Why do you think atheists are abundant on the Internet?

[infinity^infinity]

I think it's because the general population on the internet is fairly young. I keep telling people that Atheism is not a new thing, but until fairly recently it was generally considered a bad thing to be called so. The newest generation, however, seems to embrace atheism and that newest generation is also the one that grew up when computers and internet access were mainstream.

 

[nondescript]

America was founded by Christians, but on the principle of religious freedom. The amendments outline what is socially acceptable for us to do in regards to worship, speech, advertising, and even combat. However, while the nation has a guide on how and if you can worship a god, goddess, poster of Van Halen or a rock no one has said we have to worship anything.

This lead to doubt about whether there was anything worth worshipping at all. "Modern Science," fickle thing that it is, demands we prove it first. But how do you prove a negative? It doesn't help that everyone thinks of cathedrals and lighting candles when you say worship - a word which just means to give religious devotion to an object. So you could worship Superman, Master Chief, or Harry Potter if you are a big enough fan.

This brings up the word Atheist itself. Atheism literally means to not believe in any god goddess or higher power that guide you, let alone worship it. This means that not only can no atheist really say "Oh my god!", they don't even believe your worship is valid since your religion is bunk. (And people thought only right-wing Christians were closeminded.)

My point? I don't believe in Atheists or Atheism.

Are you saying the US was founded by Christians, or is that a typo?

I'm saying the "founding fathers" had strong roots in christianity, yes. Not all immigrants were christian, but the first waves after your nordic pirates tended toward the protestant branches. And when the Declaration of Independence was written, the US was a firm haven for anyone who believed in Christ but not in the Church or England or the established powers of the Vatican and Catholic faith, be it Greek or Orthodox.
That's why just before the Industrial revolution their were appeared near 200 practicing christian faiths in the US alone.

 

[Nergy]

I guarantee half the internet atheists go to church with mommy and daddy every Sunday. There's a lot of them who are posers because being atheist is so edgy and cool. It's that simple.

I know i'm going WAAAAY back in this thread. But the reason people like that still go to church with their parents is because their parents probably don't know and the kid is terrified of what might happen to him if he does tell them. I've heard far too many stories of kid's being disowned before they are 18 and even being shunned/ignored at family get togethers.

I'm sure you were only being playful, but i don't want people taking what you said seriously and getting the wrong idea about these kids.

 

[sir.rutthed]

I guarantee half the internet atheists go to church with mommy and daddy every Sunday. There's a lot of them who are posers because being atheist is so edgy and cool. It's that simple.

I know i'm going WAAAAY back in this thread. But the reason people like that still go to church with their parents is because their parents probably don't know and the kid is terrified of what might happen to him if he does tell them. I've heard far too many stories of kid's being disowned before they are 18 and even being shunned/ignored at family get togethers.

I'm sure you were only being playful, but i don't want people taking what you said seriously and getting the wrong idea about these kids.

I'm sure there's lots of kids like that, and I may have been exaggerating, but I was being quite serious. Atheism is a rebellious, cool thing to do and lots of young people are going to take it up for no other reason than that. Or maybe they're just trying it out to see if it 'sticks' so to speak. My point being, yes there's kids like those you described and it's terrible, but there's also lots of people out there who just do something to be on the fringe and look cool and atheism is pretty cool. Particularly on the internet.

 

[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...

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

Notice how I said "on the internet". Although I could probably go on about the undermining of my values and practices, this is highly off topic.

 

[Nikolaz72]

I guarantee half the internet atheists go to church with mommy and daddy every Sunday. There's a lot of them who are posers because being atheist is so edgy and cool. It's that simple.

I know i'm going WAAAAY back in this thread. But the reason people like that still go to church with their parents is because their parents probably don't know and the kid is terrified of what might happen to him if he does tell them. I've heard far too many stories of kid's being disowned before they are 18 and even being shunned/ignored at family get togethers.

I'm sure you were only being playful, but i don't want people taking what you said seriously and getting the wrong idea about these kids.

I'm sure there's lots of kids like that, and I may have been exaggerating, but I was being quite serious. Atheism is a rebellious, cool thing to do and lots of young people are going to take it up for no other reason than that. Or maybe they're just trying it out to see if it 'sticks' so to speak. My point being, yes there's kids like those you described and it's terrible, but there's also lots of people out there who just do something to be on the fringe and look cool and atheism is pretty cool. Particularly on the internet.

Or, youknow. You are an american, and frequent international websites. And the rest of the Western World are far less religious than America. And therefor by default Atheism is more abundant on the international stage for you, than on the national stage. For example, I go to a danish school.. Half the teachers are atheists, and the majority of the class is atheist/non-religious/agnostics. I have yet to meet 1 devout christian in a higher educational facility.

 

[Nergy]

I guarantee half the internet atheists go to church with mommy and daddy every Sunday. There's a lot of them who are posers because being atheist is so edgy and cool. It's that simple.

I know i'm going WAAAAY back in this thread. But the reason people like that still go to church with their parents is because their parents probably don't know and the kid is terrified of what might happen to him if he does tell them. I've heard far too many stories of kid's being disowned before they are 18 and even being shunned/ignored at family get togethers.

I'm sure you were only being playful, but i don't want people taking what you said seriously and getting the wrong idea about these kids.

I'm sure there's lots of kids like that, and I may have been exaggerating, but I was being quite serious. Atheism is a rebellious, cool thing to do and lots of young people are going to take it up for no other reason than that. Or maybe they're just trying it out to see if it 'sticks' so to speak. My point being, yes there's kids like those you described and it's terrible, but there's also lots of people out there who just do something to be on the fringe and look cool and atheism is pretty cool. Particularly on the internet.

I can see what you mean, but those kids usually do believe what they claim, and mature to become well rounded, intelligent, mature individuals who happen to be atheists, all that exposure to other atheists helps them learn all the things that come with being atheist. Very rarely does an atheist slip back into theism because he's lost interest, anytime it does happen, it's usually because of pressure from family and peers. Which i have seen happen first-hand.

A kid saying they are an atheist isn't a bad thing, but they do need to show that they are serious in what they believe. Their "rebellion" is usually rooted in a disdain for the faith and a feeling of questions not being answered.

I'm only really speaking of America here, pretty much every other free country is a million times more accepting of atheism, the reason it is seen as "rebellious" in the USA is because 80% of the US is Christian and being atheist is still a stigma.

 

[Boris Goodenough]

For me the its the opposite. I personally do not know anyone that is religious and we have a very low religious population (Most of them are older people)

So for me the internet has a higher amount of religious people then irl (again for me)

I am in pretty much the same situation, every single friend I have in the country is an atheist, and it's not like I hand out multiple choice "Do you want to be my friend?"-cards.

There is only one quasi-religious person in the family, that is my grandmother who was raised in the most religious environment in the country.

 

[teebeeohh]

because there is no "use the internet" in the bible and for some reason a lot of smart and reasonable people let total morons influence their behavior just because "it's in the bible"

on the other hand younger people are less likely to be religious (especially when they also have an affinity for technology) and hang out more on the internets. maybe religion is something you pick up when on the other side of 35 to arm yourself with selfrighteous fury for the years to come.

 

[iNsaneMilesy]

A true athiest wouldn't advertise or be militant about atheism, given the defition of the word. They would simply stay out of it and any argument about religion, not caring one way or another. Most public atheists thesedays who are outspoken about it seem to be doing nothing more than creating a reigion around 'not believing'. The second they started rallying under the Aethiest banner, they became that which they claim to hate. It doesnt make much sense.

 

[nondescript]

America was founded by Christians, but on the principle of religious freedom. The amendments outline what is socially acceptable for us to do in regards to worship, speech, advertising, and even combat. However, while the nation has a guide on how and if you can worship a god, goddess, poster of Van Halen or a rock no one has said we have to worship anything.

This lead to doubt about whether there was anything worth worshipping at all. "Modern Science," fickle thing that it is, demands we prove it first. But how do you prove a negative? It doesn't help that everyone thinks of cathedrals and lighting candles when you say worship - a word which just means to give religious devotion to an object. So you could worship Superman, Master Chief, or Harry Potter if you are a big enough fan.

This brings up the word Atheist itself. Atheism literally means to not believe in any god goddess or higher power that guide you, let alone worship it. This means that not only can no atheist really say "Oh my god!", they don't even believe your worship is valid since your religion is bunk. (And people thought only right-wing Christians were closeminded.)

My point? I don't believe in Atheists or Atheism.

Are you saying the US was founded by Christians, or is that a typo?

I'm saying the "founding fathers" had strong roots in christianity, yes. Not all immigrants were christian, but the first waves after your nordic pirates tended toward the protestant branches. And when the Declaration of Independence was written, the US was a firm haven for anyone who believed in Christ but not in the Church or England or the established powers of the Vatican and Catholic faith, be it Greek or Orthodox.
That's why just before the Industrial revolution their were appeared near 200 practicing christian faiths in the US alone.

The main founding fathers were Deists, and even one was an Atheist. Christianity only diversified when they tried to stamp out Deistic thought by using fire and brimstone to scare everyone into believing. This didn't work in the long run because Atheism adopted Deistic arguments. Everyone else besides the main ones were Christian, since Deism/Atheism was limited only to the rich and educated at the time.

I don't know whether your were trying to correct me or not, nor do I care. They were christian deists, which is no more or less a form christianity to me than any other. Deism today is barely acknowledged because most practicing deists call themselves atheists, which is the same as practicing vegetarians calling themselves vegetables.

The nitty-gritty details of deism involve the Nicean Creed, and thats been the cause of more inner-christian fights than anything. If you want to look to anyone for the rise in atheism, the nicean blunder was it.

 

[MegaManOfNumbers]

>.>

<..<

Err... I'm agnostic.

Man, you guys are rigorous in your debates. Sorry, been a while since I've been here. Needed to adjust to the F**KING bright backgrounds.

Also: JESUS, why are there so many banned people now?! Did the mods have a field day or something?!

What did I miss?!

 

[Metaphysic]

I see more 'fuck religion because it causes war and hatred and bigotry and anyone who practicses religion shouldn't be allowed to breed!' on forums than I see 'turn or burn! repent of your numerous sins or be damned to hellfire for eternity!'

I also see a few level-headed non-religious and religious folk whose views make sense and can accept each other... but there definitely seem to be more stupidly ignorant, bigoted atheists on the internet than religious people... though they exist as well.

Capcha: investigated ffaval. Who investigated ffaval, and what was it?

 

[nondescript]

America was founded by Christians, but on the principle of religious freedom. The amendments outline what is socially acceptable for us to do in regards to worship, speech, advertising, and even combat. However, while the nation has a guide on how and if you can worship a god, goddess, poster of Van Halen or a rock no one has said we have to worship anything.

This lead to doubt about whether there was anything worth worshipping at all. "Modern Science," fickle thing that it is, demands we prove it first. But how do you prove a negative? It doesn't help that everyone thinks of cathedrals and lighting candles when you say worship - a word which just means to give religious devotion to an object. So you could worship Superman, Master Chief, or Harry Potter if you are a big enough fan.

This brings up the word Atheist itself. Atheism literally means to not believe in any god goddess or higher power that guide you, let alone worship it. This means that not only can no atheist really say "Oh my god!", they don't even believe your worship is valid since your religion is bunk. (And people thought only right-wing Christians were closeminded.)

My point? I don't believe in Atheists or Atheism.

Are you saying the US was founded by Christians, or is that a typo?

I'm saying the "founding fathers" had strong roots in christianity, yes. Not all immigrants were christian, but the first waves after your nordic pirates tended toward the protestant branches. And when the Declaration of Independence was written, the US was a firm haven for anyone who believed in Christ but not in the Church or England or the established powers of the Vatican and Catholic faith, be it Greek or Orthodox.
That's why just before the Industrial revolution their were appeared near 200 practicing christian faiths in the US alone.

The main founding fathers were Deists, and even one was an Atheist. Christianity only diversified when they tried to stamp out Deistic thought by using fire and brimstone to scare everyone into believing. This didn't work in the long run because Atheism adopted Deistic arguments. Everyone else besides the main ones were Christian, since Deism/Atheism was limited only to the rich and educated at the time.

I don't know whether your were trying to correct me or not, nor do I care. They were christian deists, which is no more or less a form christianity to me than any other. Deism today is barely acknowledged because most practicing deists call themselves atheists, which is the same as practicing vegetarians calling themselves vegetables.

Took you long enough.

Deism and Christianity were not compatible at the time as it is now. It was only after Deism was forgotten did Deism seep into Atheism and Christianity. This is the reason modern Atheism and Deism seem so alike. Most of the other belief systems adopted much of Deism during its absence.

http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/farrell_till/myth.html

Either way, this is a good read.

1) If you are waiting for my posts, you have too much spare time. This is a busy time for me, and I have a life. I talk here to amuse myself, not you.

2) Deism and Christianity were not compatible at that time, and mainstream christianity is not compatible with anyone period now. I again refer you to the fallacies within the Nicene Creed.

3) While the text was very interesting, and shed light on some matters I hadn't read before, it does not support the discussion of why atheism is so prevalent today. To be critical, many of his points can be viewed as conjecture rather than fact, since he speaks of deism's belief in the a distant, uninvolved god, whereas known quotes from people like Ben Franklin point the other direction.