While I am no mind-reader, I sense that believers are guilty of what psychologists call “projection.” This is a condition commonly seen in many aspects of life: the liar trusts no one; the thief is overprotective of their things; self-loathers think everyone hates them. People tend to attribute to other people the qualities which they themselves exhibit (whether consciously or unconsciously). Believers tend to paint non-believers as intrusive, and boy is this an instance of the pot calling the sugar black.
Atheism isn’t an answer. Atheism can’t make someone a better person. Atheism won’t fix someone who has problems. In this respect, it has a stark similarity to religion. The difference, however, is an issue of disclosure, as religions are not so open and honest about the fact that you won’t become a better person by merely being religious (or even doing the impossible, like always acting in the way that religion prescribes).
Society tows the line, “The family that prays together stays together,” even as statistics show otherwise. Other faiths, such as Judaism, get away with being accepting of the beliefs of others in public while privately subjecting their own families to the harsh treatment that American Christians reserve for such moral miscreants as gays, scientists, and feminists.
Just as there are murderers and thieves who are believers, there is likely an equal proportion among the faithless when compared to economic status. Many statistics show that non-believers have a proportionately lower crime rate, but I would attribute this to the fact that non-believers tend to have more education and are more affluent, two indicators which strongly favor low crime.
In the end, it is not one’s choice in religion which will make one a better person, but rather one’s situation. If one gets an education (something more people should have provided for them) and has a good job, one tends to be a good person.
If one does not seek those things, perhaps instead choosing to focus on something else (like, say… religion), it will not matter whether that person focuses on starting a family too early in life due to cultural pressure or medical ignorance, or whether they are godless drug addicts who have casual sex with multiple partners. The end result is statistically the same: you will be poor and less happy, making you more inclined to break the rules in order to get what you feel you deserve.
Atheism won’t fix you, but in my experience, religion can break you. That is what atheism has going for it.
Atheism isn’t an answer. Atheism can’t make someone a better person. Atheism won’t fix someone who has problems. In this respect, it has a stark similarity to religion. The difference, however, is an issue of disclosure, as religions are not so open and honest about the fact that you won’t become a better person by merely being religious (or even doing the impossible, like always acting in the way that religion prescribes).
Society tows the line, “The family that prays together stays together,” even as statistics show otherwise. Other faiths, such as Judaism, get away with being accepting of the beliefs of others in public while privately subjecting their own families to the harsh treatment that American Christians reserve for such moral miscreants as gays, scientists, and feminists.
Just as there are murderers and thieves who are believers, there is likely an equal proportion among the faithless when compared to economic status. Many statistics show that non-believers have a proportionately lower crime rate, but I would attribute this to the fact that non-believers tend to have more education and are more affluent, two indicators which strongly favor low crime.
In the end, it is not one’s choice in religion which will make one a better person, but rather one’s situation. If one gets an education (something more people should have provided for them) and has a good job, one tends to be a good person.
If one does not seek those things, perhaps instead choosing to focus on something else (like, say… religion), it will not matter whether that person focuses on starting a family too early in life due to cultural pressure or medical ignorance, or whether they are godless drug addicts who have casual sex with multiple partners. The end result is statistically the same: you will be poor and less happy, making you more inclined to break the rules in order to get what you feel you deserve.
Atheism won’t fix you, but in my experience, religion can break you. That is what atheism has going for it.
Hey that was a great post Ginx, I am glad you posted the link at Makarios's blog (ya I still read his ridiculous posts but won't ever comment there again...) The projection trait that you mention is something I had noticed already for so many aspects in our lives. Religion is just another example!
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