the freedom to do so, regardless of how they are raised. This site is proof of that. If someone raised as an atheist has a spiritual yearning, then they will seek answers to that. Young children believe what their parents believe. Teenagers believe whatever their parents don't believe. Adults come around to their own choices and beliefs. Again, given the freedom to do so.
(disclaimer: all of those statements were generalizations and of course do not apply to everyone)
Peace,
tammy (thanks for linking me, btw)
from a Catholic perspective I wonder why the blogger hasn't focused on why only 10% of atheists think Catholicism is a good idea?
Because that isn't his main focus.
CARA is a non-profit research center that conducts social scientific studies about the Catholic Church.
Read the blog post. The post is mainly about Catholic retention and reversion rates. The atheist data is more a side issue for comparison, and really only stands out because it is at the bottom of the list.
