Also, this:

[kv0925]

While I'm on a political bent, here is a very interesting article about Americans' perceptions of atheists. Apparently, Gallup periodically conducts a poll asking whether people would refuse to vote for a "generally well-qualified" Presidential candidate who happens to be x, where x is (among other things) black, female, Jewish, Muslim, atheist, or gay. Since 1958, the percentage of Americans who would refuse to vote for a black person has gone from 63% down to 5%--as evidenced, perhaps, by the current Presidential campaign! In the same time, the percentage of people who would refuse to vote for an atheist has only dropped from 73% to 48%--and apparently that number is back on the rise. So half or more of Americans would refuse to vote for a candidate who didn't believe in God. Meanwhile, only 38% would refuse to vote for a Muslim. So belief in *some* God is regarded as better than belief in *no* God. And as far as a homosexual, that has dropped from 74% in 1978 to 37%--just below Muslims, but well above atheists. It boggles my mind, frankly.

The rest of the article is about more general polls that reflect similar attitudes--in 2003, 52% of Americans had a "Mostly Unfavorable" or "Very Unfavorable" perception of atheists. Non-religious fared quite a bit better (33% unfavorable) and Muslims better yet (31% unfavorable). That was for the general population; fully 92% of born-again Christians surveyed regarded atheists as having a negative impact on society (compared to 71% for Muslims).

I guess I just don't understand why people think a belief in God means.. well, anything at all. I can only really point to myself and my wife as examples. She is an atheist, I consider myself merely agnostic. But I'd have to say that we're two of the most moral people I know. Meanwhile, you don't have to look far to find religious folks acting immorally, often even in the name of their religion. I've said for years that what's regarded as Christian morality in this country has little to do with Christianity. What's right is right because it's right, and needs no deity to initiate or perpetuate it.

I'm just rambling and not looking to start a debate, really. It just bugs me that someone who could be perfectly suited to be President--but has, for whatever reason, rejected a belief in God--wouldn't stand a chance at being elected. Meanwhile we get jackasses in office who seem to view it as their sole purpose as President to hasten the return of Christ by bringing about Armageddon as described in the Bible. It should be clear which President I'd rather see. :)

Comments

[tintaglia30.livejournal.com]

But you are forgetting that atheist are immoral. Because you can only have morals if they are handed to you by an imaginary being in the sky. Silly!

[cp.livejournal.com]

I just edited the entry to add a bit more along those lines, actually. :)

[tintaglia30.livejournal.com]

Spooky! :O
But I would imagine that is the strongest objection people of Faith have to atheists (those who don't know any that is), they may well assume that we cannot know what is right because no-one has told us. THAT boggles my mind. I can tell right from wrong perfectly well, thank you.

[cp.livejournal.com]

Seriously! Me knowing it's wrong to kill you because it's just *wrong* to kill you really doesn't make it a different moral proclamation that "God said not to kill." Is it that religious people think *they* would go off the moral rails if God didn't tell them how to behave?

[midnightmadness.livejournal.com]

The Christian Folk have Ecclesiastical Whiteout - it doesn't matter what you do as long as you ask the Invisible Space Daddy for forgiveness, it's all right! Atheists don't have that, so they have to be good all the time.

[cp.livejournal.com]

...and NOBODY can be good ALL the time, so that means atheists must be BAD all the time? (Just trying to understand the mindset!) :)

[midnightmadness.livejournal.com]

I'm not saying anything (and neither are the 27 people buried in my backyard ;-)

[cinnamonbite.livejournal.com]

Maybe you didn't get the memo? 99.9% of people are worthless. Utterly and completely worthless. McCain is going to be our next president simply because he's white. Watch and see.

AND, since I have you here, I have discovered that bunny pee removes stain from wood. 1 leg of the bunny hutch is completely color-free because that's his special corner, LOL. Shall I collect bunny pee for the rest of your piano?

[cp.livejournal.com]

Heh, I always said that 99.74% of people are idiots, and the rest merely doubtful.

Hm, rabbit piss as paint stripper, I like it. But the store-bought stuff stinks bad enough!

[cp.livejournal.com]

To be honest, even though I feel religion has no place in the discourse of government, it doesn't really bother me that a religious person wouldn't vote for an outspoken atheist. There is a significant worldview difference there, and that's all right. For that very reason, I have no doubt that a significant number of politicians throughout history have been churchgoing atheists, because they understood that electability in the US implies the need to be perceived as a God-fearing Christian. And frankly I'd much rather have that brand of deception that the sort we've had under Bush, who I believe is not only a devout evangelical Christian but who has apparently done his best for the past 8 years to bring about Armageddon as he understands it. Swell.

What really bothers me, and what prompted this post, was the apparent perception among many religious folk that atheists cannot be moral people because they lack the ethical grounding that (some contend) can only be provided by God. Yet every bit of that presumption is patently absurd, even laughable, as evidenced in any number of ways.

This country is just so backwards, but it could still be worse. I saw in the news yesterday another "honor killing" in which a Muslim man murdered his 25yo daughter because she had the audacity to stand up for her right not to marry a man she didn't choose for herself. The difference is that this crime happened in Atlanta, Georgia, where the police are far less likely to say they'd have done the same thing (as is the case when these occur in a Muslim nation). I'm very interested to see how the case progresses, and if his religion and culture play as a defense for homicide.