One man's opinion.... vs:
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2011-12-10/religion-atheism/51777612/1
[h=1]Study: Atheists distrusted as much as rapists[/h] [h=3]By Kimberly Winston, Religion News Service[/h] Updated 12/10/2011 4:42 AM
A new study finds that atheists are among society's most distrusted group, comparable even to rapists in certain circumstances.
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Psychologists at the University of British Columbia and the University of Oregon say that their study demonstrates that anti-atheist prejudice stems from moral distrust, not dislike, of nonbelievers.
"It's pretty remarkable," said Azim Shariff, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Oregon and a co-author of the study, which appears in the current issue of Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
The study, conducted among 350 Americans adults and 420 Canadian college students, asked participants to decide if a fictional driver damaged a parked car and left the scene, then found a wallet and took the money, was the driver more likely to be a teacher, an atheist teacher, or a rapist teacher?
The participants, who were from religious and nonreligious backgrounds, most often chose the atheist teacher.
The study is part of an attempt to understand what needs religion fulfills in people. Among the conclusions is a sense of trust in others.
"People find atheists very suspect," Shariff said. "They don't fear God so we should distrust them; they do not have the same moral obligations of others. This is a common refrain against atheists. People fear them as a group."
Shariff, who studies atheism and religion, said the findings provide a clue to combating anti-atheism prejudice.
"If you manage to offer credible counteroffers of these stereotypes, this can do a lot to undermine people's existing prejudice," he said. "If you realize there are all these atheists you've been interacting with all your life and they haven't raped your children that is going to do a lot do dispel these stereotypes."
So I get home last night and not even out of my car when a guy around age 33 i guess and a younger sorta cute girl approach me with a printout of something they are pitching, i live in socal so i assume its someone selling something or selling their religion so before he even hands it to me and as he starts talkig i ask ............... What are you selling ?
oh nothing sir
are you trying to get me to join your church ? ( the guy looks like a run of the mill jesus freak, i can see it in his eyes )
no sir
so what do you want?
we are a group of local citizens looking for volunteers to help cleanup the area around the local trails and lakes on sundays
Sundays huh ? well i am work a lot monday to friday and dont want any sunday commitments
just come when you feel like it
So this isn't a church group?
well we are but its open to anyone
no thanks
I look at the paper he had given me after they left , they START at 9am and begin with a prayer and signing and sermon for 45 minutes and THEN they do some work
SCHEMERS !
oh nothing sir
are you trying to get me to join your church ? ( the guy looks like a run of the mill jesus freak, i can see it in his eyes )
no sir
so what do you want?
we are a group of local citizens looking for volunteers to help cleanup the area around the local trails and lakes on sundays
Sundays huh ? well i am work a lot monday to friday and dont want any sunday commitments
just come when you feel like it
So this isn't a church group?
well we are but its open to anyone
no thanks
I look at the paper he had given me after they left , they START at 9am and begin with a prayer and signing and sermon for 45 minutes and THEN they do some work
SCHEMERS !
I have dressed up as Santa for my sisters nephews for 6 years,, my brother came down 2 years ago, and brought his 2 kids,, He i s a fundamentalist christian, (sigh) I am not,,, anyway, so as I come out to give gifts to all the kids,, his 2 have this weird look in their eye,, well,, you prob know where Im going with this,, sooo,,, I finiish leave, and he tells me I cant lie to my children, I had to tell them that there is no santa, and santa was you,,, I looked at him with a frustrated eye,,, lol,, (I told my bro) yoiur being hypocritical, there is no god,, YOU are god just as much as I am santa? not a good christmas,,, oh and his kids told my sisters kids,,, pretty shitty,,, oh well,
tater
tater
