Why do you think atheists are abundant on the Internet?

[k-ossuburb]

The internet has freely accessible information which can be located without effort, if someone is trying to put forth a claim that is demonstrably false then chances are it will be refuted very quickly because the common tactics of misinformation, cherry-picking, straw-men, arguments from ignorance, arguments from authority, etc. are now easily spotted and easily refuted simply because the information to the contrary is available in multiple forms and from many reputable sources.

That Thunderf00t video pretty much explains it in the same way. You can't talk bullshit on the internet, people will eventually call you out on it, and when they do, it will be freely available for all to see.

 

[chiefohara]

I find some Athiests unknowingly behave a lot like a members of a fledging religon.

The worst of them go out of their way to desecrate other religions as often as possible, hold that their way is superior to all others, do their utmost to recruit as many people as possible to their way of thinking, and if you don't wholeheartedly and immediately agree with them on it, they cry persecution

Just saying....

Also where im from people tend to keep their religion to themselves. Its generally bad manners to bring religion into a conversation, and the only people who constantly break this social taboo here are athiests, making shit of everyones religion when the taboo exists primarily to ensure people don't get offended, or that their beliefs aren't trampled on.

You can be an Athiest, Catholic, Protestant, Baptist etc. etc. as much as you want as long as its in your own time and you don't bother anyone else with it. However thats here.

From what i've read in this thread Americans seem to be plagued by on the street preachers, because of the 'Religion is your own goddamn business' taboo here we tend not to have many of them, and its seems much more prevelant in American society, we don't have a 'bible belt' part of the country So i can understand the exasperation by some American Athiests on here, ye have to battle for your right to be an athiest, but back home some of our athiests quite frankly are just viewed as bad mannered people. My beliefs regardless of whether they are Catholic, Protestant, Athiest, agnostic or otherwise are no one else's business. Its not about whether you believe or what you believe or whether you believe at all, its about respect for other people.

*edit* realised i strayed off point. I don't think athiests are as abundant online as we think, Just depends where you go or what sites you visit. The escapist demographic for example would be largely teens to twenty somethings. If this site a had a demographic of 40 to 60's there would be more religious people apparant i'd say.

 

[Continuity]

99% is a purely arbitrary figure intended to convey that genuine Christians are actually a quite small minority (in the UK at least). TBH in the UK the figure might actually be lower, however if you look at official statistics you will see a much higher figure but then the vast majority of the people who respond as Christian on surveys just identify with that cultural group rather than being actual "born again" church goers.

This is my personal experience anyway.

While I fully agree that a lot (perhaps even the majority) of people who respond as Christian/Hindu/whatever on surveys and the like are simply putting what they've been told they are, I'm not so sure all those people are flat-out atheists.

I'm of the opinion that many probably believe, in a nebulous and half-hearted fashion. They may not know much about their religion and they've never taken the time to think through what they actually believe or why, and so they rest in the default state of "OK, this is how I was raised and I don't have the time or the energy for a serious internal investigation of my own beliefs, so let's run with that"

I don't know what you'd call that, really. Faith by force of habit?

I think the only disagreement we have here is over what is an "atheist".

I tend to view the situation in a logical way, that is to say you are either A or you are not A, you are a "theist" or "not a theist". What is a theist? it is someone who believes in a deity, therefore a "not a theist" is someone who does not believe in a deity. Athiest = someone who does not believe in a deity, therefore a person is either a theist or an atheist... woolly terms like agnostic and "militant atheist" do nothing but cloud the issue and serve to throw a smoke screen over the simple fact that true religious belief is in a spiral of decline.

Have I erred in my logic somewhere? Possibly, but my terms and definitions serve to highlight my point at least.

Also, I firmly believe there is no such thing as "Faith by force of habit" or faith by default, in the Christian religion at least Faith is something tangible that you have to work damn hard at, not something you just inherit by being part of a group.

 

[Merkavar]

internet=information=worse enemy of religion.

also i would say that some religious people in real life act or say they are religious when they are really atheist cause if you come out as an atheist ou could be shuned by family friends.

 

[SonicWaffle]

I think the only disagreement we have here is over what is an "atheist".

I tend to view the situation in a logical way, that is to say you are either A or you are not A, you are a "theist" or "not a theist". What is a theist? it is someone who believes in a deity, therefore a "not a theist" is someone who does not believe in a deity. Athiest = someone who does not believe in a deity, therefore a person is either a theist or an atheist...

And where do those who genuinely aren't sure fall? Those who will, when asked, tell you they're Christians but have never actually given any though to whether or not God exists? I'm not sure belief is an entirely binary thing - there really are people who've just never examined their beliefs.

woolly terms like agnostic and "militant atheist" do nothing but cloud the issue and serve to throw a smoke screen over the simple fact that true religious belief is in a spiral of decline.

Neither of those are "wooly terms". Militant atheism is not the same thing as what has been called strong atheism; militant atheism is closer to aggressively engavelistic theism. It's not a degree of belief but an attitude towards that belief. A person who says "I definitely do not believe in God" is not a militant atheist, but a person who says "I definitely do not believe in God and neither should anyone else!" is.

Agnosticism isn't quite so well defined. To some, it means those who don't know and are happy with that. To others, it means those who sit on the fence because they can't make up their mind. To yet other people, it means those who firmly believe we can never know the truth. Me, I call myself an agnostic deist - I don't know whether something greater than what we perceive exists, be it God or the Force or the Matrix, but if it does I'm damn sure it's nothing to do with any religion I've heard of up until now. All of those are so clearly methods humans have come up with for explaining the world and their own existence.

Have I erred in my logic somewhere? Possibly, but my terms and definitions serve to highlight my point at least.

Well, you might have done, but I didn't spot it. Then again, I often err in my own logic, and people in glass houses aren't supposed to throw stones...

Also, I firmly believe there is no such thing as "Faith by force of habit" or faith by default, in the Christian religion at least Faith is something tangible that you have to work damn hard at, not something you just inherit by being part of a group.

I didn't mean faith in the capital-F sense. More faith as a synonym for a religion. The habit people seem to have of half-heartedly believing something because it was the way they were raised, or because they never really gave it much thought.

 

[Soxafloppin]

MY personal opinion (That means you have to respect it HAHA) is because there is a lot of young people on the internet and religion simply isn't as relevant any more.

Off topic: Am I the only none-religious person who hates being called an Atheist?

 

[personion]

Religion is something you'll want to hold close to your heart and if you're an atheist you'll have no problem with shouting out that fact. If you're a deist and you shout it out, you're much more likely to receive a wave of hatemail as opposed to that atheist that shouted it out. Therefore atheists can convince everyone else that the entire internet is atheist and that the person reading should be an atheist as well. I'm not saying that all atheists are those militants that march off into forums and annihilate anyone who so as much mentions a higher power, but there are a lot of people out there who will support atheism way over deism, on the internet, because like I said before there's much more support for atheism here.

 

[babinro]

The younger generation, say 30 and under, tend to resist any religious acceptance unless they were forced into it through family.

I find it increasingly rare that a younger person chooses to embrace a religion after moving away from home or even while within their home and surrounded by faithful parents.

If the internet, forums in particular, were dominated by those in their 60's, I'm sure we'd have a lot less atheists. As is, I would consider atheist to be the overwhelming majority. At least that's my take based solely on personal surroundings.

 

[funnydude6556]

To be fair I haven't read any of he's books so I'm not 100% on that but from what I've heard of books like the god illusion, they always sound like their going on about the negative aspects of having faith and religion without putting in mind the good side.

The reason I hate Richard Dawkins is because he seems like a nice guy but I get the idea he'd group all religious people under the same brush and would see me persernally as no better then your general superchristian, like the guys at Westbro baptist church. If I ever get the chance though I would give he's books a chance, I'm not the kind to ignore someone's viewpoint just because I don't agree with it.

 

[michiehoward]

For the same reason that you can find a overabundance of people who like to watch the "Life on the Savannah" while having sex, or people with a fetish French cheeses, or you can find the the Flat Earth Society. Because on the internet every asshole or madman or genius has a voice.

 

[Nyaliva]

Because it's hip to be part of the angry crowd, hipsters are the most numerous type on the interwebs, and because Christians believe the Internet is evil.

Seriously though, the first post is pretty much right, people who like to think they're smart but really just watch the history channel on rare occasion are the type to post on internet forums, as such, those people that follow Atheism because "science disproves God" are the most likely person you'll find shouting about stuff they've got no idea about on the internet.

 

[Khada]

Because the number of religious individuals is ever decreasing which in turn means that the number of atheist are ever increasing. This is largely thanks to a growing modern day appreciation for science and logic. The internet gives people access to a vaster array of information than ever before possible which allows for opinions to be more founded on fact and evidence for those who care to research.

No religion is left standing, in the light of fact and reason.

 

[Truniron]

I will say that we are not. Well, at least not all of us. But that depends on who they are and how they are as persons.

 

[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?

Just recently (about a week ago) I commented on a george Carlin video saying I didn't see what the hype was about, as I didn't find the man to be all that funny (I had never heard his material before). I was then attacked by 3 atheists, all of them basically 'accusing' me of being religious and went on to lambaste Christianity. I never once mentioned or alluded to religion, and I believe it only occupied a small portion of the video's content (it was about an hour long). A week before that, I was preached to about the idiocy of religion for about 2 pages when I mentioned something about going to church on a forum I frequent. It was an offhanded comment on my part, merely designed to indicate my whereabouts on that day. Similar occurrences have happened copiously in the past. I think it's fair to say atheism has been 'shoved down my throat' to an extent. It doesn't help that I do tend to frequent various tech and nerd affiliated sites.

I'd like to see the actual examples, but I'll agree that sounds real douchey. Do keep in mind that is the essential experience of being an atheist in the real world, where the stakes are higher. Regardles, totally douchey behavior on those atheists part.

 

[Snack Cake]

To be fair I haven't read any of he's books so I'm not 100% on that but from what I've heard of books like the god illusion, they always sound like their going on about the negative aspects of having faith and religion without putting in mind the good side.

The reason I hate Richard Dawkins is because he seems like a nice guy but I get the idea he'd group all religious people under the same brush and would see me persernally as no better then your general superchristian, like the guys at Westbro baptist church. If I ever get the chance though I would give he's books a chance, I'm not the kind to ignore someone's viewpoint just because I don't agree with it.

So, your defense of religion is that you hate people based on hearsay even if they might be a nice person? And that it's OK to hate somebody who criticizes your beliefs?

I'd like to thank you for offering definitive proof that religious of my previous argument that religious people think atheists are mean because they think religion is uniquely privileged to be beyond examination, not because atheists are actually mean.

I'd like to ask you one question: If your faith is unquestionably strong, why would you hate somebody who doesn't have it?

 

[Woodsey]

Off topic: Am I the only none-religious person who hates being called an Atheist?

Why would you hate being called an atheist? That's what you are (assuming you don't believe in a god or deity). You can be a non-religious theist.

 

[Athinira]

Are we abundant? I wasn't aware.

Also, does Skyrim-fanatics count as religious people as well?

 

[Korten12]

Knowledge fail! Christianity and scientific knowledge stand in firm opposition to each other.

Christianity: The Earth was created about 6000-10000 years ago by a God.
Science: The Earth came into being about 4 billion years ago due to natural processes.

Christianity: The Earth is the center of the universe.
Science: The Earth is the third planet out from the sun and is in no special place.

Christianity: Life was created just as it is now by God.
Science: Life evolved over billions of years to get to where it is now.

Christianity: Bats are birds (Leviticus 11:13 & 11:19)
Science: Bats are mammals.

Christianity: Cure for leprosy: Get two birds. Kill one. Dip the live bird in the blood of the dead one. Sprinkle the blood on the leper seven times, and then let the blood-soaked bird fly off. Next find a lamb and kill it. Wipe some of its blood on the patient's right ear, thumb, and big toe. Sprinkle seven times with oil and wipe some of the oil on his right ear, thumb and big toe. Repeat. Finally kill a couple doves and offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. (Leviticus 14:2-14:52)
Science: Cure for leprosy: regiment of MDT (which contains materials absolutely unrelated to the above horseshit.)

Christianity: People can live more than 600 years without modern medicine (Genesis 7:11)
Science: Jeanne Calment, the oldest person on record, only lived 122 years and 164 days. Also, biology.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head but I have barely scratched the surface of all the conflicts between Christianity and science. If you believe that The Bible is literal in even the most liberal sense of the word than you are against science.

.

I am a christian, I believe the world is millions of years old. Earth isn't even close to the center of the galaxy which wouldn't make sense since the universe is expanding constantly. Life probably did evolve.

As for the last three... What..? Bats were never birds. People can't live up to 600 years...

As for the leprosy one... Idk, don't know too much about it.

 

[Korten12]

snip

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you do realize he was being sarcastic correct?