tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379287241318002122.post602126110688240375..comments2024-01-28T08:54:32.914-06:00Comments on That's interesting...: Over 30% of Americans are non-religious?Bill Garthrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08552459555883204060noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379287241318002122.post-37468467646640085432012-04-05T12:48:29.658-05:002012-04-05T12:48:29.658-05:00Well, that's a bit depressing, Tony. But we ha...Well, that's a bit depressing, Tony. But we have to take this one step at a time.<br /><br />I can understand wanting to believe in fantasy. I was crazy about some of that stuff when I was younger, myself.<br /><br />But education in logic, in the nature of evidence, in the scientific method - and in superstition, too, <i>why</i> it's so easy to believe in such things - can probably make a big difference.<br /><br />If not, well, it's still worth the effort. I really don't know what other options we have.<br /><br />Besides, science itself is as remarkable as anything you can invent about the world. If you want wonders, you don't have to turn to fantasy. Reality is incredible enough as it is.Bill Garthrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08552459555883204060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379287241318002122.post-65500680974907688922012-04-05T02:29:32.210-05:002012-04-05T02:29:32.210-05:00Belief in the traditional organised religions has ...Belief in the traditional organised religions has faded in the UK (and many other places) but in their place you get crystal healing, ley-lines, dowsing, homeopathy, spiritualism, lucky charms, UFO abductions, crop circles (even after the way they are made has been demonstrated by those who did it!) and all sorts of other superstitious "woo". People love to believe there's more to life than the material world we can observe and measure.<br /><br />I don't know if a survey has ever been done to find out exactly what people do or don't believe, but I suspect that people like us (with no religious or superstitous beliefs of any kind) will be in a small minority even in the UK.Tony Williamshttp://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379287241318002122.post-13799653232192090622012-04-04T11:29:41.947-05:002012-04-04T11:29:41.947-05:00You may be right, Tony.
I'm currently reading...You may be right, Tony.<br /><br />I'm currently reading <b>Letters from an Atheist Nation</b> by Thomas Lawson - letters from atheists in 1903. It's fascinating, but it's kind of sad, too. A lot of those people clearly expected that religion, in the modern, scientific world, would soon disappear. I think they'd be aghast to see America a century later.<br /><br />I don't know if we're hardwired to believe in the supernatural or not, but if we are, it's not incurable. At most, it might be an innate tendency, but no more than that, not for most people.<br /><br />After all atheism has grown rapidly in your own country, in the rest of Europe, and even in America. That's not because we've changed genetically. But no, it's probably not as easy as I implied above, huh? :)Bill Garthrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08552459555883204060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379287241318002122.post-1830676474015695622012-04-04T00:22:51.451-05:002012-04-04T00:22:51.451-05:00I don't think it's that easy, Bill. A rece...I don't think it's that easy, Bill. A recent issue of The New Scientist magazine examined the whole question of religious faith, looking at research into this which (among other things) involved very young children.<br /><br />The conclusion was that humanity is basically hard-wired to believe in supernatural agencies affecting our lives. That's the instinctive, default position, and always has been. <br /><br />Agnoticism and especially atheism can only develop as a result of education, especially in critical thinking. So it isn't enough to prevent children being indoctrinated in religious belief, it's more important to train them in critical thinking.Tony Williamshttp://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379287241318002122.post-53137013587294645902012-04-03T12:55:52.399-05:002012-04-03T12:55:52.399-05:00Tony, that's one reason why the greater visibi...Tony, that's one reason why the greater visibility of atheists these days might really make a difference. That "next step" is important, because even casual belief supports faith-based thinking.<br /><br />And if they stop teaching this stuff to their children, it will fade away - not entirely, no doubt, but to a large extent. We need people to start thinking that evidence should be a necessary prerequisite for belief. "Faith" should be a vice (if not a sin).Bill Garthrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08552459555883204060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379287241318002122.post-86581354043522825522012-04-02T21:17:17.647-05:002012-04-02T21:17:17.647-05:00"They might never go to church, and never thi..."They might never go to church, and never think about religion at all, but taking that next step to admitting non-belief is too much for most people."<br /><br />Yes, I think that applies in the UK.<br /><br />The vast majority of the population is functionally non-religious (don't pray, don't attend church except for special occasions, never think about religion in relation to themselves) but a much smaller proportion will admit to being atheists or even agnostics.Anthony G Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00798830903236765181noreply@blogger.com