atheists: most distrusted minority in US

[Holly]

I would be more inclined to trust an athiest. Athiests deal with reality and facts, instead of relying on the abstract.

 

[ead79]

yet another good question....for those of you that are religious, is your belief in god the ONLY thing that prevents you from leading an amoral life? If you did not believe in god would you run around stealing, killing, raping, cheating, etc.?

My religious beliefs have very much shaped my views about right and wrong. However, I think that people also use their own conscience and moral sense to determine right from wrong. An atheist is no less capable of being a moral person than anyone who is religious, just as a religious person isn’t automatically moral.

 

[Holly]

An atheist is no less capable of being a moral person than anyone who is religious, just as a religious person isn’t automatically moral.

Very true.

 

[DisneyDotty]

Well, here's my agenda for the day:

Noon: Steal Lunch
1pm: Run over annoying boss with car
2pm: Wash car
3pm: Beat up small children and take their candy/bicycles/toy trucks
4pm: Institute new credit card scam
5pm:Call it a day

You're putting out some good ones today!

 

[blondewithbrains]

But a religious person is no less capable of being logical and intelligent than an atheist either. I don't judge atheists but in return, I expect to not be judged for being religious. I think the extremists on any side of an issue and those that judge the other side too harshly are the ones that cause almost every problem, be it on religious matters or political matters or child-rearing matters.

 

[ford family]

Oops, fordfamily....that's not what I meant to say. I'm sorry if it came across that way. I was just stating that I'm not an atheist but that's not why I try not to hurt other people. It's because I feel bad in my heart if I hurt someone else.

I didn't take offense, I was simply looking for clarification. I could make the same statement as you, replacing atheist with christian (or buddhist or muslim or many other things). I think knowing what's right or wrong transcends religion. We are taught a lot of it by our parents but much of it comes from not doing to people what we wouldn't want them to do to us. I imagine most of our social rules evolved as society evolved and that various religions have institutionalised those rules whenever it suited their process.

ford family

 

[salmoneous]

I'll trust an atheist any day over somebody who claims to believe in God, but doesn't live their life as if they do.

 

[Crankyshank]

Mal, you're quite the overachiever today! I would have needed at least 2hrs for the fraud!

yet another good question....for those of you that are religious, is your belief in god the ONLY thing that prevents you from leading an amoral life? If you did not believe in god would you run around stealing, killing, raping, cheating, etc.?

Ok I'm not religious but I'll answer it anyhow. I believe everyone has their own personal moral checks and balances. For me it's karma. for others it's God. For some it's fear of Hell, and others probably have their own personal Jiminy Cricket etc...
I just can't wrap my brain around the reason why someone would think someone would break the law, rob their Grandmother, kill people, etc... just because they don't believe in God.

 

[MzDiz]

I'm a Buddhist, so I don't believe in god. Personally, I think this makes me more aware of my morality. I have no "savior" to wash away my sins for me. I feel that I will have to pay for my own sins myself. I believe that if I do something as seemingly benign as stealing a pack of gum or cutting someone off in traffic, that it will come back to me in time.

Maybe some would think that way of thinking is far fetched, but it's no less plausible than the idea of god.

 

[RC Fan]

I don't really understand why people distrust atheists, but I don't find the study/survey results surprising. Anytime someone finds out I am an atheist, the discovery is generally followed by the 'you must be an axe-murderer' look. I am used to it by now.

 

[Aidensmom]

My religious beliefs have very much shaped my views about right and wrong. However, I think that people also use their own conscience and moral sense to determine right from wrong. An atheist is no less capable of being a moral person than anyone who is religious, just as a religious person isn’t automatically moral.

I completely agree with this.

What I wonder, do people really even know the beliefs of the people around them to be able to use that as their determination of if they trust someone or not? Do they ask the co-worker at the next desk what their belief system is before they decide what their trust level of them is?

 

[Bob Slydell]

I can't imagine my opinions of people ever changing because of their religious viewpoint (or lack of one).

 

[Maleficent13]

Mal, you're quite the overachiever today! I would have needed at least 2hrs for the fraud!

I ate my Wheaties this morning!

 

[mrsltg]

I can totally see people feeling this way. If your entire life is based on spirituality and the belief that being a good person will be rewarded later, why would you trust someone without that guidance system? This line of thinking seems pretty plain to me. I don't know why anyone would be surprised by this?

 

[Maleficent13]

I can totally see people feeling this way. If your entire life is based on spirituality and the belief that being a good person will be rewarded later, why would you trust someone without that guidance system? This line of thinking seems pretty plain to me. I don't know why anyone would be surprised by this?

What about the thought that being a good person is it's own reward? I don't need the carrot on the end of the stick to motivate me.

And really, if you took a poll of the religious beliefs of everyone incarcerated in the US, how many of them would claim to be religious? I mean, the biggest news story recently is about a preacher's wife who admitted to shooting her husband...

 

[RC Fan]

I can totally see people feeling this way. If your entire life is based on spirituality and the belief that being a good person will be rewarded later, why would you trust someone without that guidance system? This line of thinking seems pretty plain to me. I don't know why anyone would be surprised by this?

I don't need to believe I will be 'rewarded' for being a good person. I am a good person because I believe it is the right way to be.

 

[salmoneous]

I can totally see people feeling this way. If your entire life is based on spirituality and the belief that being a good person will be rewarded later, why would you trust someone without that guidance system?

But the thing is, most religions *aren't* based on such a system. Take Christianity - it says we are all sinners - that committing one sin is a great as committing them all.

 

[Kimberly]

The existence of god can neither be proven or disproven.

I wouldn't consider myself an atheist, but definitely an agnostic due to my scientific background.

 

[mrsltg]

What about the thought that being a good person is it's own reward? I don't need the carrot on the end of the stick to motivate me.

And really, if you took a poll of the religious beliefs of everyone incarcerated in the US, how many of them would claim to be religious? I mean, the biggest news story recently is about a preacher's wife who admitted to shooting her husband...

Didn't say I agreed with it - just that I can see the line of thinking and it's follows logically with the belief system. I don't understand why anyone is surprised by this. It was a poll question, not about a specific person, but about a group. An entire group of people is easier to distrust for a blanket reason than one person you know individually. Why wouldn't a person who believes in a God distrust an entire group of people who don't? Again, not a specific person, but an entire group. Seems pretty simple to me.

 

[Disney Ella]

When I was growing up, my family considered atheists to be evil, nasty people who you certainly wouldn't want to associate with. If you weren't religious, how could you possibly be a good person?

Of course, now I lean toward atheism and I find the whole fear of atheists funny and a little sad.