“No religion” segment of U.S. population profiled
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At the “Values Voter Summit” of conservative Christian activists I attended last week in Washington, more than one participant lamented the “secularization” of America.
That will come as a surprise perhaps to more than one foreign reader of this blog, given America’s famously high rates of religiosity which set it apart from much of the rest of the developed world. And the evangelical tradition which much of the U.S. “religious right” comes from has been fast growing in recent decades.
But Americans who claim no religion are fast growing and Trinity College in Hartford offers a detailed portrait of this group in a new report released this week called “American Nones: The Profile of the No Religion Population.”
“The 1990s was the decade of the “secular boom.” Regarding the percentage of adult Americans who claim no religious affiliation, the researchers found that it had grown from 8.2 percent in 1990 to 14.2 percent in 2001 and to 15 percent in 2008. The growth of the Nones is a national phenomenon. They are the only group that increased in every state and region of the country during the past 18 years,” the report says.
“Who exactly are the Nones? “None” is not a movement, but a label for a diverse group of people who do not identify with any of the myriad of religious options in the American religious marketplace – the irreligious, the unreligious, the anti-religious, and the anti-clerical. Some believe in God; some do not. Some may participate occasionally in religious rituals; others never will. Nones are easily misunderstood. On the one hand, only a small minority are atheists. On the other hand, it is also not correct to describe them as “unchurched” or “unaffiliated” on the assumption that they are mainly theists and religious searchers who are temporarily between congregations. Yet another incorrect assumption is that large proportions of Nones are anti-rationalist proponents of New Age and supernatural ideas,” it says.
The report will no doubt be held up by conservative Christians — a key base for the Republican Party — as further evidence of the country’s cultural slide since the permissive 1960s and the end of school prayer. The neo-atheist movement on the other hand will probably say it attests to their growing popularity (even if outright atheists are only a minority of Nones).
The report is drawn from the massive American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS), which questioned 54,461 adults in either English or Spanish between February and November 2008. Its main findings were released in March.
Here are some highlights of this report:
* The “None” numbers — 34 million American adults — far exceed the combined total of all the non-Christian religious groups in the United States.
* Whereas Nones are presently 15 percent of the total adult U.S. population, 22 percent of Americans aged 18-29 years self-identify as Nones.
* Regarding belief in the divine, most Nones are neither atheists nor theists but rather agnostics and deists (59 percent) and perhaps best described as skeptics.
* The most significant difference between the religious and non-religious populations is a gender gap: Whereas 19 percent of American men are Nones only 12 percent of American women are Nones. The gender ratio among Nones is 60 males for every 40 females.
It is also interesting to note the political affiliation of Nones. Some observers of the U.S. political scene would no doubt regard “secular humanists” — many of whom would be classified as Nones — as a key base for the Democratic Party. Certainly many among the conservative Christian crowd I rubbed shoulders with last week would hold that point of view. But perhaps unsurprisingly the report says when it comes to partisan politics they tend to have an independent cast of mind: “Politically, 21 percent of the nation’s independents are Nones, as are 16 percent of Democrats and eight percent of Republicans. In 1990, 12 percent of independents were Nones, as were 6 percent of Democrats and 6 percent of Republicans.”
(PHOTO: The spire of Memorial Church rises above Harvard Yard at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts September 21, 2009. REUTERS/Brian Snyder (UNITED STATES)
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Thomas Jefferson was a secular humanist and a Nones
Another factor in the rise of Nones could be their discomfort in the available churches. For example, their used to be a lot of what I would call ‘quietly religious’ believers in the US – no denomination, but concerned about the poor, vaguely liberal etc. I think that those believers are massively turned off by evangelical fervor and talk of the other guys being doomed sinners. If you are not lucky enough to find a community of like minds you eventually retreat into a personal one-on-one relationship with God rather than a church-based one.
Having grown up in a mormon community, I was, of course, a mormon — not much choice there. The lies and fraud that filled my religion FINALLY overpowered my brain-washed mind and I could finally see the bigotry and suspension of reason just to keep the puzzle of religion together.
Now that I’m out, seeing the same failings in other religions I’m giving atheism a try, and I must say it fits me well.
4 decades in the cult of mormonism. How could I have wasted so much time and tithing on such a multi-level marketing scheme as religion.
Free at last.
As an agnostic who spent several happy years in the near vicinity of the Mem. church spire, I’m thrilled and fascinated that this study has confirmed what my life experience since then has suggested–that there’s not much correlation between education –formal education– and religiosity, but that there are some distinct geographical trends.
We are seeing the greatest falling away from the in the United States history. Hmm! What does this mean?
Maybe we as Americans need to examine ourselves find out. This couldn’t be prophecy, or could it?
Do we even believe prophecy comes true anymore?
We shouldn’t need statistics to see that, all that you have to do to run off is to start preaching Jesus.
Mabe the question here should be; “Has America Lost Her Blessing”?
Dominick From
World School Of Prophecy & News Events
It’s probably a toss-up between organized religion and mosquitoes as to what’s been responsible for the most suffering over the course of human history.
The time has come to get over the fear that we really do not know if there is a ‘god’. It does not make you bad, it does not make you good, it is just about accepting the fact that we don’t know.
Well, now I finally know what I am. I am a label known as “Nones”. Because my reason prevails over all religious indoctrinations and persuasions and force-feedings I’ve encountered, I’m a “None”? Perhaps a better (although admittedly less marketable) label would be a “Been there done that No Thanks”. And how, if anyone would be so kind as to enlighten me, could it be that I still have faith in the Divine, in the Penultimate Consequence, in the Supreme Reason? Beats me…perhaps it was the indoctrination, after all.
Happy being me and My Son’s Mom!!!
Wow-here i thought I was a party of one. Do I believe that Jesus was born and brought one of the greatest religions? Yes. Do I believe that God created the earth? No. I have always wondered if Christianity was the ultimate faith. It is what I was raised in and what I am most familiar with. But when I realized that mankind had existed far longer that Christianity had and that there were older cultures and religions, I started to wonder what right I had to condemn those not of my faith. Come to find out all of the major religions have the same principles as the Ten Commandments. So I will stand proud in my non-conforming beliefs and live by the Golden Rule.
Why is that somebody wouldn’t know that there is a G-d? Maybe because human is in a lost state. Where Sodom and Gomorrah once stood, there is from a far off, a dis-coloration of the ground from being burnt, you can see it to this day. Then when it rains there, you can see these sulfur rocks glisten all over the ground, that science even says burned at over 9000 degrees, in those five cities that were destroyed, not found anywhere else in the world. You can crush a handful of the walls in your hand because it is ash. If it were just old, then you should be able to crush a handful of Egyptian Pyramid walls.
Where the Hebrews crossed the Red Sea, there is chariot wheels, chariot bodies, horse bones, and all kinds of brass artifacts.
We now have many picture for all of these things, including the Ark in the mountains. Sea shells on top of every mountain in the world, I never new clams to climb.
Ya we know there is a G-d..
We just don’t want to know Him
Dominick from
WSOPNE.org
Hey Dominick how do you know the pyramids wouldn’t crumble in your hand, have you been there? Religous people are willing to believe anything that comforts them. Funny how all miracles and biblical events stopped at the same time as the invention of photography, isn’t it?
Why the desparate struggle to attach a label to people who simply do not care to wear or reveal their personal opinions? Neither does this study account for what should be a significant number of people who rightfully lie when asked a question that is simply nobody else’s business. “Nones” is a pretty self-serving and quite unflattering label. Why not Secularists?
My disillusion with organized religion manifested itself on Sept. 11, 2001.
After that horrible day I refused to allow myself to be associated with religion…it just seemed to me that one of the biggest obstacles to world peace is religion itself!
I have to confess that i’m a none. Part of the agnostic sect. But I have no desire to defend my doubt, since the burden of proof lies with those who assert a claim. What I would like too point out though is that a secular, skeptical perspective is as old as our Republic. Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Paine, Franklin and many others of our most venerated citizens were not christians, but rather embraced rational thought as the best, if still limited, tool for seeking truth. Read your history. My upbring in the christian faith taught me to seek the truth, for which I am eternally grateful, and the truth should be told. The arguement that secularization of America is unamerican is simply false, and is a distortion of our history.
I think that the number of atheists in this study is skewed to a lower number than actual. The word atheist is viewed as a bad word by many people that are actually atheist! I have spoken to many people who DO NOT believe in god. They do however say something like “how would i know if there was one, and i suppose that there is a possibility that somewhere out there in the large univers there is a being that is superior to us.” I can agree with that, if you are a scientist you can even agree with those statements. People who make those statements usually group themselves as agnostics. Realistically however, if you dont believe in god, like i dont,and many of these “agnostics” dont just man up and call yourself an Atheist. Its time that we are counted and America loses the derogatory term of a religious nation. Stop embarassing up religious right.
As an agnostic, I am what you’d call a typical “None”. In my view, what we’re witnessing here is the rise of rationalism. That’s what ties the great majority of “Nones” together. With no evidence (or reason) one way or the other, the rationalist is forced to concede that he/she simply does not know whether God exists, much less what the nature of that God might be. Fundamentally, it is a position of humility. It is an admission of ignorance. In fact, “agnostic” is Latin for “to not know” (more or less.) Agnostics regard both atheism and theism as faith-based belief systems.
I have asked religious people: “Even if I were to choose a religion, how should I choose one from among thousands?” My favorite answer was that I should just believe what most Americans believe, because that’s where I was born and what I was taught.
(I suppose the ultimate Nature of the Universe varies by geographic location, then!!) The most common answer I got was that I should choose whatever religion “resonates” with me the most, or various rephrasings of this. But to choose a religion requires actually believing its tenets. And to believe is to ascribe truth. So how can I call something true simply because of the way it makes me feel? Am I to imagine myself so enlightened that I can intuitively know the true nature of the Universe? Am I to imagine myself important enough that the Universe (or God) would provide me a conduit for divining its nature? And if my neighbor’s intuition leads him to a vastly different Truth, then am I qualified to say which parts of his Truth are right and which are wrong? So, again, humility prevents me from choosing one religion and declaring all contradicting beliefs false. Or from picking and choosing beliefs from various religions to create my own. Or from saying that all human religions are pointers to some underlying universal Truth (i.e. that humans in general know what we’re talking about.)
Now, of course, many people believe that rationalism is overrated. They see faith as a higher virtue than reason. And of course they’re welcome to that. But more and more of us are growing uncomfortable with faith as a guiding principle for writing the laws of the land. I mean, just look at Sharia! And if you think “Christian-based law could never be as bad as Muslim Sharia”, then pick up a history book.
Many of us look at the Middle East and are disgusted that the typical reaction of a victim of religious warfare over there (whether Jew, Muslim, or otherwise) is to become MORE religious!! Talk about a vicious cycle! And we fear a similar dynamic evolving in our home countries, as we watch our own religious populations becoming ever more fanatical — especially in the US. I have actually witnessed a Christian in the US saying “well, the Muslims have one thing right: they know how to raise an army to fight against the enemies of their religion. Why can’t we Christians do that?” Now, of course, this sentiment is uncommon these days — but it was the dominant sentiment not too long ago in our history. So I’m watching Christians radicalizing here in the US, and it’s scary. The movement toward secularism is partly in reaction against that radicalization. People find themselves without a church, not because they changed, but because their church changed. Their church became more fanatical, and it left them behind. This drives some people to liberal churches (which are now very much on the rise); but others get so creeped out or nauseated by the behavior of the fanatics that they abandon the whole idea of faith altogether.
I don’t know that I would say the US is becoming more religious in general (or less); it’s more that the US is becoming more polarized. The fanatics are on the rise, but so are their opposites. You can see this in the growing divide between conservative and liberal churches, which are becoming more conservative and more liberal, respectively. Moderates seem to be the only endangered species here. There is a growing schism in the religious community that threatens to tear it apart (and the Anglican Communion is only the beginning…)
Amazingly enough what more proof do we need that there is a God. Just intellingently look around US, and ask the questions,where, who and why? Or even WHAT! On the other hand what Proof Do we have that there is NO GOD. Organized religion or disorganized religion is man made. I wonder though which one of these is Godly or Otherwise?
All anybody needs to know about religion is that the supernatural exists only in the human imagination. Period.
Amazingly enough what more proof do we need that there is NO God. Just intellingently look around US, and ask the questions,where, who and why? Or even WHAT! On the other hand what proof do we have that there is a GOD. Organized religion or disorganized religion is man made. … You do not need to proof that something does not exist. Burden of proof always lays on those who wants you to beleive that something is true.
I have read most of the posts from the article mentioned and one thing comes to mind. What ever is convienent at the time thats what I will be. I am no different so to speak. I have shook my fist at GOD more than once and then asked for his caring hand the next day. Beleive in what YOU beleive in, what you see is right for you, not what is right for your friends and family, or to be sociable. I pray every day for good bombing weather over our enemies to my GOD. My enemies do just the opposite to there GOD. America was founded by GOD fearing, loving, respectable men and women. America without GOD at its center, removed from all forms of any government will surely fail. If we have no concience in America, no discipline what so ever in our lives, at least we still have GOD to look to for guidance. To be labeled nones is dumd. The catholics already have it.
Please use the correct term. We are the ‘brights,’ those led by rationality. Belief is not our banner, dDogma has no place in our world view. We oppose fundamentalism in all its forms, regardless of whatever label those blinded by religion select to call themselves.
We are the true heirs of the founding fathers of America. If you don’t believe that, why not look for the term “Christ” in the Declaration or Constitution?
We bear witness to the “religious” hypocrites that claim to follow their self-proclaimed Christ without listening to his words.
It’s an absolute travesty that so much suffering of the innocent has & continues to happen in the name of someone’s imagined god. The faster we lay this myth to rest the faster this planet finds it’s way to mature & rational behavior as a species.
I am an anti-theist and a very strong atheist. I find religion to be huge pile of muck this country is stuck in. If you want to believe in something without evidence, or even any critical thought (much like children believe in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy) more power to you and three cheers go for it. If you want to impose your belief upon me and degrade the educational options of our children, violate separation of church and state, etc, then I have to say wait just a minute your out of bounds. I think the threat of religion upon our education (anti evolution, YEC’s (Young Earth Creationists in particular) degrades this countries chances of competing in a global marketplace where knowing the earth is 4.5 billion years old seems to make you seem just a bit more credible than honestly believing that it is less than ten thousand.
Richard Feynman put it like this — “…there are many things I do not know anything about, such as whether it means anything to ask, ‘Why are we here?’. I do not have to have an answer. I do not feel frightened by no knowing things, by being lost in a mysterious universe without any purpose, which is the way it is as far as I can tell. It does not frighten me.”
Biggest load of hogwash, diatribe, garbage, New Age rubbish I’ve ever heard.
Why is the English system and America’s too based on biblical principles then?
Bullshit.
-THE VELVET EVIL OF RELIGION-
I call it “velvet” because religion seems benign and innocuous on the surface,and I call religion “evil” because it discourages independent or even rational
thought, is primarily concerned with self-perpetuation on the backs of the “faithful,” is patently intolerant; and historically a primary source of friction in the
world.
“God” has given man permission to do horrific things to others since the beginning of time. The good doesn’t matter, because one evil negates the memory of many charities.
By that mathematics; no kindness survives in the world this dark day, when 85% of the world is delusional because of a virus called “religion.”
A belief in invisible entities with magical powers is plumb idiotic, Jethro, so wake up!
I am not here to shake your faith; I am here to point out the obvious, that all religious faith is nonsense, and dangerous, and that it will complicate your life
and mine in ways neither of us yet imagine.
The “Rapture” will not rescue either one of us in the future, ever; any more than the rapture of ignorance and wish-fulfillment will elevate us in the present reality.
Like me. you’re doomed to live life in the real world.
It’s actually quite beautiful;
there’s no need to pretend!
Churches are big business– give them meaningful religion; tax the “Hell” out of them!
We can no longer afford the luxury of indulging, respecting, or tolerating religion in any of its forms.
Enough, already!
-BT
As a convert to Mormonism of 40 years, I still vibrate to the idea that what accounts for the wierdness of society is that TRUTHS are in then out of favor with the people.I’m sticking to the Constitution and the 10 Commandments, politically.There is a God!
LEOWASKING said: “I pray every day for good bombing weather over our enemies to my GOD.”
Yes, and this is exactly why agnosticism and atheism are on the rise. You’re not the first “Christian” I’ve heard express this opinion, nor the first Muslim or Jew. And we “Nones” are just sitting back shaking our heads in disgust as people massacre each other in the name of their God. Is it any wonder that some of us think the world might be better off without these beliefs?
First of all, who says you have to belong to any religion. Religion is a word. you have to figure out what they all have in common. The one thing these 1000 religions share is the word of God..The bible. The bible is not just about God it is from God. The bible in its simplistic form tells you who we are and who our God is. Funny all who claim not to believe in God are the first to say Oh my God! when something goes terribly wrong. Only then do you call his name? So in essence you know that God exists. Read the bible in its entirety and then dispute it if you dare too. Most people who are nones, Atheist or what ever you are have no clue what the bible says. Read it first, and get a little knowledge before you reject God. How can you argue about something you know nothing about? It is better to deny god with knowledge than with ignorance so that when judgment comes at least you know what to expect at the moment of truth.
and lets not leave out all the killings by NONES or ATHIESTS — google on that for a long while
its not about religion or nonreligion .. its about MANKIND who is not at its 100%
What I see here is a lot of people who had bad experience in church, and because of that, have decided that G-d is Dead or not real.
Judging by what I am reading, makes Him more real than ever.
Again, we are seeing the Greatest Falling Away from the faith ever in history of America and the UK.
But I , Like you blame the church, laying a yolk around your necks. Like the Law that Peter said neither They or Their fathers could keep.
You come see us, not only will we prove there is a G-d with out a shadow of a doubt, you’ll find he loves you too.
Come listen to our “First Believe Audio Series”
It will change your life, I promise!
Dominick Villapiano
WSOPNE.org
World School Of Prophecy & News Events
Fact:
1. Believing strongly something is ‘not there’.. has truly little to do with it’s actual existence.
you tried this with your report card and it didn’t work either, remember?
2. Religion is useless : go help the world’s orphans instead. Then you will truly have a pure religion.
when was the last time that reading a book, going to seminar, following a method ever TRULY change you? Under pressure- you’re about as nasty as you ever were. Anyone denying can find their picture under: ‘Pinnochio’
3. try to realize the fact shared in point 1.
4. The BLOOD of Jesus: Priceless..this Blood’s for YOU
“you’re covered”
Waiting until you’ve ‘checked out’ of this life to investigate this will be too late.
You are free to choose.
Good did not create man ! Man created God ! So, it is man-made-god, just like sandwich or papad.
Religion/god business is a type of ‘mental prostitution’ and the source of all suffering in this world. Psychologically, the very “persecution complex/suffering” logic is used against the common people to further the nefarious goals of the priests and politicians (right-wingers).
thanks
Saifi Khan.
From the comments posted so far, more like 90% are atheist …unless they just try to proselytize for the atheistic religion. As someone that knows ‘first hand’ how insane an atheistic society is, I hope you get your wish and live yourself in such a society, hopefully not in the USA in my lifetime.
Wow Mona. If you knew anything about nonreligious individuals or freethinkers, you will realize that they are WELL VERSED in the bible. We ALWAYS come prepared in case we come across religious individuals such as yourself. We know our shit. You’re challenging the wrong people. And not only that, if you think the bible is your strong ally, WE DISMISS THE BIBLE IN ITS ENTIRETY. The bible was written by those that believed the world was flat and at a time when modern science wasn’t born yet. Do you know why? Because they didn’t have the technology or sophisticated equipment back then! Seriously people, we live in the 21st century, no wonder other countries think we’re a bunch of religious freaks. Where there’s high religious belief = HIGHER CRIME, HYPOCRISY, AND LOWER IQ
Agnostics and Deists are generally atheists who don’t want to deal with the social opprobrium the term atheist generates. Agnostics, in particular, are fence-sitters – or pretending to be – on the question of whether God “exists.” He does, but like everything supernatural, He exists only in the human imagination, and that’s all anyone needs to know about religion.
He who has an ear, let him hear. He who has an eye, let him see. It is so shocking to hear so often about self-proclaimed ‘rationalists’ accepting scientific, historic or other ‘fact’ on the same merit by which Christianity is so solidly grounded, while at the same time completely denying religion altogether as nonsense. One can go to great lengths to ignore the evidence of God and his son Jesus Christ as provided in the Bible and other texts, but let nobody expect to be saved by their profound ignorance.
i am an anti-atheist and i think atheism is a pile of muck this country is in. first off in a way i do not blame atheists for believing what they do. you look around you all day and see hypocrites everywhere, most notably in the people who claim to be religous. but just because there are bad seeds in religion it does not make it untrue.that’s why it’s called faith because your’e believing in something. TO think that man can explain and understand everything in life is pretty arrogant in my opinion. there are things in this life we cannot comprehend. atheism supports a way of thinking, in which we are our own masters and we know everything. that there is nothing mystical or spiritual. tell that to the 70,000 that were present on the miracle of the sun july 1917. Columnist Avelino de Almeida of O Século (Portugal’s most influential newspaper, which was pro-government in policy and avowedly anti-clerical),[1] reported the following: “Before the astonished eyes of the crowd, whose aspect was biblical as they stood bare-headed, eagerly searching the sky, the sun trembled, made sudden incredible movements outside all cosmic laws – the sun ‘danced’
Actually Mona, most Atheist’s know the bible very well, better in fact than most Christians. What is rampant is the misunderstanding of what the irreligious are. We have a lower incarceration rate and generally a much higher education level.
Have a look at this in detail if you wish.
And the word of God is the word of man, just as God is an invention by man.
Dear Mona – these 1000 religions share the word of god. The bible. To paraphrase a famous agnostic or atheist – on what planet do you normally reside? Last time I checked, of the four largest religions in the world, only the Christians used the bible to get their “direction” from god. Islam, Hinduism, and Buddism do not use the bible. This is such a basic fact that it makes your post sound idiotic.
Now to the point – the real question for you Christians is whether you have read the bible and how you apply hte teachings in the bible to your every day lives. Many atheists or other skeptics may have not read the bible but they don’t need to read the bible in order to know that most so called Christians don’t follow the teachings of the bible and are the biggest hypocrites. If you Christians actually followed Matthew 25: 31-46, the world would be a much better place and perhaps an avowed atheist like myself might have a little more respect for you. You don’t, however, and most Christians haven’t since the time of Jesus, and most Christians never will because so many of you stupid Christians haven’t read the bible.
Finally, I can argue with you all day about the idiocy of Genesis and most of the Old Testament – they are stories, my dear, mostly used to entertain, control, and pacify the vast majority of the uneducated population that existed many centuries ago. The New Testament, with it four different gospels, is a wonderful biography of an exceptional person, Jesus of Nazereth, that is inspiring. Like most people that challenge authority and accepted beliefs, Jesus pays for his “insolence” with his life. Whom am I to say what parts of the story are real or imagined – I wasn’t there, so I choose to apply what I consider a rationale analysis to the story which considers the gospel sources and their motives, the religious politics at the time, the manner in which the masses were controlled at that time, the motives of those that were reponsible for the current version of the bible, and many other factors that would have influenced the making of the bible.
You, evidently, have drunk the koolaide and choose to believe he is the son of god, all powerful and all knowing, who was put on this earth to redeem our sins, and everything in the bible is the word of god. I genuinely feel sorry for you, because you appear to not be able to tell the difference between fact & fiction, biography & storytelling, instruction and manipulation.
What I reject is the ridiculous claim of a supreme being, and yes I dare to dispute that god, the son of god, the mother of god, and the holy ghost are anything more than imaginary “beings”. You have your reasons for your beliefs – but the bible offers no proof, rational or factual, to support your belief, and I would dare to suggest that many of its “tales”, especially in the Old Testament, are so unquestionably impossible that the underlying premise of the bible (The Word of God) appears to be a joke. If the bible is the word of god, then god is a manic, who can’t decide who the promised people are, whether to punish them or uplift them, to let them destroy themselves or be destroyed by others, and finally decides he’ll create a loving, brave and peaceful man to save all the world’s sinners, but he lets that man die a cruel and barbaric death at the hands of his chosen people. Dispute that.
Greg
I don’t even believe that a new article or study needs to be conducted on such a topic. Does it really matter to anyone that there are more and more people not believing or neglecting to affiliate? If it does then maybe it is not the “nones” who should reconsider their thoughts, priorities, judgements, and/or considerations. I am agnostic and I am proud to be. If you believe in something else then go for it. What ever you need, some of us just don’t need anything.
Sorry to disappoint you Mona, but as a former active Evangelical high up in the church I read all of the bible all of the time.
This is what in fact opened my mind to the fact the bible is fallacious in content.
I have since realised actions are what makes a person Good. Not the rambling scripture of stone age herdsmen.
It is not surprising to me that the most hate filled comment in these posts is from a Cristian who prays for “good bombing weather” …
Something to consider is that due to the stigma against the word ‘atheist’ in this country, many people are reluctant to use that word to describe themselves, even if it is true.
I think the proportion of ‘Nones’ that are atheists is larger than most surveys will show.
Hi all!
The label ‘nones’ is derogatory, however unfortunately expected. Dark Ages = organized religion generally and historically.
There are no bibles written by any God. Nature is the closest we have to any ‘Word of God’ and we seem yet bent on degrading Her.
Organized religion is not just a problem here on earth but also in earth’s surrounding heavens.
Generally, believing ‘saved’ results in an opposite state than one first desired.
Feel a burden leave you when you give up believing in God. You are in charge of your destiny – not an imaginary protector.
Athiest ARE MORONS!!!!!
G-d does not believe in them either!!!!
G-D BLESS ISRAEL!!!!
Mona: Your logic assumes that Christianity is the only alternative to atheism. I’m astonished that you would actually claim that all religions share one thing in common: “the word of God… the Bible.” Do you *really* believe this, or was it a typo? Geez, girl… not all religions follow the Bible. Not all religions have a single god — much less the god described in the Bible. The god described in the Bible is vastly different from the gods in many other holy texts.
As it turns out, I have read the Bible, but I find it curious that you say everyone should read it before rejecting God. As if the Bible is the only holy text out there. Why not the Qur’an? The Bhagavad Gita? There are many holy books with many gods (most of whom would be unrecognizable to you as “God”), and some holy books with no gods at all!
P.S. – to SEE what MORONS Athiest ARE – one only need read the words of the Narcissistic Athiest god king himself – Dawky boy!!!
For those “Athiest” amoung us whom can comprehend his infinite non-wisdom —- Dawkins is a comedian of the third kind!!!
http://www.anointed-one.net/begin.html
Athiesm and Evolution are outdated non-fantasies of the Woodstock crowd!!! Hashish and Acid smokes the brain folks — put the PIPE down and join us here at “reality-speaks-to-G-d.com”
Get for real small minds!!! And read Romans 1 while your at it!!!
Romans 1
18The WRATH of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
G-d Bless ISRAEL!!!
I am so sick and tired of jews, muslims and christians, that if there is anything I will ever consider, it is going pagan.
Oh wait too bad whatever pagan beliefs I may have had in my ancestral past for possibly many thousands of years was wiped out by bible thumping assholes.
Guess I will just have to settle for not falling for any of the new crap religions that came along and just try and be a decent person to all fellow humans.
Sounds more challenging then having some demagogue on a pulpit telling me what to think…