Just in case you don’t know about it, are you atheists aware that notwithstanding all the efforts you exert to achieve a good name with the American people, atheists in America are taken to be the most distrusted minority in the US.
Tell me how you get to be taken as the most distrusted minority in America.
Posted: April 19th 2009
logicel
As was pointed out in other answers, atheists have come out of their closets in America in response to the lies and blatant misconceptions regarding them. They are organizing politically with their own lobby.
Watch this space, dear. You may be surprised to see that the fastest growing minority in America is slowly and surely losing the tarnish that bigoted and ignorant religious believers insist on applying to them.
The fact that atheists are held in such a poor light in America does not highlight anything wrong with atheism, but with the shocking ignorance and religious bias present in America.
Posted: April 21st 2009
Eric_PK
It’s really simple.
Atheists are the most distrusted minority because the vast majority of Americans are ignorant about atheism and only know what they have been told by their religious leaders.
Since the usual definition – one who has no morals, worships the devil, etc. – equates “atheist” with “psychopath”, it’s really not surprising that people have a low opinion of atheists.
Posted: April 20th 2009
Dave Hitt www
For centuries religions have recognized atheism as their biggest threat, and so have rallied the faithful against it by portraying atheists as evil. Politicians have tapped into this as well. The phrase “godless communists” was bandied about so much in the fifties that many ill-informed people still associate communism with atheism. (I have never met an atheist communist. We’re too smart for that.) This view permeates our society, and it will be a long time before the majority wises up and realizes how ridiculous this bias is. But it will happen, as more and more of us speak out and let the world know we’re not believers and the people around us see that we are just decent folks whose disagree with them on what is, in reality, a rather trivial point.
Posted: April 20th 2009
George Ricker www
It’s easy enough to understand atheism’s negative image when one considers that, for most of human history, atheism has been defined by theists. Since gods and religions have long been associated with the status quo in most societies, those who did not believe in the one or who criticized the other were, and in some places still are, treated as cultural pariahs. Those who would not worship the prevailing gods also might not follow their agents here on earth.
In Godless in America, I wrote, “At various times and places, various people have opined that atheists cannot have morals, cannot believe in right and wrong, cannot appreciate life, cannot face death, are in denial, are in rebellion, do not really mean it when they say they do not believe in a god, are arrogant, are selfish, are miserable, cannot be happy, are the spawn of Satan, are devil worshippers, are callous and unfeeling, cannot be good parents, cannot have meaningful relationships with other people, cannot find meaning in life at all, are lost, are living a lie, are living in fear, hate their fathers, must be communists, and are filled with self-loathing.”
These are just of few of the claims I have heard and read made about atheism. Anyone who has studied the subject knows they are false charges (i.e. there is nothing about atheism per se that would cause them), but until very recently, most atheists were reticent about going public with their non-belief. Consequently, it has been relatively easy to vilify them.
Happily, as more and more atheists speak out, that is beginning to change. Which is not to say there is not a lot of work to be done, but there is progress to report.
People always fear and mistrust that which they do not understand. Hopefully, as we make the case for atheism as the starting point from which one can fashion a positive world view that is grounded on reason and humanity, the mistrust will be replaced by understanding.
Posted: April 19th 2009
SmartLX www
Yeah, we know all about it. It was one of the original, big explicit reasons for the recent surge of pro-atheist activism that’s come to be known as “new atheism”, or to evangelists, “militant atheism”. Neither title is appropriate.
The usual survey paraphrased is the one where fewer people would vote for an otherwise qualified politician who’s atheist than one who’s female, black or gay. My main issue with that survey was that the American public has really never had the chance to choose an openly atheist candidate. (Pete Stark is one non-theistic congressman, but this was publicised after his election.)
Why is it so? Because stereotypes about atheists are as deeply entrenched as the old cliches about women, blacks and gays, but without the same decades- or centuries-long campaigns to counter them. Huge numbers of people not only think that all atheists are immoral, nihilistic and selfish, but they’re able to say so and act on these beliefs without real consequence.
Furthermore, there’s a difference between atheists and the classic minorities: atheism spreads. Fear of atheists goes further than homophobia, where folks are afraid of gays/atheists or of being thought gay/atheist. They’re afraid, with good reason in one sense, that they and those they care about might become atheists.
Yeah, I said it. Many people are afraid of atheists and atheism, and often proudly so. It’s a pain.
Posted: April 19th 2009
bitbutter www
Atheists are mistrusted in the US because there’s a widespread myth that the godless are less likely to behave well than those who believe that breaking The Rules leads to an eternity of fiery punishment. The image of the amoral atheist is promulgated by unscrupulous evangelists who seem to believe that lying is acceptable if you’re doing it for Jesus. Part of the aim of AskTheAtheists.com is to help counter this kind of misinformation.
Concerned religionists should take comfort from the fact that atheists have strong moral feelings that guide their behaviour, just like religious people do. Perhaps even more persuasive than personal assurances are the major surveys that tell us about atheism and society. The data we have shows that far from leading towards chaos and violence, organic atheism (that is, uncoerced atheism that emerges in societies that enjoy freedom of religion) correlates with societal health—and that religion correlates highly with societal 'sickness’. This is certainly not what we’d expect if atheists were really amoral monsters.
Here’s Phil Zuckerman’s summary of the findings of a collection of major surveys on societal health.
the conclusion to be drawn from the data provided above is simply that high levels of irreligion do not automatically result in a breakdown of civilization, a rise in immoral behavior, or in “sick societies.” Quite the opposite seems to be the case. Furthermore, religion is clearly not the simple and single path to righteous societies that religious fundamentalists seem to think it is. This fact must be vigorously asserted in response to the proclamations of politically active theists. From small-town school boards to the floor of the Senate, conservative Christians are championing religion as the solution to America’s societal problems. However, their pious “solution” is highly dubious and clearly not supported by the best available research of social science.
Belief in God may provide comfort to the individual believer, but, at the societal level, its results do not compare at all favorably with that of the more secular societies. When seeking a more civil, just, safe, humane, and healthy society, one is more likely to find it among those nations ranking low in religious faith-contrary to the preaching of religious folks.
Posted: April 19th 2009