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From a telephone sampling of more than 2,000 households, university researchers found that Americans
rate atheists below Muslims, recent immigrants, gays and lesbians and other minority groups in “sharing their vision of American society.” Atheists are also the minority group most Americans are least willing to allow their children to marry.

Even though atheists are few in number, not formally organized and relatively hard to publicly identify, they are seen as a threat to the American way of life by a large portion of the American public. “Atheists, who account for about 3 percent of the U.S. population, offer a glaring exception to the rule of increasing social tolerance over the last 30 years,” says Penny Edgell, associate sociology professor and the study’s lead researcher.

Edgell also argues that today’s atheists play the role that Catholics, Jews and communists have played in the past—they offer a symbolic moral boundary to membership in American society. “It seems most Americans believe that diversity is fine, as long as every one shares a common ‘core’ of values that make them trustworthy—and in America, that ‘core’ has historically been religious,” says Edgell. Many of the study’s respondents associated atheism with an array of moral indiscretions ranging from criminal behavior to rampant materialism and cultural elitism.

Edgell believes a fear of moral decline and resulting social disorder is behind the findings. “Americans believe they share more than rules and procedures with their fellow citizens—they share an understanding of right and wrong,” she said. “Our findings seem to rest on a view of atheists as self-interested individuals who are not concerned with the common good.”

The researchers also found acceptance or rejection of atheists is related not only to personal religiosity, but also to one’s exposure to diversity, education and political orientation—with more educated, East and West Coast Americans more accepting of atheists than their Midwestern counterparts. (Source-American Sociological Association)

Atheists are distrusted because the majority (Christians) have been allowed to frame the debate and define the participants. We’ve allowed those who are grossly misinformed and ignorant about what atheism is and what atheists do believe to define us. Our voices are drowned out by the blather and nonsense being spouted by those who hold fanciful and baseless ideas about atheism.

That’s changing, slowly but surely.

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• Atheist Revolution (rwandanatheist.blogspot.com)
• Atheism Advanced (tuibguy.com)

Apparitions of the Virgin Mary, 2003-2007:

• Tree stump, Passaic, N.J., 2003
• Grilled cheese sandwich, Hollywood, Fla., 2004
• Expressway underpass, Chicago, 2005
• Pretzel, Nebraska, 2005
• Firewood, Janesville, Wis., 2006
• Chocolate drippings, Fountain Valley, Calif., 2006
• Souplantation restaurant, Grantville, Calif., 2006
• Pizza pan, Houston, 2007
• Watermelon, Arizona, 2007  (Source-Futility Closet – a blog that earns a place in my RSS feed)

Today’s the day to Get Religion! The more hungover and nearly incoherent you are this morning, the more sense religion will make. That way, no matter how bad 2009 becomes, no matter if the Middle East erupts into nuclear war, no matter if America suffers a depression sever enough to steal the title “Great” from the depression of 1929, no matter if the governments of England and America undermine human rights through unwarranted eavesdropping and the deployment of troops on their own soil, the matter if the world descends into anarchy, chaos and unprecedented holy war between Christians, Jews and Muslims, none of that will affect you because you’ll have your own personal relationship with the guy responsible for all that…according to your new beliefs.

And theists, go ahead and do your usual “I’m offended” routine. It’s so much easier and garners so much more sympathy to feign offense than it is to actually counter, with reason and substantiation, the exposure of your beliefs for what they are.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor claims that the rise of secularism has led to a liberal society, hostile to Christian morals and values, in which religious belief is viewed as “a private eccentricity” and the voice of faith groups is marginalised.

The cardinal warns that Britain shows signs of degenerating into a country free of morals, because of its rejection of traditional values and its new emphasis on the rights of the individual.

There are now “serious tensions” between Christians and secularist society, he says, in which atheists are becoming more “vocal and aggressive”.

(Note: “vocal and aggressive” means we refuse to sit down and shut up like we used to)

Writing in a book on multiculturalism, to be published on Monday, the Cardinal argues that immigrants have a duty to adjust to British life, but expresses concern that they are faced with a culture that is increasingly repressive and intolerant. He says that while the country has become more diverse and pluralistic, the Christian values which have shaped its identity should not be abandoned.

The book, called Faith in the Nation, is published by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), with the backing of the Prime Minister. In it the cardinal says: “Religious belief of any kind tends now to be treated more as a private eccentricity than as the central and formative element in British society that it is.

“Although the tone of public discussion is sceptical or dismissive rather than antireligious, atheism has become more vocal and aggressive.”

Britain’s most senior Catholic leader says that the “unfriendly climate for people of all faiths” has united the country’s three major faiths, Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

(Note: people do tend to congregate in one place on a sinking ship)

However, he claims that Catholicism has borne the brunt of “liberal hostility” in its battles to fight for values it considers to be “fundamental pillars of a rightly ordered society”.

“The vocal minority who argue that religion has no role in modern British society portray Catholic teaching on the family as prejudiced and intolerant to those pursuing alternatives,” he says.

In particular, the cardinal highlights the Church’s opposition to liberal laws on abortion and homosexuality, its defence of faith schools and its support for marriage.

He led the Church’s unsuccessful attempt to block the controversial embryo Bill, which allows for saviour siblings and babies to be born without fathers.

The campaign raised questions over the role of religion in influencing public policy, but the cardinal argues that moves to silence the faith communities must be resisted.

“There is a current dislike of absolutes in any area of human activity, including morality,” he says.

(Note: bullshit, sir. Where are your absolute moralities when it comes to condoning the killing of gays for being gay? Morality has always been conditional, even theists ignore their own moral beliefs when it’s convenient)

“The intolerance of liberal sceptics can be as repressive as the intolerance of religious believers.”

(Note: the old “they’re as bad as us” defense. We are intolerant of superstitions being paraded as reality, of using that type of nonsense to oppress people and deny them their right to life, as the church has done for centuries)

 ”Catholics are not alone in watching with dismay as the liberal society shows signs of degenerating into the libertine society.”

He blames the culture of individual rights, encouraged by the Human Rights Act, as responsible for creating a society that claims to be tolerant, but in fact denies the rights of religious groups to act according to their conscience and beliefs.

“British society champions tolerance and freedom, but that freedom is dependent on responsibility,” he says.

“A simplistic belief that right or wrong is an individualistic construct denies our responsibilities to neighbour and wider society.”

(Note: this person doesn’t even know who he’s talking about. Not all humanists are atheists and not all atheists are humanists. His argument is against humanism which the church rightly sees as an enemy of their power and negative influence in the world)

Keith Porteous Wood, executive director of the National Secular Society, said: “Secularists and atheists are finding it necessary to express their views more vocally because of the increasing demands made by Christians and minority faiths.

“The position of bishops and the Vatican on moral issues such as abortion and contraception is at odds with the views of poeple in the pews and in the country as a whole. We support the right of everyone to express their religion and their views in public but we have a problem with religion having a privileged place, as it does with bishops in the House of Lords.” (The Telegraph)

Religion demands a privileged position in society, one free of criticism and responsibility for their actions. Society has long granted them an exemption from skepticism, but this is coming to an end. Even this religious leader has to acknowledge that his beliefs are outdated and irrelevant in our modern world.

There is real panic among the rich and powerful religious, the ministers and priests who live off the sweat of their followers. Once religious superstition is seen for what it really is, these guys (and a few gals) will have to find a real job and actually work for a living. That thought is what truly scares them. Their actions give lie to the idea they have any concern at all for humanity.