By: Daniel Nardini
In a study done by the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 48 percent of all respondents said that they would not let their children marry atheists, and that atheists are worse than rapists. The study was done with people of devoted religious faith. Most also said in the study that they would not vote for anyone who is an avowed atheist. The journal explains that for many Americans, faith is a very powerful issue and for many faithful people there can be no direction in peoples’ lives if there is no faith. In fact, the very word “atheist” conjures up a person with no reasonable or moral values at all. For most Americans this is scary. This is why no politician, no business person, no person in public service would really profess to be an atheist.
Of course, on a personal level most people would not profess to be atheists either. To be an atheist, in the minds of most Americans, is to profess no higher power, no higher hope or justice, and no higher hope of salvation. It also means that for most Americans death means the total and final end—a complete blackness and void where there is no more. To put it mildly this is scary and terrifying for most people, and a complete negation for hope that there is an eternity and a chance of being “reborn.” Given all of this it is understandable why so many people do not want to be atheists. And yet, there are atheists. More than that, there are a growing number of atheists. It is estimated that seven to nine percent of the American population are either atheists, skeptics (not sure if there is a god), or “belong to no church.”
Last March, there was an atheist rally in Washington, D.C.’s National Mall in which 20,000 people participated. The march, called the “Rally for Reason,” included all kinds of categories of people who just could not believe. In my view, one of the saddest things about American society is that there is a mistaken perception that one has to be religious to be moral, upright and have a responsible character. As my experience has shown me, I have seen many a politician who claimed to be a religious person only to break a whole set of the Ten Commandments. In my view, what a person’s religion or lack of one thereof should not be used—that is as far as I am concerned a personal choice. In western Europe, most people do not care if their leaders are religious or not so as long as they prove they have an ethical, upright and responsible character and get things done. I think there is a lesson in it for all of us.
Are Atheists Worse Than Rapists?
By: Daniel Nardini
Of course, on a personal level most people would not profess to be atheists either. To be an atheist, in the minds of most Americans, is to profess no higher power, no higher hope or justice, and no higher hope of salvation. It also means that for most Americans death means the total and final end—a complete blackness and void where there is no more. To put it mildly this is scary and terrifying for most people, and a complete negation for hope that there is an eternity and a chance of being “reborn.” Given all of this it is understandable why so many people do not want to be atheists. And yet, there are atheists. More than that, there are a growing number of atheists. It is estimated that seven to nine percent of the American population are either atheists, skeptics (not sure if there is a god), or “belong to no church.”
Last March, there was an atheist rally in Washington, D.C.’s National Mall in which 20,000 people participated. The march, called the “Rally for Reason,” included all kinds of categories of people who just could not believe. In my view, one of the saddest things about American society is that there is a mistaken perception that one has to be religious to be moral, upright and have a responsible character. As my experience has shown me, I have seen many a politician who claimed to be a religious person only to break a whole set of the Ten Commandments. In my view, what a person’s religion or lack of one thereof should not be used—that is as far as I am concerned a personal choice. In western Europe, most people do not care if their leaders are religious or not so as long as they prove they have an ethical, upright and responsible character and get things done. I think there is a lesson in it for all of us.