There are news reports out this morning on a new poll stating that “76 percent of Americans are True Believers.” However, I find it more remarkable that basically one-fourth of Americans said that they do not believe in God. Given the continued lure of faith-based politics, it is remarkable that atheists and agnostics still have so little influence on politicians. There are few groups that can claim one out of four Americans and yet politicians continue to denounce those who do not believe in God. That includes people who simply say that they do not know one way or the other. The poll has some other interesting facts.
Thirty-eight percent of Americans believe that they have received direct orders from God to take particular actions in their lives. Of those who believe in God, 53 percent believe God plays an active role in dictating weather and disasters. Only 17 percent believe that God does not play such a role.
By the way, despite common misconceptions, there is little difference between Democrats and Republicans on such questions. Some 42 percent of Republicans believe that they are acting on God’s orders as opposed to 40 percent of Democrats. Fittingly, “independents” are least likely to believe in such divine direction.
Yet, I am struck by the large number of atheists and agnostics given their small influence on politics. Compare more powerful groups like the 34 percent of gun owners or 22 percent Tea Party supporters or 12.9 percent over 65 or 3.5 percent Gay population or the 2.2 percent Jewish population. Non-believers constitute 25 percent of the population but continue to be not only marginalized politically but vilified socially. It is an interesting contrast with other groups of similar or strikingly smaller size with more power politically.
What do you think?
Atheism, like most groups, is just a bell curve. I was informed a few weeks ago that I couldn’t be an atheist because I wasn’t an anarchist/Libertarian. I was actually a “statheist,” merely swapping worshiping a god in the sky to worshiping the state because I supported the Affordable Care Act and, therefore, was no better than a creationist. Before that I was informed I had to be a feminist, liberal, social justice warrior and also a vegan because “atheists should know better.”
I prefer to sit in the middle with my non-belief in god/gods, holding my health insurance card and a hamburger, just enjoying the natural world and doing what I can to keep everyone’s religion separate from our government. That is all.
Substitute God for Father Christmas & you see why democracy is not working in America. Three quarters of the population believe in Father Christmas, an omnipotent benefactor & moral guidance councilor. Half of them get instructions in dreams or in letters from the North Pole. (Father Mohamed from Mecca if you’re Muslim)
Reblogged this on Brittius.com.
As a politician, it’s my job to polarize people into constituencies. “You share my same beliefs? I’m on your side! Vote for me!”
Since Athiests don’t believe in God, that makes a point of polarization that can’t manipulated. That does not make them right or wrong, just irrelivelent to politicians for that specific attribute.
Athiests still have plenty of other beliefs and positions for which to be polarized. How do I know this?
Because they still vote.
Oh, There are still other bastions of bigotry. Fat people. Poor white people. Clowns. Geeks. Laplanders. Proctologists. Old, napping women. Placekickers. Shoe salesmen. Albinos. French Canadians[earned!]. Golfers. Used care salesmen. Telephone solicitors. Oh, there are more, plenty more.
I believe there are a lot of folks who say they believe in God but, based on their actions, they really believe that it is important to believe in God — and that most of them would be at most agnostic if it wasn’t for social pressures.
I’ve also noticed that those who believe in God are more likely to believe in pure evil, often personified by the Devil. Like Scalia. This is bad —
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=psychological-power-satan
I think such people may actually be demon possessed
Anti-atheist/agnostic sentiment is the last bastion of bigotry in the US. It’s still politically correct.
I would like to see a demographic statistic that would include “moral and sane people”.
This stat would include atheists, agnostics, and the religious….
…It certainly would not include all atheists, agnostics, or religious.
The figure for non-believers is 14%, not a quarter. 10% “don’t know” (can’t decide whether they believe in God?) See the full results here:
http://cdn.yougov.com/cumulus_uploads/document/u9flh0ca3b/tabs_OPI_belief_in_god_20131021.pdf
It’s still a sizeable demographic, but not one in four. A little over one in seven.
Actually, in his case it most likely wasn’t genetic, nick. His brain was parboiled by a bad bout of bacterial meningitis that almost killed him when he was a toddler. He’s the only schizophrenic in either of his bloodlines.
“… it is remarkable that atheists and agnostics still have so little influence on politicians.” – JT
Try money.
Paying “campaign tithes” to pols influences them.
It used to be claiming god told you to do something was a ticket to a mental hospital then Bush II told us that god spoke to him. Now we have many Congress members and other “leaders” who say that they also receive messages from god. Even Bill O’Reily told interviewers that god told him to write the book KILLING JESUS.
Those family genes are mofo’s. Diabetes in ours.
Atheists do have an influence on politics. Many Dem pols do the old wink and nod to their atheist voters, “Yeah, I’m saying God but you know, wink wink.” It’s just one of many systemic lies in our duopoly.
Just because there are a lot of atheists doesn’t mean there are a lot of atheists who agree about politics. The power of groups like the tea party is a unity of message and the ability to motivate their members. Atheists are only a group in the sense that they are a demographic.
I have a cousin. Among his many problems, he’s a diagnosed schizophrenic fairly late after a series of troubles. When it was revealed that he heard voices in his head on a regular basis, his mom asked him why didn’t he say something about it. He said, “I thought everybody did.”
Other polls indicate that non-belief is the fastest growing religious position.
From Wiki:
In terms of absolute numbers, irreligion appears to be increasing (along with secularization generally).[95] Even so, it is decreasing as a percentage of the world population, due primarily to population increases in more religious developing countries outpacing population growth (or decline) in less religious developed countries.
The American Religious Identification Survey gave nonreligious groups the largest gain in terms of absolute numbers: 14.3 million (8.4% of the population) to 29.4 million (14.1% of the population) for the period 1990–2001 in the U.S.[59][91] A 2012 study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life reports, “The number of Americans who do not identify with any religion continues to grow at a rapid pace. One-fifth of the U.S. public – and a third of adults under 30 – are religiously unaffiliated today….
________
33% of adults under 30. This should have an impact soon, right?
BarkinDog…… down boy…. heal!
God spulled backwards is Dog. In a backhanded sort of way, we Americans, be it man or beast, have an historical attachment to God and Dog. Dogs came over on the Mayflower. It was God’s will. George Will came out of nowhere. If he would weigh in on this topic on this blog then we would all be happy ever after. Ask George why Mitt Romeny lost the election. I hazard that it was because of the way he treated his dog. Those who do believe in God and those who don’t could not vote for him if they revered or respected Dog. Nuff said.
God told me this….. A Direct order….. that I had free will to disregard its will…. But that karma a bit€h…..