Atheists Hated More than Gays, Muslims, All Other Groups
Survey says (via Pharyngula):
Atheists are also the minority group most Americans are least willing to allow their children to marry.
I wonder how much animus towards atheists derives from the unwillingness of atheists to think in categories like whether they have the authority to “allow” their children to marry someone or not.
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.
This won’t be a surprise to any atheists in America. Atheists aren’t tolerated in a wide array of contexts and there are many examples where bigotry or discrimination towards are atheists in contexts where similar behavior towards Jews or blacks would be unequivocally condemned.
Why are we perceived as a threat to the American way of life? There is just one thing that is common to all atheists: we don’t accept the common belief that some sort of god exists. Thus, the only thing that can be identified as “atheistic” is the failure to go along with the same beliefs as everyone else. For varying reasons, atheists are dissenters from popular beliefs. This would means that dissent, disagreement, and individualism are perceived as threats to the American way of life.
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.”
Now this is very interesting. Atheists are associated with criminal behavior? The percentage of atheists is prison is lower than the percentage in the general population. Perhaps people simply assume that criminals can’t really believe in God, thus leading to a nicely closed loop of bigotry.
Atheists are associated with materialism? By that, I assume the study means “being materialistic,” or placing material concerns over all others. I can understand people thinking ill of materialism, but I can’t understand why people would associate atheism with that. After all, when was the last time you saw a major conservative evangelical Christian leader condemn materialism? Indeed, when was the last time you saw any Christian leaders in America condemn materialism?
Consider:
Which party is most associated with greed, selfishness, or materialism: Republicans or Democrats?
Which party is most associated with atheists: Republicans or Democrats?
Now, tell me again why atheists are associated with materialism? I’m not claiming that atheists can’t be materialistic, but being materialistic is a product of being part of American culture — a culture that Christians are every bit as influenced by as atheists are. Atheists aren’t going to be any more materialistic than Christians, but we at least don’t think that any gods are telling us not to be.
We can make the same point with the claim that atheists aren’t interested in the “common good” by looking at all sorts of social programs that helps support the common good: welfare, health insurance, benefits for veterans, and so forth. Which political party is most associated with cutting such programs? Which political party is most associated with atheists?
Maybe atheists are despised because we’re more likely to oppose the use of torture? According to a survey posted on the National Catholic Reporter, here are the percentages of people who say that torture is never justified:
26% Catholics
31% White Protestant
31% White evangelical
41% Secular
32% Overall Population
Here are the numbers who think that torture is often justified:
21% Catholics
15% White Protestant
13% White evangelical
10% Secular
15% Overall Population
I’m not sure what “secular” means, but it surely includes atheists and agnostics, given how the term tends to be used in surveys. It would appear, then, that we atheists are far more likely than Christians, or even the whole population, to say that torture is never justified. We atheists are far less likely than Christians, or even the whole population, to think that torture is often justified (same is true for “sometimes justified”).
So, maybe we atheists are a threat to the American way of life because so many other Americans want to include torture in that “way of life” but we don’t?
Understanding Atheism & Atheists:
- Atheism 101
- What is Atheism?
- Defining Atheism
- Is Atheism a Religion?
- Who Are Atheists?
- Why Don't Atheists Believe in God?
- Questions About Atheism
- Atheism Myths
- Polls on Atheism
Resources for Athiests:
Comments
i also like to add we dont start wars in the name of a god, enslave thousands in the name of god and all the other horrible thing most religions have done in the past we chooce to beleive in science that says there is no god that fuels the american life style
forgot to add so we indanger the american way of life which is based on intolerance of people woh are deffrent last tiem i checked racism is a bad thing
Yes, atheists shall bring the end of the world. Wait, no, that’s Christ. It seems as though there is often an inverse relationship between religious conviction and morality.
Bwhahahahaahahahahahaahahahha…
Yeah, cos we go around killing and being racist and such in the name of God.
We justafy what we’re doing with by saying it’s ‘moraly right.’ Yes.
I love when someone says something like, “You don’t believe in god? So why don’t you go around killing and raping?” As if the only thing keeping the Christian from killing is a God waiting to strike him down. Yeah. Morals, what?
Man, what a whiner that wrote this article!!! Hilarious….poor little athiests so hard done by….you may be few in number but tragically your influence on Western Civilization is far far to high…..
No …it is true athiests do not kill in the name of god….they simply kill in the name of Stalin, Marx, Hitler or Pol Pot……
And please, could the author of this piece replace the picture of himself………could you look anymore petulant or arrogant….honestly, you look so freakin childish….
I don’t think that it’s a coincidence that this was a standard line used by anti-Semites for so long. Curious how you don’t actually address, much less rebut, anything I wrote - you just engage in personal attacks. That says someething.
Despots like Stalin, Marx, Hitler (who was a christian, by the way)pol Pot kill for power. Religious kill for power also. The difference is in how the justify their actions. Dictators claim they are doing it for the good of the people and religious do it for god. There really is no justification for such horrible acts.
I love when someone says something like, “You don’t believe in god? So why don’t you go around killing and raping?” As if the only thing keeping the Christian from killing is a God waiting to strike him down. Yeah. Morals, what?
Perfectly illustrated by the following poster, It seems that since atheists are so unattractive to god, god won’t punish him for being churlish and ignorant.
For the immoral, religion can be a very valuable thing.
Why would anyone hate someone for not believing a story about the unknown?
If we were on a military mission, I wouldn’t want any of my fellow soldiers making assumptions about what is around the corner, or what is behind the door. It’s not a good strategy.
I have a feeling that there are more “atheists” out there than 3%, but the word itself is what has a such a negative stigma attached to it that even real atheists are weary of using it. I’d like to see an intensive study and survey about it but until we as a society can admit that atheism isn’t really that crazy and is actually logical and sensible then how would we get accurate results?
“No …it is true athiests do not kill in the name of god….they simply kill in the name of Stalin, Marx, Hitler or Pol Pot……”
Are you kidding me? Do you know how ridiculous that sounds? “I will kill you in the name of Pol Pot since I’m an atheist!” *stab *stab* LOL. Oh, it’s ATHEIST by the way….
um to tell you the truth im 14 and im agnostic/athiest whatever you want to call it. i believe in a higher power but i dont believe in jesus or the bible and i choose to bellieve evolution and science and PROVEN FACTS than stories about talking snakes, not to be blunt. but that doesnt mean i bow down to hitler or any other psycho eveil person. i have a higher power . i pray for my family. i just think many catholic things are bulll**** and im only 14.
its offensive that people think athiests are dangerous satanists who are evil-i just dont like religion period. it causes so much **** in the world . thats all.
Does anyone else find it funny that people associate athiests with stalin and pol pot as well as materialism? Do none of them realise the flaw in logic since stalin and pol pot are 2 of the most well known communists in the world?
A lot of religious groups like to claim because they have the bible/koran/god/etc. that they have the moral truth. They think they are moral just because they follow that “moral truth.”
It’s not morality, if the only thing keeping you from murder, rape, etc. is the bible; that’s called compulsion.