Why politicians feign religious conviction

[Andrew-Austin]

Because these kind of sentiments (see pic) are not exactly uncommon, atheists are one of the most hated/disliked minorities.

That is not to say politicians are necessarily atheists, I said they feign conviction (passion, fervor, seriousness) in religion to appeal to the masses. I'm sure a good amount of politicians (mostly the Republicans obviously) are just like a lot of Americans in that they are passive in their faith, and have ambiguous feelings towards God and religion. But when it comes time to stand in front of a mic on stage, its all "God and country" zeal plus high cholesterol.

 

[disorderlyvision]

Everyone in this room is stupider for having read that

YouTube - Everyone Is Now Dumber - Billy Madison

 

[Mitt Romneys sideburns]

Yea, KICK THEM OUT!

 

[Ian A.]

This obscure letter the editor that has apparently been plastered on the internet for enhanced effect is the exception, not the rule.

I'm frankly tired of Atheists spewing their angry, rabid intolerance of all religious people, and then telling the world that they are persecuted. Anyone who has been on Infidels or read a Dawkins book knows that the Atheist's bitter rage against religious people is the rule rather than the exception.

My problem with atheists is their tiresome -- and way old -- insistence that they are being oppressed...[and ]...victimology: Boohoo, everybody hates us 'cuz we don't believe in God. Although a recent Pew Forum survey on religion found that 16% of Americans describe themselves as religiously unaffiliated, only 1.6% call themselves atheists...You or I might attribute the low numbers to atheists' failure to win converts to their unbelief, but atheists say the problem is persecution so relentless that it drives tens of millions of God-deniers into a closet of feigned faith, like gays before Stonewall.

What primarily seems to motivate atheists isn't rationalism but anger -- anger that the world isn't perfect, that someone forced them to go to church as children, that the Bible contains apparent contradictions, that human beings can be hypocrites and commit crimes in the name of faith. The vitriol is extraordinary. Hitchens thinks that "religion spoils everything." Dawkins contends that raising one's offspring in one's religion constitutes child abuse. Harris argues that it "may be ethical to kill people" on the basis of their beliefs.

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/may/17/opinion/oe-allen17

 

[Andrew-Austin]

This obscure letter the editor that has apparently been plastered on the internet for enhanced effect is the exception, not the rule.

I'm frankly tired of Atheists spewing their angry, rabid intolerance of all religious people, and then telling the world that they are persecuted. Anyone who has been on Infidels or read a Dawkins book knows that the Atheist's bitter rage against religious people is the rule rather than the exception.

I know some atheists are smug (and some are definitely jackasses when posting on the internet like a lot of people in general are), I know not all Christians are ignorant bigots like the lady who wrote that letter. But your generalization about atheists here sounds highly exaggerated and cartoonish, and to say that it is the rule makes it obvious you are full of it. At least try and assume some degree of objectivity.

Admitting to someone that you are an atheist today, is like admitting to someone back in the 50s that you are gay. There is that same degree of "it is not okay to be x" in the atmosphere. I have gotten that reaction several times before, and I know I would again and again as long as the topic came up. I didn't just feel awkward for myself I felt awkward for them because of the reactions they had. That is hardly being 'persecuted', but I never said it was you did as a strawman.


I think atheists as a whole are not that different from the rest of the population. Atheists mostly pop up in semi-religious families, since the large majority of Americans are obviously religious. To suggest that we are in anyway intolerant of religious people in real life fails to acknowledge the position we are in and flies in the face of logic. Atheists couldn't be intolerant or rude towards religious people even if we wanted to, and we are certainly inclined to be as understanding as we can towards our religious family members and friends.

Atheists on the internet is another matter. People in general are more outspoken, more willingly to speak freely without regard on the internet, that is the nature of the medium. It is impersonal and anonymous, its a couple steps away from talking to one's self.