Monthly Archives: June 2017

Why would God allow evil to exist? is one of the main questions asked by atheists, according to the first chapter of There is a God.

BYU-Idaho students typically feel comfortable explaining why God allows this to members of their same faith. But when the person they are talking to is an atheist, the conversation changes. Such was the case for Lauren Terry, a freshman studying public health.

I would use the idea that we all have agency because we all have it, said Terry I dont know.

Hyrum Lewis, a faculty member in the Department of History, Geography and Political Science, published a book titled There is a God on May 1, 2017.

Lewis said the book helps members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with tough questions asked by modern atheists.

The primary objective of There is a God is to address the questions and concerns brought by atheists, agnostics and members having doubts about the existence of God.

Lewis said this book was the result of years of thoughtful consideration with questions of faith until he had enough material to make a publication.

Link:
Responding to atheism in the last days - BYU-I Scroll

Ivy Taylor, the mayor of San Antonio who blamed generational poverty on broken people who didnt believe in God, no longer has a job. City Council member Ron Nirenberg defeated her 55%-45% in a runoff election yesterday.

While theres no proof Taylors anti-atheist comments led to her downfall, they did go viral online, and its worth reminding people of just how awful they were.

They took place during a mayoral forum in April in which candidates talked about the impact of and challenges for non-profit groups in the community. At one point, Taylor was asked about the deepest systemic causes of generational poverty. Theres no simple answer to that, of course, but Taylors response didnt even come close.

To me, its broken people. People not being in a relationship with their Creator, and therefore, not being in good relationship with their families and their communities, and not being productive members of society. I think thats the ultimate answer. Thats not something that I work on from my position as Mayor of the community

It was bizarre, offensive, and not based on any facts whatsoever. It was irrelevant that she was directing her response to an openly Christian questioner. Poverty isnt caused by atheism, and atheism doesnt mean you dont have a good relationship with your family and community. (And you better believe we contribute to society.)

Taylor later said that clip was a dishonest, politically motivated misrepresentation of her record, intentionally edited to mislead viewers.

That was a lie. You can see the full exchange at the 1:07:39 mark in this video. Her comments arent any better in context.

She was condemned by several national atheist groups, many of which offered to set up a meeting with their members so Taylor could see for herself what they offered the city of San Antonio.

She never took them up on it.

And now she wont have to.

When speaking to her supporters last night, Taylor once again brought up her faith.

Taylor seemed to concede during her speech, saying, A majority of the votes have come in. It doesnt look like its going the way that we anticipated this evening. But you know what? I am so grateful to God I am at peace. I am so thankful to God for each and every person in this room, for your support, for your prayers, for being here.

And were thankful to no-God that shes no longer in office.

Even though he just got elected, I hope Ron Nirenberg does what Taylor never did and offers to meet with atheists as a gesture of solidarity. He doesnt have to agree with us on theology, but theres no reason to shut us out. It would be a welcome overture.

In case youre wondering, the city council is a non-partisan group and Nirenberg does not declare affiliation with any political party.

(Thanks to @SarahHancock23 for the link. Portions of this article were published earlier)

More here:
San Antonio Mayor Who Blamed Generational Poverty on Atheism Loses Runoff Election - Patheos (blog)

This article originally appeared on AlterNet.

Religion was a major backdrop in the 2016 election. Donald Trump campaigned hard in white Christian America, promising voters that he would essentially turn back the clock to an America when religion and Christians overall were more influential in the country.

This strategy paid off, asthe Washington Postreported: Exit polls show white evangelical voters voted in high numbers for Donald Trump,80-16 percent. Thats the most they have voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 2004.

White evangelicals are the religious group that most identifies with the Republican Party, and 76 percent of them say they are or lean Republican, according to a 2014survey. As a group, white evangelicalsmake upone-fifth of all registered voters and about one-third of all voters who identify with or lean toward the GOP.

So it is no surprise that Trump has quickly moved with anexecutive orderto relax restrictions on thepolitical activitiesof tax-exempt churches in an effort to strengthen the role of religion, in essence working to strengthen the political hand of churches in political campaigns.

Trump playing the conservative religious card is in stark contrast to the role nonbelievers play in American society. Atheists, those who disbelieve in the existence of god, comprise a growing sector of American society. Their numbers are often hidden in polls and generally undercounted because some fear reporting their identity and facing social stigmatization.

There have been various reports showing a marked increase in nonbelievers, including atheists, agnostics and others who do not identify with a religion or say that religion is not important to them. Between 2007 and 2014, the portion of Americans who do not believe in a god grew by over 10 percent, according to astudydone by thePew Research Center. The growing numbers of nonreligious people in the United States are propelled by generational change, asyoung people, who are more likely to be unaffiliated with a religion, reach adulthood and slowly replace their older and more religious counterparts.

A recentstudyby psychologists Will Gervais and Maxine Najle at the University of Kentucky concluded that the number of atheists in the United States exceeds 20 percent with a roughly 0.8 probability. This estimate is more than double the conclusion of the study collected over the telephone by Pew Research Center, which found that approximately 10 percent of Americans dont believe in god and only 3 percent of Americans identify asatheists. This disparity toward what is essentially the same question suggests that people are hesitant to identify themselves as atheists.Furthermore, a study byPRRIin 2016 revealed that more than 30 percent of atheists hide their disbelief from friends and family for fear of disapproval, suggesting that many might find an admission over the telephone similarly difficult.

To obtain accurate results, Gervais and Najle constructed a very subtle test that would remove the stigma around atheism.Using a sample population of 2,000 Americans, they asked respondents to answer true or false to seemingly banal statements such as I am a vegetarian or I own a dog.The control group responded to nine statements while the test group responded to the same nine statements plus an additional one I do not believe in God.

Participants only had to acknowledge the number of statements that applied to them. They never had to deny believing in god or identifying as an atheist, which omitted any social stigma from the test.

By comparing the responses of the two groups, Gervais and Najle came to their conclusion approximately 26 percent of Americans are atheists. Assuming the number of vegetarians and dog owners is the same between the two groups, any increase in the test group compared to the control group indicates the number of atheists.

The two psychologists admit that their study is not free of error, but they have undoubtedly proven that previous polls conducted over the telephone or in person have yielded deceptively small numbers.

In fact, another study performed by the Pew Research Center found evidence supporting the existence of social stigma around being openly atheist. Pew found that only a third of Americans feelwarmly toward atheists. Daniel Cox of PRRI wrote in FiveThirtyEight that a third of Americans believe that atheists should be banned frombecoming president, and a similar percent thinks that they should be prohibited from teaching in public schools. With pressure to conform to the dominant religious beliefs, some American atheists choose to hide their beliefs.

In an interview withSlate, Renee Johnson, a single lesbian mother in Point, Texas, said that she would rather have a big L or lesbian written across [her] shirt than a big A or atheist, because people are going to handle it better. Johnson is just one of many who feel uncertain about revealing their nonbelief in a country where religion and spirituality seem like national imperatives.

As the discrepancy between the poll performed by Gervais and Najle compared with previous polls indicates, the role of religion in the daily lives of Americans is becoming increasingly complex. Many polls require respondents to select a single religious identification from a list, which does not allow people to choose multiple answers. By this method, someone cant be Jewish and an atheist or Catholic and atheist. Although its possible to follow a religion for cultural, heritage or spiritual reasonsseparate from a belief in godin previous polls, religion and atheism have been considered mutually exclusive. This method of polling fails to recognize the possibility that religion may be determined by heritage and cultural background, rather than belief; it also presumes one concept of god.

However, ideas of god or spiritual forces are entirely subjective, as indicated in a study byGallup, which found that 89 percent of Americans believe in god, but only about half believe in an anthropomorphic god. The various studies about religion, belief and god exemplify how the United States necessitates having a society that can accept a full range of religious belief and spiritual ambiguity.

While feelings toward atheism are certainly changing60 percent of Americans reportknowingan atheist, which is significantly more than 10 years agothe stigma surrounding people who do not believe in god is continuing to stifle freedom of belief in America. As with his other attempts to turn back the clock in America, President Trumps remark inhis inaugural address about joining all Americans together with thesamealmighty Creator, threatens the intricate and varying histories, beliefs and ways of being that are present in this country.

Here is the original post:
Trump Evangelicals face a growing number of hidden Atheists - Salon

Kawartha Media Group

Atheism, or agnosticism, ends in meaninglessness and despair Kawartha Media Group Atheism, or agnosticism, promise enlightenment and freedom, but followed to their logical conclusions, must end in meaninglessness and despair. To acknowledge the existence and, perhaps inconceivably, the wisdom of God may mean the end of our own ...

Read more from the original source:
Atheism, or agnosticism, ends in meaninglessness and despair - Kawartha Media Group