8/8 - close call on a couple though :S
Posts by Qcmbr
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173Atheists: Lowest Retention Rate Next to JWs
by breakfast of champions inarticle found here.. .
those who grow up in an atheist household are least likely to maintain their beliefs about religion as adults, according to a study by georgetown university's center for applied research in the apostolate (cara).only about 30 percent of those who grow up in an atheist household remain atheists as adults.
this "retention rate" was the lowest among the 20 separate categories in the study.. there were 1,387 atheists (weighted) in the survey.
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173
Atheists: Lowest Retention Rate Next to JWs
by breakfast of champions inarticle found here.. .
those who grow up in an atheist household are least likely to maintain their beliefs about religion as adults, according to a study by georgetown university's center for applied research in the apostolate (cara).only about 30 percent of those who grow up in an atheist household remain atheists as adults.
this "retention rate" was the lowest among the 20 separate categories in the study.. there were 1,387 atheists (weighted) in the survey.
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173
Atheists: Lowest Retention Rate Next to JWs
by breakfast of champions inarticle found here.. .
those who grow up in an atheist household are least likely to maintain their beliefs about religion as adults, according to a study by georgetown university's center for applied research in the apostolate (cara).only about 30 percent of those who grow up in an atheist household remain atheists as adults.
this "retention rate" was the lowest among the 20 separate categories in the study.. there were 1,387 atheists (weighted) in the survey.
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Qcmbr
Botch - you may call it idiotic but it's that attitiude that we atheists / rational thinkers/ agnostics have to fight every day - stand for reason against a variety of woo and get called stupid and disrespectful. There is a never ending stream of poor logic and thinking that has to constantly be overcome time and time again before anything of use occurs in a discussion. Just one outspoken believer in a group will drag the discussion all over the place demanding that their weakly thought out god delusion must be considered and treated as of critical import and of greater validity than all of science and human knowledge because they have a personal relationship with <name of god>. You seem to willfully forget as usual that the believers are the ones who send out missionaries, it is the believers who lobby constantly for laws to be passed that privilege them, it is believers who fly aircraft into buildings, it is believers who hold up a meeting or a meal to say meaningless words to invisible people, it is believers who picket funerals or use them as an opportunity to preach their version of how you are unworthy. It is faith and those who give their minds over to evidence lite methodologies that hold back mankind. Your first world problem of not having a good enough answer to deal with the rise of skeptical enquiry and a group of people no longer willing to give shoddy thinking a mental pass is heartbreaking.
When it comes to faith I will be utterly condescending because its is all too often intellectual imbecility. No sooner do you explain to one believer why evolution is factually correct than the next one pops up and starts on about how a global flood occurred or Brahama sits on an island looking out on a lake of milk or that Jehovah will destroy all unrepentant people yadda yadda yadda. Its like disney for the intellectually retarded with all day passes when trying to discuss reality with a group of edit** committed believers.
This world is at danger from religious idiots (Bush - God told me to invade <country with oil>) and it is almost certain that a large number of coming wars, conflicts and terrorist attacks will be done by the faithful because of their faith. Militant atheism is a necessary response to god fearing bigotry and anti science rhetoric. The most advanced country in the world is crippling many of its students by teaching them barking mad ID. For the first time ever society has matured enough to allow room for public disbelief.
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173
Atheists: Lowest Retention Rate Next to JWs
by breakfast of champions inarticle found here.. .
those who grow up in an atheist household are least likely to maintain their beliefs about religion as adults, according to a study by georgetown university's center for applied research in the apostolate (cara).only about 30 percent of those who grow up in an atheist household remain atheists as adults.
this "retention rate" was the lowest among the 20 separate categories in the study.. there were 1,387 atheists (weighted) in the survey.
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Qcmbr
Agreed cofty - in fact this forum allows me to express and explore opinions that would have my extended family kicking me out of their houses for.
All to often a believer thinks they are giving a gift when they share some new bit of mythology (like my mother giving my kids Book of Mormon hero cards from her last visit to Utah) and get all huffy when confronted or questioned - especially when the first mystical brush off answer is further queried or rejected as fluff. Regarding my mother I'd be happily stunned if she would acept The God Delusion and read it but that ain't gonna' happen. Belief has been culturally taught as a one way street.
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173
Atheists: Lowest Retention Rate Next to JWs
by breakfast of champions inarticle found here.. .
those who grow up in an atheist household are least likely to maintain their beliefs about religion as adults, according to a study by georgetown university's center for applied research in the apostolate (cara).only about 30 percent of those who grow up in an atheist household remain atheists as adults.
this "retention rate" was the lowest among the 20 separate categories in the study.. there were 1,387 atheists (weighted) in the survey.
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Qcmbr
FHN - I suspect you sometimes forget this is a discussion forum. Should you go to speakers corner in London I think you may also find people sharing strong opinions and shock horror - disagreeing! You seem to like sharing pretty pics and having yummy moments of reinforcment of all faith / spiritual beliefs etc. You might like to add this hangout to your web links as it sounds right up your street. http://pinterest.com/ Seriously - my wife can't get enough.
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173
Atheists: Lowest Retention Rate Next to JWs
by breakfast of champions inarticle found here.. .
those who grow up in an atheist household are least likely to maintain their beliefs about religion as adults, according to a study by georgetown university's center for applied research in the apostolate (cara).only about 30 percent of those who grow up in an atheist household remain atheists as adults.
this "retention rate" was the lowest among the 20 separate categories in the study.. there were 1,387 atheists (weighted) in the survey.
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Qcmbr
I suspect in your normal life outside JWN you wouldn't hear too many vocal xians either.No? But on here they just won't stop ... :P
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173
Atheists: Lowest Retention Rate Next to JWs
by breakfast of champions inarticle found here.. .
those who grow up in an atheist household are least likely to maintain their beliefs about religion as adults, according to a study by georgetown university's center for applied research in the apostolate (cara).only about 30 percent of those who grow up in an atheist household remain atheists as adults.
this "retention rate" was the lowest among the 20 separate categories in the study.. there were 1,387 atheists (weighted) in the survey.
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Qcmbr
Botch - an atheist who sees the danger of faith ( both to themselves and to their society ) will be very motivated to try and influence people. The recent pictures of a woman murdered for supposed adultery by religious thinkers stirs the blood of most people. Atheists can see quite clearly that faith is the common denominator and the mechanism that allows a suspension of rational logic also allows the suspension of moral thinking and makes possible the acceptance of such memes as eternal damnation, sin, scapegoats, sheep / goats, chosen / rejected, wheat / chaff , saved / lost and the capability to burn a heretic or shoot an adulterous woman. I'm proud that your friend had a discussion with you that forced you to confront important concepts. That this got in the way of a nice evening of drinking probably sucked but I suspect the woman who got shot by the faithful also had a bad day and my sympathy is actually with her rather than with your first world problem whinge.
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173
Atheists: Lowest Retention Rate Next to JWs
by breakfast of champions inarticle found here.. .
those who grow up in an atheist household are least likely to maintain their beliefs about religion as adults, according to a study by georgetown university's center for applied research in the apostolate (cara).only about 30 percent of those who grow up in an atheist household remain atheists as adults.
this "retention rate" was the lowest among the 20 separate categories in the study.. there were 1,387 atheists (weighted) in the survey.
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Qcmbr
I didn't expect these results though since atheism isn't a movement like say secular humanism it's hard to define what they mean. Is this just a way of saying that those who aren't born into a religion tend to join a religion when they get older? I wouldn't be so surprised at that in a religious country such as the US. Being born an atheist no more inoculates you against faith than it grants immunity to measles. I also wonder whether marriage partners have a large sway in the process ( I can think of a few people in my former faith who were marriage converts .) If anything this just reinforces my hope that critical thinking , especially regarding faith, will become a core part of the curriculum. Religion should not be placed in a sacred bubble during school time in order to not offend the pious parent. Faith ( the requirement to believe without evidence) is the key to stupidity and educational establishments are negligent when they do not challenge it at every turn.
I'd be very interested in seeing the figures for those who have been religious, done the homework and concluded there is no supernatural power. I think they would more closely define the definition of atheist ( I suspect non believing children are more likely to be agnostic and have no great preference either way.) Once a person has paid a price intellectually to take a position then I think it is much harder to change. I think it very unlikely that I would become religiously inclined again unless a superior being actually manifests ( and I don't mean in my stomach or in a dream or via a little voice behind my left ear - I can't believe in a God who plays parlour games and who can't even use a phone or a computer or some standard communication method.)
A real being wont be promising 70 virgins, blood sacrifices, resurrection for long disassembled atoms, magic fruit and talking snakes or an imaginary justice system involving being infected with smallpox - they will bring higher technology and actual knowledge about physics, maths, astronomy and biology. Their appearance would elicit a golden age of technological advancement unless they are simply farmers in which case we will suffer an eternal Armageddon.
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473
How do I hear/feel God?
by doinmypart inthis is a serious question.. i know people that hear/feel god (and see postings about people's experiences), but i have not experienced this.
i have never heard anything audibly (or otherwise) nor "felt" anything inwardly.. i've prayed, read, quieted my thoughts, etc...but still nothing..
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Qcmbr
I am very conscious that many posters say things in novel and concise ways that often capture exactly what I want to say. I'm quite honoured to borrow , steal and plagirise like heck :)
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473
How do I hear/feel God?
by doinmypart inthis is a serious question.. i know people that hear/feel god (and see postings about people's experiences), but i have not experienced this.
i have never heard anything audibly (or otherwise) nor "felt" anything inwardly.. i've prayed, read, quieted my thoughts, etc...but still nothing..
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Qcmbr
Athesim isn't a worldview - surely you can see that! Secular humanism is a worldview, Catholicism is a worldview. Having no belief in Gods is not a worldview (it does not require any cognitive behaviour unlike say Stalinism.) The belief or not in Gods OR humans (worship of Mao for example) all make for very faulty decison making. Faith is a dangerous behaviour and even if an individual holds to a particular faith they are more likely to be in danger from other faith based worldviews than they are from democratic, secular rulers.
Would you be happy to have your current country tec (I'm going to guess the US) handed over to the Taliban or to the evangelical right or to the Mormons or to Communists?
tec - I will grant you that belief in a God means by a strict definition of atheism you do not qualify however, I'm trying to reinforce the reminder that you only believe in one God but you have rejected all other Gods just as all atheists have done. For a cultural reason you have accepted a God available to your mind (for example you wouldn't have believed in your Christ 5000 years ago and dare I say 100 years ago because your christ seems to be a reflection of modern sensibilities rather than the biblical Jesus who reflected 100-200AD culture.)
