[Rockingham]

The problem for atheism, whether in hard or soft form, is not so much an unwillingness to join organizations as that atheism seldom endures, either in individuals or from one generation to the next. In evolutionary terms, atheism is a cultural dead end, lacking the fitness necessary for longterm direct propagation. It recurs though, like some recurrent defect or pathogenic illness that reduces fertility but persists through new recruitment instead of direct propagation.

Saying that faithful rural communities are "more cohesive" is another way of saying the same thing. Calling that "apples to oranges" is a recognition of my point, not a refutation. Thoroughgoing atheists tend to move to large urban areas and not have kids, while the faithful tend to have them and seek the safety and ease of large backyards and lower crime rates.

[bobhoskins]

In evolutionary terms, atheism is a cultural dead end, lacking the fitness necessary for longterm direct propagation.

You are limiting this statement to humans, right? :)

[malakhi]

In evolutionary terms, atheism is a cultural dead end, lacking the fitness necessary for longterm direct propagation. It recurs though, like some recurrent defect or pathogenic illness that reduces fertility but persists through new recruitment instead of direct propagation.

IMO, the advancement of science and our understanding of the universe has been primarily achieved by people who place a higher value on reason than on traditional belief accepted on authority. Some of these people are atheists, and some are not. Those who are not atheists nevertheless evince a willingness to reinterpret traditional beliefs in light of evidence gleaned via the scientific method. I'd suggest that such an application of reason does have an evolutionary "survival value".

Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded -- here and there, now and then -- are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.

This is known as "bad luck."