Why do you think atheists are abundant on the Internet?

[Davesdepository]

99% of people are atheist therefore 99% of internet users are atheist. Its really not that surprising.

Interesting statistic, but I'd be interested in knowing what the basis for it is. I think a lot of people who identify with a religion are probably atheists who conform to a social group they were raised in rather than whole-heartedly believe the stories of their faith, but 99% seems like an extremely high number!

yes but you should know that 87.4% of all statistics are made up

About the post though, as a christian I read some of the posts put up by atheists, find them incredibly arrogant and offensive and decide that replying would be a waste of my time.

 

[Shydrow]

They only seem that way they really aren't. [Atheist i am btw and many of these "they come after us" comments disturb me at what a twisted little world some live in. Atheists only attack at least online those who tell the Atheist what they believe and how they do it and why. They don't care besides in minor cases i have seen if you worship god as long as you wont push it on someone else and don't tell others what to believe. Also Atheism isn't like religion it is a small part of a person the issue with atheist channels is that people assume that is all they do when it is really just a small part time thing to help others dealing with people who hate the for not believing as they do. Mind you there are still ass holes who go around telling others god is fake but the majority doesn't care just like you don't ask random people about god and how they should convert to your god. long point i know but just a side note from someone who use to be very deep in that community until i realized how stupid it was for me to spend so much energy on defending such a tiny itty bitty piece of myself that really shouldn't be what people know me for]

The matter is what religion you are looking for? Chiristians? Plenty of them out there but be careful which ones you talk to since it seems besides a word or two chances are they have different teachings and ideas about what it means to be a christian and that the others are all godless fiends or that they are just simply mistaken and taught the wrong way. Muslims? They are splintered on a lot of things like Christians but on avg. are more united in this day and age for as we can all tell some unfair stereotypes of many of them. The others suffer from the same thing in lesser degrees or don't worry about others due to how their religion works they aren't punished or told to punish those who do not fallow the path. Again they have the numbers but they are so splintered into their little feuds over which god is real and why or don't give a damn about your god/godlessness and just go about doing their own thing. It is all determined who you communicate or listen to. Also Atheist are more popular due to how they don't demand you be one to talk with them and they enjoy talking to people about other matters besides religion.

TL;DR? Context is important and i made sure my post had it so it would clearly tell you what i wanted to communicate so read it if you really want to know otherwise move along citizen.

 

[ntw3001]

I'd guess at a couple of reasons.

1) Sampling bias. You're frequenting social sites primarily used by tech-savvy white anglophone teenagers. Even where religion is present, it's almost solely of the Christian-and-occasionally-Jewish flavour. It's not that religion is underrepresented; it's that the majority of the sites your internet peers are familiar with are inclined towards Atheism and liberal politics. The sphere we're in may be huge, but it's nowhere near encompassing the network as a whole. Religion is there, but it's not necessarily here.

2) If you're American, the number of foreign people you're talking to massively dilutes the number of religious people. Very few countries in Western Europe (where most of your internet foreigners come from) have much of a religious tradition, particularly amongst the young. When you're communicating with these people you'll notice a massive preponderance of both Atheism and liberalism compared to real life. That's the effect of looking out from inside one of the most religious and conservative countries in the Western world.

3) I'll agree with the 'Atheists are an oppressed minority' crowd in noting that most of the people on both sides of the debate are American. It tends to be that the religious people are American, and the people who are Atheist and care about it are too. It seems that American Atheists view themselves as some kind of fringe group with battles to fight (not an unjustified image, I'm sure), whereas in most countries who share this segment of the internet, religion is just not a big thing. Some people are religious, some aren't, very few people much care who's what.

 

[AdamRBi]

Thing is; The internet is a free flowing source of information, the younger you are the more open you are to new information, the younger you are the more likely you are to be an avid user of the internet.

Religions are reliant on misinformation and the withholding of information. That's not easy to do on the internet.

People who have revelations are often more vocal about it.

That is why.

 

[Tanis]

Ever 'come out' to your family or friends about your atheistic views?
...Yeah...

Most of my friends were pretty chill about it - I tend to hang with socially liberal people.
But my family wouldn't talk to me for nearly a year - and even now they bring it up in on so subtle ways to try and piss me off.
.
Never-mind when a nurse was asking for my religion I said 'none' and she gave me such hell afterwords, as did most of the staff.
Before I answered said question I was treated rather well.
.
.
That's just the start...and I'm lucky I don't have a kid or serve in the military or...you get the point.
.
.
The 'oppressed' Christians/Jews/ect like nothing more than condemning you to hell and threatening you.
Which is okay, cause, you know, their god loves THEM so much that they can hate you through him.

 

[CleverCover]

Are you serious? The internet is the only place I can express non-religious beliefs without worrying that I will upset someone. That's one of the two things you never talk about with other people. NEVER.

And well, who actually goes around screaming their religion unless it's a poll or they're trolls? Usually, unless you actually asked, no one's gonna tell.

 

[infohippie]

I haven't read every page of this thread, so my apologies if this is redundant. My opinion on this is: America is a lot more religious in general than the rest of the western world. If your primary exposure to non-Americans is through the internet you will see a much higher proportion of atheists than you're likely to see locally.

 

[ntw3001]

It's cause this is essentially the only media where Atheist opinions haven't been stifled. Almost everywhere on earth, if you come out and say, "Hey! There's no god!", you're probably gonna be surrounded by people who tell you that you're going to be tortured for FOREVER for not agreeing with them.

Basically, Atheists are prominent on the internet because, that's what Christians have church for.

Fair enough, except for 'Almost everywhere on Earth'. Especially if you weight that measure to proportionally favour those areas which provide the vast majority of users to the young-techy-anglophone sphere of the Internet (yes, in Africa or South America you may find a high proportion of religious people, but that doesn't really concern this part of the Internet). Then you're really just talking about certain areas of America. Try saying that in Europe, and you'll be surrounded by (in public) people who don't care and ignore you, just like if you shouted about religion, or (in private) people who respect your right to believe what you want, and probably agree with you anyway. That's how most of the Western world works as regards religion.

 

[vivster]

easy answer
atheists(god i hate that term) are more prominent in industrialized countries... which also decks with the places where there is internet
simple as that

Because Atheists are so few in number (at least in America), they tend to stick to places where they wont be persecuted. You cannot be harmed through a computer screen. Despite what society says, anything other than Christianity and Judaism is taboo. Even being a Deist is enough to spawn persecution, and wide spread fear. It kills your social life, and reputation.

The internet gives a persecuted minority to have a voice without fear. At least that's how I see it.

Y'know, it's the exact opposite where I live. Anyone who goes to church is pretty much branded as a moron

oh my where is that magical place?

 

[Belaam]

Educated people are more likely to be Atheists.

Educated people are more likely to be online.

I don't think its enough for the discrepancy I often see.

Religious people are definitely online though. My aunts keep sending me atrocious chain prayer request emails. And Perry has that new YouTube ad.

 

[Savber]

Educated people are more likely to be Atheists.

Educated people are more likely to be online.

I don't think its enough for the discrepancy I often see.

Religious people are definitely online though. My aunts keep sending me atrocious chain prayer request emails. And Perry has that new YouTube ad.

Wait a sec, with that logic, if there's more atheists because there are more smart people online than that means the internet should GENERALLY be filled with intelligent people.

*looks around on YT and Google*

Are you sure about that?

 

[2012 Wont Happen]

The internet is full of hard heads.
One cannot come to faith through hard headedness.

 

[Belaam]

Educated people are more likely to be Atheists.

Educated people are more likely to be online.

I don't think its enough for the discrepancy I often see.

Religious people are definitely online though. My aunts keep sending me atrocious chain prayer request emails. And Perry has that new YouTube ad.

Wait a sec, with that logic, if there's more atheists because there are more smart people online than that means the internet should GENERALLY be filled with intelligent people.

*looks around on YT and Google*

Are you sure about that?

I didn't say smart, I said educated. ;p Fine distinction.

After reflection I think its more the lack of fear of retribution. I am a closeted atheist at work, grandma's house, and most social gatherings in the tiny, conservative town in which I live. I'm almost certainly a little more testy about my atheism online as I am probably subconsciously making up for the annoyance of being close
ted almost everywhere else.

 

[Snack Cake]

There are a lot of religious folks on this thread who are upset that "Atheists are too loud and too mean". This is really an attitude born of privilege and of assigning a special status to religion. If I were to make an argument that pointed out a flaw in some mathematical or scientific discussion, or even one that disagrees with your politics, and even if I used some heated language, (almost) nobody would say that I'm being too loud or too mean.

The difference is that religion has traditionally been granted a special, protected status, that no other school of thought or group of people receive, which prevents it from being criticized. So, to a person who is used to hearing nothing but praise for the virtues of religion in their community, reading even a calm, well reasoned criticism of religion on the internet strikes a religious person as unacceptably harsh.

To verify this, let's do a simple thought experiment. Imagine you read "How could anybody ever believe that Jesus was born of a virgin? That is absolutely absurd!". If you're a Christian, your blood may be boiling just reading that. Now, imagine you read "How could anybody ever believe that Pluto isn't a planet? That is absolutely absurd!". Almost nobody is likely to be genuinely offended. The structure and tone of the statements is identical. Both are evaluating the truth value of a factual (correct or incorrect) assertion. Yet the perceived tone is likely to be completely different for a religious person.

The difference between the two statements, of course, is that one is criticizing a religious belief and one is criticizing a secular belief. In other words, the perceived "loud, mean" tone of the first statement is not inherent in the actual tone of the statement. The difference is in the special, protected nature of religious beliefs and the fact that they generally enjoy complete immunity from criticism.

 

[ninetails593]

I think its got something to do with you average internet user being more logicly inclined rather than spiritually inclined

Although that is changing every day it was just that more atheists picked it up sooner , that and the internet allows you to freely form an opinion rather than having one shoved down your throat

Because people on the internet totally aren't getting atheism shoved down their throats...

 

[Snack Cake]

I think its got something to do with you average internet user being more logicly inclined rather than spiritually inclined

Although that is changing every day it was just that more atheists picked it up sooner , that and the internet allows you to freely form an opinion rather than having one shoved down your throat

Because people on the internet totally aren't getting atheism shoved down their throats...

Can you give an example of how atheism is being shoved down your throat? A real one?

 

[axlryder]

Because many atheists online are loud, incendiary and prideful. I'm not trying to bash atheists (many religious people are just plain simpletons), but those qualities are very good for making one's self visible.

 

[WouldYouKindly]

Ever 'come out' to your family or friends about your atheistic views?
...Yeah...

I only told part of my family. Even then, I still pussed out and went with agnostic. However, it means I'm occasionally annoyed with tired old arguments. I even got Pascal's Wager once, never got it again after I pointed out the fallacies. It's funny, I never really made it a secret that I didn't agree with the concept of organized religion, hell, neither of my parents do, but it's just like people treat you differently when you don't think that something is always watching you. It's subtle, but still kind of... unnerving.

My friends didn't give a shit since we'd discussed religion before and I'd made my doubt known, once again. It was rather funny actually, one of them just asked me if I was an atheist or just liked arguing and playing devil's advocate. I said all of the above.

OT: Simple equation. Young people are more likely to be on the internet. Young people are more likely to be liberal. Liberals are more likely to be atheists, therefore, atheists are more likely to be on the internet.

 

[Singularly Datarific]

(The obnoxious and loud religious people don't use the internet so much)

Thank goodness.
I am Christian myself, but the whole "crusade" thing is a little odd.
Such as the many times I've been approached about "considering Jesus in my life" and I then have to explain that I regularly attend church and try and sound sincere enough for them to go away.