A question about disbelief in the USA.

[1liesalot]

Anyone who has ever seen the documentary "Jesus Camp" might recall the chief protagonists claims about how being religious and wearing it on your sleeve was much easier than used to be. Is she right or is it all going wrong for the God botherers? The opinion polls would seem to suggest a rise in non belief (or at least non affiliation) but is Christianity in America in anyway challenged by this? Here in England, we don't really do God.

[Baruch]

You can't keep enthusiasm high all the time.  Even religious people face periodic burnout.  I have seen this on the small scale with individuals and families ... I see no reason why it wouldn't be true collectively.  If you are a soccer fan, do you go to every home game?  Do you go to every away game too?  If you are some kind of soccer hooligan (beats up other fans) ... shouldn't you cool it?  In religion unfortunately, there are quite a few hooligans, but not all are.

[doorknob]

I haven't seen jesus camp all though I think I saw some one review it. It is easy in America to be religious, encouraged and the expected norm for white folks at least. Where I am at, being an atheist puts you in a rough spot. The religious only know what they've been told about atheists and that is that we are sinners going to hell. If you are dumb enough to say you are an atheist out loud you get religion jammed down your throat.

[Baruch]

From their mistaken POV ... atheists are the anti-me ... if you thought you had encountered an anti-me (and racists do this too, the Other is too much for them to handle) wouldn't you want to use a fire extinguisher to put the hell-fire out?  Or treat the anti-me as an arsonist?  People have POVs, but there is a lot of damaging POVs to reject if you are going to think or behave rationally.

[TomFoolery]

I've seen the documentary and I'd say it's partially true that it's easy to be fervently religious. It depends on where you live. In central Texas where I currently park, you're weird if you don't have a bumper sticker that says "Jesus Loves Me!" In South Carolina where I just came from, people were a little less ardent in openly professing their faith to anyone who would listen, but they were still nonetheless religious. In Minnesota where my dad is from, a lot of people are religious lite but would be confused by faith that supposedly ran that passionately. In Washington State, forget it, those people would be crazy.

America is a big place, and as such we've tended to geographically segregate ourselves in regards to politics and religion, as you can see from this handy map. That one dark green state out west is Utah, and well... Mormons.

[1liesalot]

You can't keep enthusiasm high all the time.  Even religious people face periodic burnout.  I have seen this on the small scale with individuals and families ... I see no reason why it wouldn't be true collectively.  If you are a soccer fan, do you go to every home game?  Do you go to every away game too?  If you are some kind of soccer hooligan (beats up other fans) ... shouldn't you cool it?  In religion unfortunately, there are quite a few hooligans, but not all are.

Though the apologists can have their own negative impact along with their more thuggish brethren. See Sam Harris et al.

[SGOS]

America is a big place, and as such we've tended to geographically segregate ourselves in regards to politics and religion, as you can see from this handy map. That one dark green state out west is Utah, and well... Mormons.

Look at Vermont... a hotbed of decadence and filth.   

[TomFoolery]

Look at Vermont... a hotbed of decadence and filth.   

The unofficial state motto is "Wee! It's Sunday! Let's do something fun!"


As opposed to Mississippi, which would be "It's 10:05 on Sunday morning and you're out driving? How about you get yourself to church?!"

[stromboli]

Depends on where you are. Northern Utah nobody cares, Central Utah has a Mormon church on every block, and if you are seen at a 7-11 you are a marked man. Southern Utah nobody cares. Kind of a regional thing.

[widdershins]

Being religious and wearing it on your sleeve has never been difficult in America, depending on what they mean by that.  It is, I think, actually getting harder to be nutball religious or bigoted religious and wear it on your sleeve, which is a good thing.  But it is getting easier to be nonreligious and wear it on your sleeve, I think.  My oldest son is an open atheist and has many atheist friends.  Even his religious friends don't ride him about it.  When I was his age "atheist" pretty much meant "devil worshiper".  The two terms were practically interchangeable in the small minds of most.

[Unbeliever]

I saw Jesus Camp a few years ago. It reminded me of Lord of the Flies.

No one I know ever talks about religion. I don't really advertise my atheism, but neither do I hide it. No one I know seems at all bothered by it. I know not everyone is that lucky, though.

[1liesalot]

I was just wondering about that infamous remark made by the first King George (Bush, I mean) way back when he occupied the White House. The one wherein he doubted atheists should be regarded as US citizens. Would a president get away with saying that these days?

[Hydra009]

I was just wondering about that infamous remark made by the first King George (Bush, I mean) way back when he occupied the White House. The one wherein he doubted atheists should be regarded as US citizens. Would a president get away with saying that these days?

A sitting president, no.  A presidential candidate, especially a Republican, yes.

[Mike Cl]

In religion unfortunately, there are quite a few hooligans, but not all are.

Quite right.  There are quite a few hooligans--called leaders.  But the hooligans guard their numbers so that the majority of the members--the sheeple--don't think they can become hooligans.  Where would the money come from then, if all became hooligans????

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I was just wondering about that infamous remark made by the first King George (Bush, I mean) way back when he occupied the White House. The one wherein he doubted atheists should be regarded as US citizens. Would a president get away with saying that these days?

I was active duty at that time. I sent a letter to the VEEP telling him that if he didn't want me there it was too bad.