[dukeman]

Go hug your favorite atheist.

[mainepatsfan]

I trust them more than Scientologists.

[cripplecreek]

I don't have a problem with atheists. I have a problem with atheists who have a problem with Christianity.

[jdm]

I think next Thurs. is National Pray For An Atheist Day.

[TypeZoNegative]

I'm going to strap a bomb to my chest for Darwin, you god-fearing infidels! Muhahahha!. Sarcasm aside, I can understand why. Most atheists are bitter people that would rather use ad-hominem attacks than to use reason to back up their claims.

[rightwingintelligentsia]

Great. Now we have another oppressed minority group.

[LanPB01]

Does this mean I'm entitled to some kind of affirmative action for my persecuted beliefs?

[farlander]

ROFL.

"they are seen as a threat to the American way of life"

Umm, personally, I'd prefer a godless atheist, who, by definition, is *FAR* more likely *not* to blow himself up than a deranged Islamic 'believer' that thinks he's going to his virgins.

Guess I'll have to go find one to hug now...

[JAWs]

          I once quipped to an atheist that his creed had the disadvantage of no holidays. He replied that they celebrated everyone else's. I should have invited him to fast on Yom Kippur.

          Atheists would have a better image but for the Newdows amongst their numbers.

[js1138]

Certainly a person who is honest about his disbelief is less trustworthy than an old fashioned hypocrite like Bill Clinton.

[VOA]

Interesting book on the topic...the chapters on the leading light of atheism
are illuminating.
Don't let the 2.5/5 stars rating fool you. It's a good book by a smart guy.
IIRC, his Oxford office is either in the same building (or next over) from
that of Richard Dawkins.

The Twilight of Atheism : The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World
by Alister Mcgrath
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385500629/sr=8-2/qid=1143072745/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-6687710-0723133?%5Fencoding=UTF8

[VOA]

...East and West Coast Americans more accepting of atheists than their Midwestern counterparts.

LOL! Only a cloistered monk (or a tenured professor) would have to do a
"study" to figure this out!

Thank G-d, it was some foundation that wasted their money on information
that any flyover-country Billy Bob could have given to them.

[moonman]

"American’s increasing acceptance of religious diversity doesn’t extend to those who don’t believe in a god"

This can't be good news to media people whereas close to 80% don't believe in God. Anyone have that poll which was taken a few years back?

[Liberator]

I would distrust N.J. Democrats more than ANYONE.

[Blzbba]

I've got a problem with any group of people that is self-righteous, pious, and wants to shove whatever belief system (or complete lack thereof) they adhere to down my throat.

[kcar]

I don't believe in this study...either.

[Para-Ord.45]

atheism is a religion.

that said, "seperation of church and state"

"Chicago, IL - A federal court of appeals has ruled in favor of an inmate who claimed that Wisconsin prison officials violated his rights under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment because they refused to allow him to create a study group for atheists.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that prison officials erred because they “did not treat atheism as a ‘religion.’...The Supreme Court has said that a religion need not be based on a belief in the existence of a supreme being. In the 1961 case of Torcaso v. Watkins, the Court described “secular humanism” as a religion. "

http://www.afa.net/clp/ReleaseDetail.asp?id=102

[Blzbba]

I also wouldn't worry too much about atheists. People who claim to be atheists can't even run for public office in Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Lousianna .

For example, The Bill of Rights of the Texas Constitution (Article I, Section 4) allows people to be excluded from holding office on religious grounds. An official may be "excluded from holding office" if she/he does not "acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being."


So much for 'religious freedom', I guess (since atheism is a religion)

[FormerLib]

I tried to, but the chip on his shoulder poked me in the eye!

[Right Wing Professor]

Many of the study’s respondents associated atheism with an array of moral indiscretions ranging from criminal behavior to rampant materialism and cultural elitism

Oh sure, because we don't want to crowd into a garish building once a week with a bunch of credulous bubbas, clad in their best polyester, dragged there by their big-haired wives, and listen to shallow platitudes about hypothetical beings, mouthed by rednecks with thick Southern accents, they call us cultural elitists.

:-)

[ChessExpert]

"Atheists, who account for about 3 percent of the U.S. population..."

I am skeptical of this claim. I suspect the percentage is much higher. 3% is presented as a fact. No substantiation is offered. The author may have a source, which I presume would be a survey. What were the survey questions? How do agnostics fit in? How about Jews who do not believe in God? Were respondents candid? How many people in the survey? How were people chosen? How about the effect of self-selection, with some people refusing to take the survey? There are lots of relevant questions about the "3%" but no answers in this article.

I wonder if Penny Edgell believes in God. What percentage of the University of Minnesota's Sociology Department believe in God? Are my questions too personal?

Do you suppose Penny is sensitive to the response to her article from academics at the University of Minnesota? How about the response from academics at the more "educated" and "accepting" (tolerant) East and West coasts?

To me, this smells like a soft-sell smear of fly-over country Christians. Don't forget, it's "science," so you have to agree. This is one of many studies. Though the impact of one "scientific" study may be small, the cumulative impact of many studies may be large. One nail in the coffin?