Twenty percent of young Americans are atheists, agnostics or have "no religion,"

[Ichingcarpenter]

Twenty percent of young Americans are atheists, agnostics or have "no religion," up from 11 percent in 1988, according to a Pew Research Center survey.


Seven states, including North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas, have laws on the books restricting atheists from holding public office. A 2007 Gallup poll found that only 45 percent of Americans would vote for an atheist for President; 55 percent of Americans said they would vote for a gay person and 92 percent said they would vote for a Jew.



http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/family/ct-sun-atheists-20100407,0,7849485.story?page=1


In Great Britain the number is around 50%

In the United Kingdom, a 2007 survey found 15% of the population attends church more than once per month.<18> A poll in 2004 by the BBC put the number of people who do not believe in a God to be 50%, while a YouGov poll in the same year put the percentage of non-believers at 35% with 21% answering "Don't Know".<19> In the YouGov poll men were less likely to believe in a god than women, 39% of men as opposed to 49% of women, and younger people were less likely to believe in a god than older people.

In early 2004, it was announced that atheism would be taught during religious education classes in the United Kingdom.<20> A spokesman for the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority stated: "There are many children in England who have no religious affiliation and their beliefs and ideas, whatever they are, should be taken very seriously." There is also considerable debate in the UK on the status of faith-based schools, which use religious as well as academic selection criteria. A 2009 study reported that two thirds of teenagers in the UK do not believe in God.<21>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_atheism#The_UK

[Walk away]

1. My nieces have been raised as Atheists.

Many of their friends as well. They do volunteer projects every weekend and they are really bright involved kids.

Our family thinks it's more worthwhile working with Habitat for Humanity or walking shelter dogs than spending the day at "The Guilt Factory".
We like our Mythology where it belongs, in a History of Myth and Religion class.

I predict that the times are changing fast. In the next generation "the great polarization" will be religious as well political.

[RKP5637]

5. +1,000 +++ In my book what you have said is far more rewarding and useful

than blind adherence and indoctrination into fables, myths and ancient texts, and then persecuting and discriminating against those that are not "just like me." IMO, religion has created more grief, hurtfulness, discrimination and evil than the good many believers profess. And many use the cloak of religion to promote their own agendas and often exceptionally profitable shams. And many politicians love to thump the bible to promote their sense of morality and goodness while being hypocrites. Religion is also a political movement, all about power and control, and for many wealth and greed.

[8 track mind]

34. "The Guilt Factory"

Could not have said it any better!!!!!

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

38. I'm SO appropriating that term. -nt

[old mark]

2. Slow progress - better than nothing, but it should be at least 50%.

How can a country with "freedom of religion" have laws against atheists holding office? Where is the ACLU?


mark
NOTE:
PA's constitution does NOT prohibit atheists from holding ofice. See article 1, section 4.
It states that no one should be excluded from office for religious beliefs of mode of worship, but makes NO MENTION of those of us who don't believe.

[LiberalFighter]

36. It may be higher as people may not want to admit it even if done secretly

[Solly Mack]

3. K&R

That's hopeful

[ejpoeta]

4. i probably don't qualify as a young american these days... but i guess i don't qualify nyway

because i believe in god just not religion. maybe this is what's driving the religious crazies nuts... the fact that they are shrinking and will become a minority. kind of like how old white men feel discombobulated that they are no longer the majority.

[Ichingcarpenter]

6. What Lennon said that got him in to trouble

In 1966 the Church was incensed when John Lennon called his band "more popular than Jesus".


"Christianity will go," Lennon told London's Evening Standard.

"It will vanish and shrink ... Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary.

It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/nov/24/beatles-pope-vatican

[struggle4progress]

10. Lennon's comments produced a big collective yawn in Europe; months later,

a US publication reproduced them, and fundies across the Southern Bible belt flew into a great rage, largely driven by publicity-seeking DJs who organized burnings of Beatle records

[Ichingcarpenter]

14. The Catholic church said they were demons in 1966

The Vatican't Later forgave John after he was Dead calling his comments
stupid to be blamed on his youth back then and this was in 2006 out of Rat's office

you can follow the story from links in my link

[struggle4progress]

19. Nope. 1966: "... Radio stations in the Netherlands and in Spain ban the playing of Beatle records.

So does the South African Broadcasting Corporation, stating that 'The Beatles' arrogance has passed the ultimate limit of decency. It is clowning no longer.' Even the Vatican issues an opinion, but allows that Lennon's remarks were made 'off-handedly and not impiously' ... " http://www.beatles.ws/1966.htm

It's fine with me if you don't much like the Vatican, but the shrieking and screaming against Lennon's remarks didn't come from that quarter. It was almost entirely a phenomenon of Protestant wingnuts in the American South. There's no way the Vatican called the Beatles demons for Lennon's remark: the spirit of departed John XXIII and his Vatican II still cast a long shadow in 1966

[Ichingcarpenter]

24. The spirt of your John

Is not my spirt of my John


And I'm not shrieking and screaming.


Defend this crap........ I think not.

[struggle4progress]

28. I didn't accuse you of shrieking or screaming: I pointed out that, contrary

to your claims, it was not the Vatican that called the Beatles demonic -- it was the shrieking screaming wingnut fundies of the American South, driven by obnoxious radio hosts. If you want to think clearly about social and political events, get the details right: the US mass media (as you no doubt already know) is often not a great help when one wants to know actual facts

[stevietheman]

40. ... not realizing they were puffing up the value of vinyl collections everywhere else.

How dumb those fundies are!

[RKP5637]

15. If Jesus were here today they would cast him out, in fact, he would be

astounded at how they have destroyed his intentions and have turned it into evil.

[X_Digger]

7. After reconnecting with folks I knew in high school..

I'm surprised to learn how many of them turned into bible humpers in the intervening 20+ years.

Glad to hear that more are ditching religion at a younger age, but let's hope it holds up for the long term.

[RKP5637]

11. I noticed that too with my HS. Religion was no big deal as far as I knew in HS,

decades ago, but now for many it's a big deal. My philosophy is if someone found it and it helps them, that's OK w/me. What really grates me is when they try to push it on everyone else, and then try to get in into gov., schools etc. as a form of indoctrination. Some have called it the christian taliban, and I have to agree w/them. I joined the brights myself as an antidote to religion. http://www.the-brights.net/

[Ichingcarpenter]

22. I went through my existalism phase but

Had to teach quantum physics for gifted kids in high school because they thought I could.
Well I was over my head but read up and now the electrions are not just on the internet
but the question of where is our Bosom particle

typed on my iTouch

[RKP5637]

23. Some might say pray for the boson particle to appear, me... I'm going to wait for the

LHC. :) :) :) Quantum physics is fun. I remember calculating quantum shifts with my slide ruler eons ago... most of it's lost someplace in my memory banks now. :) :) :)

[RagAss]

27. I'm betting your HS friends shit their pants on 9/11 and never stopped being scared.

[SammyWinstonJack]

8. Good. nt

[SocialistLez]

9. 19 year old atheist here

A lot of my friends (granted they are a self-selected bunch) are either atheist or agnostic.

The few religious friends I do have are respectful of my atheism (otherwise they wouldn't be my friends....).

[RKP5637]

12. IMO it gives one a better more realistic life and IMO better for the world!

:toast: :toast: :toast:

[NeedleCast]

13. Awesome

It's a good fore-runner to being able to do away with religious influence in politics (and everywhere else).

Edit: Love this too

Seven states, including North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas, have laws on the books restricting atheists from holding public office. A 2007 Gallup poll found that only 45 percent of Americans would vote for an atheist for President; 55 percent of Americans said they would vote for a gay person and 92 percent said they would vote for a Jew.

My dad and I were arguing about this. I said it was more likely that an African-American female lesbian will be elected president before and Atheist. Looks like I've got some statistical evidence now.

[Jennicut]

16. WTF? Laws against atheists from holding public office?

In PA too of all places?
I am actually very religious. My husband and I and my two daughters are very involved in our Lutheran Church. My husband is a church organist. However, where is the freedom of and from religion in this country? Conservatives scream about freedoms but we are not very free, are we? As a liberal Christian, to me choice and freedom to decide what religion one wishes to be is very important to me. If my kids decided they don't want to go to church anymore and are atheists, I am fine with that. That is pretty outrageous. I wonder how enforced those laws are.

[SocialistLez]

18. AR here

It's the "law" here in AR but since it's unconstitutional, it's basically toothless.

The ACLU recently took some action against the city of North Little Rock for their prayers in city council meetings.

[Toasterlad]

17. 80% Too Few.

[Taitertots]

20. When are we going to get an Atheist in any high level government position

Atheists and non-religious people are the most discriminated against group of people.

[Merlot]

32. They're probably "in the non-believers closet"

[Brickbat]

21. Good.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

25. My kid is 24 and she's an agnostic.

I was raised Presby, became a Unitarian Universalist and that's the only church I like because it is explicitly NON Christian.

I am so sick of hearing about Jeebus-Jeebus-Jeebus all the time I have turned away completely. Besides, ya gotta pick and choose what Jesus said -- he was not all good. The Bible is a complete jumble of stuff written after Jesus died and he has no distinguishing characteristics that make him different from Tammuz, Mithra, Osiris, Apollo or any number of other gods. We don't even know for sure if he lived.

I study Buddhism a lot, and Hinduism some, for relief from the Abrahamic violence and cruelty.

[proteus_lives]

39. Yeah.....Because there is no violence in Hindu or Buddhist countries.

:eyes:

[RagAss]

26. It's working...these fundies are driving people away !

[Name removed]

29. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[walldude]

30. K&R good for them.. maybe if we can get people to worry more about

THIS life than some possible afterlife, things would improve.

[Zhade]

31. A very welcome trend toward rationality!

Here's hoping it continues to accelerate.

[Initech]

33. I am one of those 20%.

[kestrel91316]

35. It's a start. Bodes well for the future.

[stevietheman]

37. It's always going to be an undercount

There are a *lot* of people who are afraid to admit no belief in God (even in a secret ballot situation), or who are afraid to admit to others they depend on socially or financially that they don't particularly share their beliefs.

This is a culture of fear in many ways.