I strongly suspect that church-goers go to church to get exactly the same sense that these guys want: "Standing shoulder to shoulder with people who get it".
Seriously, American atheists seem to be unlike any others in their quasi-religious zeal. I am an atheist (of course) and I find it very odd and off-putting. This constant desire to proselytize, to affirm and to convert - just how is it any different from god-believers?
As I continue to watch the video: "I was struck by the diversity of the crowd".
Who is the narrator? Is he blind? Or stupid or lying? The striking thing is a lack of diversity of the crowd. This is Washington, DC, a city with 50% African American population in a country where African Americans are 13% of population. But this crowd is basically all white with few Asian faces.
I wasn't aware of the connection between skepticism and typos. Can you explain it? Is it true that most skeptics are less likely to make typos than non-skeptics?
I agree. But in any case, what's the point of throwing around this "diversity of the crowd" when it is very obvious that the crowd is anything but diverse? (Just about the only way to make it significantly less diverse would be to further increase % of males - which is already something like 70%).
That is Seth Andrews voice of the Thinking Atheist. The diversity that he is talking about is a change from 10 years ago when it was only white middle aged men or older being the only faces at meet ups.
For DK: are you dumb or blind not to realize that American politics is being taken over by religious zealots?
Well, obviously you think that diversity means "lots of races." That or "there should be blacks in there." Now you add "there should be women." I noticed quite a lot of diversity though. Of all kinds.
Well, I was just bringing it to your attention so you could correct the typo, if you so desired. The connection is that skeptics actually know how to spell atheist and I would think are more attentive to detail and care about details. I was trying to be lighthearted about it. No offense was intended.
Of course, this discussion completely ignores that there is no such ting as race in the biological sense and that the "diversity" in the crowd is purely a social construction.
Wow - I am under water with my teaching right now but this really made me smile. Assuming that everyone there really were atheists (I am skeptical), that was very uplifting to me. As a community college professor in the South I am surrounded by religion and in a small sense it feels somewhat lonely. In the past I have kept my atheism out of the classroom, but this semester when religion came up (it has a way of happening out here in discussions) I made sure to mention that I was an atheist. It is sad comment about the social climate in our country that it really did feel like coming out of the closet. There was an obvious, though respectful reaction from my students. Weeks later, one told me that they had been praying for me and god told them to invite me to their church for easter. Oh well, at least they now have seen an atheist who has kids and family, lacks the horns and has an ethical sense that is not grounded in religion. Thank you for posting this.
13 comments :
Is that his actual voice??? It almost sounds like someone hired Casey Kasem.
I strongly suspect that church-goers go to church to get exactly the same sense that these guys want: "Standing shoulder to shoulder with people who get it".
Seriously, American atheists seem to be unlike any others in their quasi-religious zeal. I am an atheist (of course) and I find it very odd and off-putting. This constant desire to proselytize, to affirm and to convert - just how is it any different from god-believers?
As I continue to watch the video: "I was struck by the diversity of the crowd".
Who is the narrator? Is he blind? Or stupid or lying? The striking thing is a lack of diversity of the crowd. This is Washington, DC, a city with 50% African American population in a country where African Americans are 13% of population. But this crowd is basically all white with few Asian faces.
With all due respect, Dr. Moran, of all the people who shouldn't misspell atheist, a skeptic is definitely one.
I wasn't aware of the connection between skepticism and typos. Can you explain it? Is it true that most skeptics are less likely to make typos than non-skeptics?
I think America is the only country in the world that equates "diversity" with "percentage of blacks."
I agree. But in any case, what's the point of throwing around this "diversity of the crowd" when it is very obvious that the crowd is anything but diverse? (Just about the only way to make it significantly less diverse would be to further increase % of males - which is already something like 70%).
That is Seth Andrews voice of the Thinking Atheist. The diversity that he is talking about is a change from 10 years ago when it was only white middle aged men or older being the only faces at meet ups.
For DK: are you dumb or blind not to realize that American politics is being taken over by religious zealots?
Jeff Sherry
Well, obviously you think that diversity means "lots of races." That or "there should be blacks in there." Now you add "there should be women." I noticed quite a lot of diversity though. Of all kinds.
The video seemed to focus on the chance to meet people who shared a common interest.
I must have missed the part about proselytizing and conversion.
Well, I was just bringing it to your attention so you could correct the typo, if you so desired. The connection is that skeptics actually know how to spell atheist and I would think are more attentive to detail and care about details. I was trying to be lighthearted about it. No offense was intended.
Of course, this discussion completely ignores that there is no such ting as race in the biological sense and that the "diversity" in the crowd is purely a social construction.
Wow - I am under water with my teaching right now but this really made me smile. Assuming that everyone there really were atheists (I am skeptical), that was very uplifting to me. As a community college professor in the South I am surrounded by religion and in a small sense it feels somewhat lonely. In the past I have kept my atheism out of the classroom, but this semester when religion came up (it has a way of happening out here in discussions) I made sure to mention that I was an atheist. It is sad comment about the social climate in our country that it really did feel like coming out of the closet. There was an obvious, though respectful reaction from my students. Weeks later, one told me that they had been praying for me and god told them to invite me to their church for easter. Oh well, at least they now have seen an atheist who has kids and family, lacks the horns and has an ethical sense that is not grounded in religion. Thank you for posting this.
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