America's nonreligious are a growing, diverse phenomenon. They really don't like organized religion
America's nonreligious are a growing, diverse phenomenon. They really don't like organized religion
Ask Americans what their religion is, and nearly 1 in 3 say this -- none. That’s according to the U.S. adults surveyed by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Mike Dulak grew up Catholic in Southern California, but by his teen years, he began skipping Mass and driving straight to the shore to play guitar, watch the waves and enjoy the beauty of the morning. “And it felt more spiritual than any time I set foot in a church,” he recalled.
Nothing has changed that view in the ensuing decades.
“Most religions are there to control people and get money from them,” said Dulak, now 76, of Rocheport, Missouri. He also cited sex abuse scandals in Catholic and Southern Baptist churches. “I can’t buy into that,” he said.
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I'm curious what the overlap between the growing number of atheists and regular users of Lemmy, because I'm not sure if the comments on this article being so one sided towards atheism is a product of Lemmy users being primarily atheists or if religious people don't feel comfortable sharing an opposing view. I'd love to hear a counter perspective, but as an atheist myself I'm not the person to start that conversation. I will say that society functions most properly when the majority of people hold similar views about most issues, when the Overton window is smaller, and religion historically has been a reliable tool for aligning people in that sense. It seems more challenging to me to be a kid these days, in the sense that kids are presented with so many choices for "good" that it seems harder to choose values. I'm not a fan of religion, but it's worth calling out that moving away from organized religion en masse does come with some societal costs.
I will say that society functions most properly when the majority of people hold similar views about most issues, when the Overton window is smaller, and religion historically has been a reliable tool for aligning people in that sense.
I find it very interesting that you omit any specification on the quality of those views. Religious views, paired with the socio-political power of religion, have also historically "otherized" non-believers, at best ostracizing them from their communities solely on that basis, sometimes to the point of torture and murder. I don't find that to be "society function[ing] most properly."
Your position seems condescending to me.
It sounds like you want religion to constrain other people's worldviews, but as an atheist you don't want to be constrained by it yourself.
Not trying to put words in your mouth, but that's how it comes across.
Rules for thee and not for me.
I'm Christian and usually stay out of these discussions because it's a waste of time to try to change anybody's mind here, and anything I say sounds like "not all Christians" anyway. I can do without the hate and contempt in my inbox.
Hey, if it makes you happy and you don't swing it around in front of my face: you have my blessing.
If you are missing groupthink I am sure you can find it other places besides for in religion.
Please show me multiple peer reviewed studies backing up your claiming that society (whatever the fuck that is) functions better when everyone thinks exactly the same.
As a religious person in one of the top three most hated organized religions in the United States, I've found most of the anti-theist commentary about my religion to be highly ignorant. In the Fediverse, it's cool to hate on religions and religious people (especially members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), but nobody seems to be interested in doing any due diligence before spewing their hate. I couldn't number how many times I've been told what I believe (like, what?), usually something weird and outlandish or a century out of date.
Tl;dr anti-theist rhetoric in the Fediverse tends to be highly ignorant and hateful bigotry, not the enlightened discussion one would expect from people so, well, "enlightened".