Nebor
Lifer
- Jun 24, 2003
- 29,582
- 12
- 76
You don't like watching sweat roll of a monkey's hairy balls? That's un-American! Now if you'll excuse me, the next show at the zoo is at 2:00 pm; they start turning the heat up in his enclosure around 1:30.
You don't like watching sweat roll of a monkey's hairy balls? That's un-American! Now if you'll excuse me, the next show at the zoo is at 2:00 pm; they start turning the heat up in his enclosure around 1:30.
Did you take a ride on the short bus again? People, including those who have true faith, cry at funerals for those who remain, for their family and loved ones, the ones who will miss the person. They don't cry for the deceased.
CallMeJoe
Diamond Member
- Jul 30, 2004
- 6,938
- 5
- 81
Old possum doesn't need information to confirm his opinions. Once he has established a viewpoint (talking point?) new data is superfluous.
Its irrelevant, Bill Maher is not witty, half the stuff he says is stupid, and the other half are formed around ideas that are totally out of context. Bill Maher is the left version of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck. Change a couple of verbs and few adjectives in their rhetoric and they are all the same. Pompous dumbasses with a mic or camera shoved in their face.
What do you think about the fact that Mahrer repeatedly says that religion is a bunch of silly and antiquated fairy tales?
- wolf
thraashman
Lifer
- Apr 10, 2000
- 11,112
- 1,587
- 126
Well, according to the census the "No Religion" category comprises about 16% of the US population. Most of those would be atheist though likely many wouldn't call themselves such.
Image below from Wikipedia
Well, according to the census the "No Religion" category comprises about 16% of the US population. Most of those would be atheist though likely many wouldn't call themselves such.
Image below from Wikipedia
No, the "no religion" category includes those who chose not to specify a religion in response to the census. That doesn't mean they don't have a religion or believe in one, just that they didn't want to provide it to the census bureau. I'm included in that category by the way, and I'm not an atheist by any means.
Well, according to the census the "No Religion" category comprises about 16% of the US population. Most of those would be atheist though likely many wouldn't call themselves such.
Image below from Wikipedia
That's about right. However, what is more important is the number of people who are only nominally theists, i.e. they believe in God but not organized religion, or they marginally adhere to organized religion but don't take the bible literally, etc. All such categories are on the rise versus strict fundamentalism in this country. Today, fundies are about 20-25% of the country. 100 years ago, it was more like 80-90%.
- wolf
Pens1566
Lifer
- Oct 11, 2005
- 13,928
- 11,620
- 136
15% were "no religion" in 2009 ARIS survey.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-03-09-american-religion-ARIS_N.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-03-09-american-religion-ARIS_N.htm
No polls from back in that time, sorry. It is well known from those who study cultural history in the country that the vast majority of people were highly observant Christians, and that non-literalist interpretations of the bible were not taught in any religious denominations except perhaps unitarians. If you want to treat it as unproven without a link, that's fine by me. I personally don't think my assertion is especially controversial.
- wolf
HumblePie
Lifer
- Oct 30, 2000
- 14,665
- 440
- 126
Wait what?!?! The census bit I had to fill out wasn't a multiple choice question with only a limited amount of "religion" choices to choose from. You are making it seem as if there was and that people couldn't find their religion on that list and instead put no religion down. My census papers I was able to put down whatever I wanted for my religious preference.
I will admit that some people have a religious belief but don't know exactly what category that belief falls into. For example my friend believed that the universe was created by something intelligent, but just the laws of the universe was made by it. That we are just products of those laws come to fruition That the creator of the universe may or may not still be around and if it is, probably has very little interest or none at all in us. When he said that and said that there is no religion that matches that view of his, I made him go read about Deism. Now he claims to be a Deist. Like you, he may have put "no religion" down for the census at the time.
However, considering the stigma attached to the term atheist, especially in a country where at least 80% is religious to some sort and almost all religions teach that atheists are the worst scum on the Earth, is it any wonder why there might be a whole lot of closet atheists that just try to pass themselves off as "not religious" or an improper term of "agnostic" instead?
- Jul 2, 2004
- 3,492
- 1
- 81
I would say the major difference between Maher and the Fox crew is that he isn't actively trying to destroy the country.
LOL @ people not watching the video because it contains content that "might" not align with their views. How does it feel to be so fucking narrow minded?
I will treat it as unproven by you. I'm sure it's been studied. This country has been making progress for a lot longer than 100 years. I don't think that would have happened if so many people were fundamentalists. Unless you're lumping in your average church-goers with fundamentalists.
Like I said, go ahead and treat it as unproven. I don't think it's all that controversial. And if you're really interested, you can go ahead and study the subject yourself.
- wolf
zsdersw
Lifer
- Oct 29, 2003
- 10,505
- 2
- 0
Limbaugh, Hannity, and Beck proffer themselves as beholders and speakers of the truth. Maher is mostly a comedian. That's where the wheels come off of your argument.
You're probably misusing the term "fundamentalist." I'm not unfamiliar with the subject. Read the Wikipedia entry. Fundamentalist Christianity in America is largely a 20th Century development. It's okay though, everyone makes mistakes.
Another point worth mentioning is that religion/no religion doesn't correlate perfectly to belief/non-belief in God. There are those with no religion who believe in God and those with religion who don't. That latter assertion may seem strange, but some people affiliate with religion for social/cultural reasons, to feel a connection to their community, or because their spouses/family/friends practice it.
Intestingly, not many people self-identify as "atheists" or even as "agnostics," but when the question is asked, do you believe in God, the number of people saying "no" is quite a bit larger than the number of self-identified atheists and agnostics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_States
The numbers of non-believers and not sure in these polls are somewhat larger than the number of self-identified atheists and agnostics in other polls I have seen, and also those with formal religion are around 85%, higher than the number who actually believe in God.
- wolf
Meh sure, but that's just semantics. His point is that people have shifted away from a purely literal interpretation of the bible and application to their lives to a much more liberal system of beliefs.
No, it's only an "error" in the semantic sense. "Fundamentalist Christianity," as I understand it, is not very different theologically from evangenical protestanism that existed throughout our entire history, but it came to be recognized as semantically distinct because it is a conservative religious reaction to modern day liberalism and modernism (and by that, I mean cultural liberalism in particular). So "fundamentalism" per se is just the same bible literalist Christianity we had before, but now manifested as militant opposition to something that did not exist in the past, which is why it now has a distinct label. It didn't have a distinct label prior to the 20th century because it didn't stand in opposition to much of anything, since it was the norm.
If you prefer, I can use the term bible literalist. Either way, I mean pretty much the same thing.
- wolf
It is so easy to pick out the nuts in this thread that close their eyes at night and talk to themselves.
thraashman
Lifer
- Apr 10, 2000
- 11,112
- 1,587
- 126
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