Atheism on the intarwebz!

[DaneaFL]

Google Insights for Search

Interest in atheism and atheism-related topics, people, organizations, and shows is on the rise according to this really cool Google Insights feature I just found 5 minutes ago!

Just type in a word and it will show you how many hits it has gotten over time.

I'm glad to see some positive news about atheism especially after i heard the results of some other polls like about how many Americans still believe in 6 day creation.

sidenote: free porn is skyrocketing in popularity too!!! hurray for the internet!

 

[Gadarene]

Woo statistics etc

 

[KhaosTheory]

This is good news, particularity because most searches are coming from the USA. Apparently Americans are finally getting curious as to what those secular Europeans have been up to these past decades.

Right now it's a little backwards. The only country that was founded on secular ideologies, The United States, is currently one of the most religious countries, while most European countries who are virtually theocracies have like 95% atheist populations.

 

[Paradoxum]

Pretty sure I just spent an hour typing in various words into it.

Nerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrd!! XD

sidenote: free porn is skyrocketing in popularity too!!! hurray for the internet!

Those naughty pornz :O

 

[Wiccan_Child]

The second news story for atheism was:

"'Oh God,' atheist Richard Dawkins says when stumped in debate with Church of England priest"

I have research to do...

 

[Gadarene]

The second news story for atheism was:

"'Oh God,' atheist Richard Dawkins says when stumped in debate with Church of England priest"

I have research to do...

Amazing how fast non-stories spread!

 

[AlexBP]

Right now it's a little backwards. The only country that was founded on secular ideologies, The United States, is currently one of the most religious countries, while most European countries who are virtually theocracies have like 95% atheist populations.

Huh? The USA (and the colonies before that) have always stood out for their religious fervor as compared to Europe. What "secular ideology" do you think our nation was found on?

 

[Wiccan_Child]

Huh? The USA (and the colonies before that) have always stood out for their religious fervor as compared to Europe. What "secular ideology" do you think our nation was found on?

The one enshrined in the constitution, explicitly defined in its First Amendment, and remarked upon in the Treaty of Tripoli.

I've seen people say that, because the Constitution mentions Jesus in its date, "the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven". This is as asinine as saying that America was founded on the religion of Ancient Rome, because the dating system makes mention of Janus ('January').

 

[Gadarene]

To be fair, it is a bit of a non-sequitur - secularism isn't mutually exclusive with non-belief, so you could have a secular state with a large level of religious belief.

Now, whether you think secularism should correlate with nonbelief is another matter....

As for the "opposite" situation, most state religions aren't trying to enable a theocracy, they're largely archaic.

 

[AlexBP]

The one enshrined in the constitution, explicitly defined in its First Amendment, and remarked upon in the Treaty of Tripoli.

I've read the Constitution and can't recall any instances of secular ideology in it. It's a non-religious document, but I fail to see where you find secular "ideology". That, presumably, would mean a doctrine such as Marxism that firmly rejects religion. Nothing in the Constitution rejects religion. It only says that office holders cannot be required to have one particular religion.

 

[Wiccan_Child]

I've read the Constitution and can't recall any instances of secular ideology in it. It's a non-religious document, but I fail to see where you find secular "ideology".

Secularism is "not giving political power to churches simply because they're religious". It places a buffer between religion and politics.

That, presumably, would mean a doctrine such as Marxism

Err, no - secularism is not the same as Marxism.

that firmly rejects religion.

You're conflating Marxism with Leninism. Marxism, and Karl Marx, are variously pro- and anti- organised religion. Their veracity is, largely, irrelevant - Marx identifies it as the opium whether or not it's actually true.

Appeals to personal comfort are common: "X is true because the contrary is unpleasant". We'd like to think this is one of the most obviously fallacious arguments, but it's surprisingly common. Marx, then, is saying that religion is more or less this - its end conclusions may be true, but the argument itself still bases itself around "I like this, therefore I believe it". Marx laments this attitude.

Nothing in the Constitution rejects religion.

I never said the Constitution rejects religion. Secularism is not Marxism. Secularism does not reject religion - by definition, it is the idea that religion should not dictate politics. A churches view on (say) secession from the confederate union, or a unilateral war on Mars, or whatever, should not sway legislature - at least, no more so than any other group or individual.

Simply being a church does not afford you extra political weight. As this is in no way contradicted by the Constitution, either wholesale or plus Amendments, the Constitution is therefore secular.
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It only says that office holders cannot be required to have one particular religion.

Which is, in and of itself, secularist.

 

[KhaosTheory]

Yep, the USA is the ONLY country that was founded on the secular idea that the church should have no say in the government and vice-versa.

We have no state religion.

Contrast this with say... Britain.
Tony Blair and his "faith schools" are taking the country one step closer to theocracy.

Imagine if you had to convert to a particular religion just to get a job. This is what could easily happen with these state-run religious schools.

This could never happen in America because of our " No Religious Test Clause" clause in the constitution.

No Religious Test Clause - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Our constitution is completely secular and anyone who thinks America was founded as a Christian nation is very misinformed.