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July 15th, 2013
02:50 PM ET
Behold, the six types of atheistsBy Dan Merica, CNN (CNN) - How many ways are there to disbelieve in God? At least six, according to a new study. Two researchers at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga found that atheists and agnostics run the range from vocally anti-religious activists to nonbelievers who still observe some religious traditions. “The main observation is that nonbelief is an ontologically diverse community,” write doctoral student Christopher Silver and undergraduate student Thomas Coleman. “These categories are a first stab at this," Silver told the website Raw Story. "In 30 years, we may be looking at a typology of 32 types.” Silver and Coleman derived their six types of nonbelievers from 59 interviews. We're pretty sure we've spotted all six in our comments section. 1) Intellectual atheist/agnostic This type of nonbeliever seeks information and intellectual stimulation about atheism. They like debating and arguing, particularly on popular Internet sites. (Ahem.) They're also well-versed in books and articles about religion and atheism, and prone to citing those works frequently. 2) Activist These kinds of atheists and agnostics are not content with just disbelieving in God; they want to tell others why they reject religion and why society would be better off if we all did likewise. They tend to be vocal about political causes like gay rights, feminism, the environment and the care of animals. 3) Seeker-agnostic This group is made up of people who are unsure about the existence of a God but keep an open mind and recognize the limits of human knowledge and experience. Silver and Coleman describe this group as people who regularly question their own beliefs and “do not hold a firm ideological position.” That doesn't mean this group is confused, the researchers say. They just embrace uncertainty. 4) Anti-theist This group regularly speaks out against religion and religious beliefs, usually by positioning themselves as “diametrically opposed to religious ideology,” Silver and Coleman wrote. “Anti-theists view religion as ignorance and see any individual or institution associated with it as backward and socially detrimental,” the researchers wrote. “The Anti-Theist has a clear and – in their view, superior – understanding of the limitations and danger of religions.” Anti-theists are outspoken, devoted and – at times – confrontational about their disbelief. They believe that "obvious fallacies in religion and belief should be aggressively addressed in some form or another.” 5) Non-theist The smallest group among the six are the non-theists, people who do not involve themselves with either religion or anti-religion. In many cases, this comes across as apathy or disinterest. “A Non-Theist simply does not concern him or herself with religion,” Silver and Coleman wrote. “Religion plays no role or issue in one’s consciousness or worldview; nor does a Non- Theist have concern for the atheist or agnostic movement.” They continue: “They simply do not believe, and in the same right, their absence of faith means the absence of anything religion in any form from their mental space.” 6) Ritual atheist They don't believe in God, they don’t associate with religion, and they tend to believe there is no afterlife, but the sixth type of nonbeliever still finds useful the teachings of some religious traditions. “They see these as more or less philosophical teachings of how to live life and achieve happiness than a path to transcendental liberation,” Silver and Coleman wrote. “For example, these individuals may participate in specific rituals, ceremonies, musical opportunities, meditation, yoga classes, or holiday traditions.” For many of these nonbelievers, their adherence to ritual may stem from family traditions. For others, its a personal connection to, or respect for, the "profound symbolism" inherent within religious rituals, beliefs and ceremonies, according the researchers. - The authors of this study have graciously agreed to field questions from our commenters. If you're interested, please post your question below or tweet it to us at @CNNBelief. We'll take the best questions to the authors and the Q&A will be posted in a follow-up article. Please try to keep your questions related to the study itself. Thanks, soundoff (9,518 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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"Look where all this talking got us baby."
Live – White Discussion
Yeah and in the list up there they forgot George Carlin.
did hhari's post disappear? wow, i am sure that will come out in that big, big lawsuit
How about the laughing kind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLNUTKHXuEM
did you watch the doc umentary Evolution Vs. God on youtube???
Did it explain where unicorns, talking serpents, and dragons were in the evolutionary process?
cult [kuhlt]
noun
1. a particular system of religious worship, especially with reference to its rites and ceremonies.
2. an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, especially as manifested by a body of admirers: the physical fitness cult.
3. the object of such devotion.
4. a group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc.
5. Sociology . a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols.
I would hazard to guess that everyone that has posted here belongs to one or another cult, since the deists have their belief in god and the atheists tend to fit into one category or another as well.
The true holy trinity in our universe is the neutron, electron and positron, which makes up the hydrogen atom, from which all other things come from. Do we know how this happened?
Certainly not, but one cannot deny that all things come from this starting point so maybe hydrogen is god?
Personally, I would call myself a beerest because I have spent two days reading these posts now and the only thing I can truly relate to is: "I believe I will go have another beer."
Also, see my post on page 74 as to why I don't fear going to hell.
Note: positron should be proton....and I still believe I am a beeriest!
There.s the lying type. The criminal type. The stupid ones. The idiots. The child melostrs, Sam stone. The white, elderly, single, uneducated, poor, child abusing women. There's the type who think they are funny. Do nothing all day. Wear hundreds of names. Hate everyone
Please brush up on spelling/grammar.
Reblogged this on The World of Animus.
Just pray for these people because hell is not a nice place
Why don't you go there and tell us what it's REALLY like.
You got it exactly backwards, Catherine Mccloskey: Precisely because 'this is all there is' do humans look around and think it is all beautiful. If the sky was olive-green in the morning, and all flowers came in various shades of brown, we would love it, too. In addition, IF you credit a deity with all that is beautiful in the world, then you also have to blame that deity for all the ugliness. – And there is plenty of it, just look around.
And by the way: The God that you believe in requires you to pray in private. Here is the relevant verse:
"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward." (KJB, Matthew 6:5)
Strangely, it takes an Atheist to remind you of that.
We percieve everything as beautiful because it's "all there is" is a comment from evolution and evolution is a theory- unproovable and unprobable (atleast macroevolution or abiogenesis: http://www.godandscience.org/evolution/chemlife.html). If you base your argument on the psychological factors of growing up, God planned that too; it's His creation and His plan. You don't have to blame God for all the bad things in the world because: 1. The ground is cursed because of Adam (Genesis 3:17). 2. We are continualy doing evil to each other: polution, murder, wars and famines are our fault. 3. Evil is from the devil who temps people through the evil desires of their hearts and the people yield to it and sin (James 1:13-15, James 4:7-10); have you ever been tempted(!) to give money to the poor?
As for praying; she wasn't praying, she just suggested that we should pray for you.
Evolution unprovable and improbable!!! There is plenty of evidence for evolution and no evidence for a god.
how exactly do you know this, catherine?
and, if god has a plan, how is prayer NOT blasphemous?
do you purport to know more than god,
or do you just like spending lots of time on your knees?
I could not imagining thinking this is all their is Just look around see the the beauty now tell me where did that come from god pray for all of you that don't believe
You make a very strong and powerful point. Now learn to spell.
A lot of people are afraid of dying and wish that they could live forever. It's very human. It's one of the reasons why christianity is so popular. It promises you magical things like eternal life in a paradise with streets of gold. Of course, there is no proof to substantiate these claims. There is no proof that the christian god, or that any god actually exists, or any devil or that any heaven, hell or afterlife exist. Nothing at all to indicate that there is anything more than this.
Anything that lives will die, decompose and be forgotten. This is natural. All your ceremonies, praying and bargaining can't change that. No point fearing what can't be changed. Why not live your life as best you can instead of wasting time wishing for more?
I am an atheist. Or maybe I should say I am an agnostic. There are some really weird physics behind quantum theory that could posit a position that the "Universe" itself is alive. Then there is also NDE's or near-death experiences. It is easy to dismiss them, and I have been known to in the past. However, some are really strange and suggest a possible scientific basis for a conscious existence after death.
Please don't make a crackpot of me over this. It is certainly possible that NDE's are just a product of the dying brain. But sometimes that BRAIN is able to collect confirmed data that cannot be otherwise confirmed, except by the existence of a "universal consciousness."
No bible quotes from me. Just a sterling sense of curiosity, for I had one myself when I was a child. Ironically, if there is an afterlife, according to the experiences of people with NDE's, religion has absolutely nothing to do with it.
sanjosemike
So, you're telling me that God gave me a brain and then punishes me for using it. That makes him an a$$ho!e in my books.
I reckon that one way of looking at this is to say that the sheer number of religions in the world is just a way for the Almighty to reduce the number of the saved ones at the End.... (you wouldn't want Heaven to be overcrowded would you...?.)
Come on! Have you seen how many angels can fit on the end of pin, lately?
At some point in my life, I needed support financially, I was in despair. I cleaned myself and prayed two prayers as a Muslim out of no where. Then I raised my hands and asked for help. The chances of anything happening were remotely impossible, impossible, I was in my house alone. What can possibly happen? I swear, I swear, I swear as soon as I finished my prayer $4000 dollars were sent to my online account in my E-commerce business. I couldn't breathe for a sec, was a bit scared for a while, then I cried a bit. Not for the money, but for realizing that God answered me. I never for the last 3 years before this event or after 4 years of that event did I get anything even remotely equal to that sum. It might be a coincidence for you, it was a miracle to me that I shall take to my grave...God does exist no matter what people say...
Yes – God sent you $4,000 while 250,000 people lost their lives in a tsunami. Well, I guess God has her priorities.
You guys are so funny. So, allow me my chance: With all the anger between atheists and believers on this message board, I thought I would hunt for something we can all agree on. After a minute or two, it hit me: We can all agree that atheists are NOT going to Heaven.
That does not seem to be what the Pope believes.
Yeah, but what does he know?
So, what's jehovah's email address, then?
HEY!!!! you forgot tall athiests, thin athiests, asian athiests, african athiests, alien athiests, construction worker athiests, feline atheists, Spanish speaking athiests, bald athiests, hollywood athiests, scubadiving athiests, illiterate athiests, breakdancing athiests, HIV positive athiests, and let's not forget the fastest growing group of athiests in the countless amounts of infant athiests in the world today.
Hilarious. That's how they will make up 36 categories in future.
God exists and we must love God. For sue God exists. Look at the sun. God created it. Look at yourself. God created you. We did not create ourselves. Love God, and tell God that you love God.
Go back to the church you crawled out from.
If u don't understand SCIENCE try RELIGION. U need help... GOD didn't create me or anyone else.... LOOK AT THE PROOF, dinosaurs, man, the world was around before your supposed FAKE being created a world that already existed.
You are so right pray for these sick people keep up the good work
Yes, keep praying (which does absolutely nothing) instead of helping out and offering your support in a meaningful and worthwhile way, such as contacting your Congressman or volunteering for the Red Cross. I can hear the screams of children now, "Thank God you are praying for me... Oh, you're praying to Jesus Christ? Nevermind!"
Atheists are sick?
Nothing pompous about that, is there, gash?
Fine, Jocelyn. I evolved, you didn't.
They forgot the fanatical atheists.The group in wich Pol Pot and Kim il Sung belong.
Hello folks. Everyone is invited to receive a newly released "free" downloadable song at... thetreasureofzion.com
These categories seem to overlap and don't therefore seem distinct as categories. It does, however, point out some characteristics of some individuals. Some actual data as to these would be interesting.
TURBULENCIAS ENTRE
OPERATION RED VENEZUELA . NAZISCHINASNOPAJ AGENCIES WORKING IN VENEZUELA
RADIATE POLITICAL TRYING TO HAVE THE BIOLOGICAL DAMAGE .
EMBASSIES SO THE CASE AS FOLLOW THE STRANGE CASE .
cannibalism adiatico
sequestration to sell Latin American development and technological medical organizations .
CNN JOURNALISTS BE CAREFUL BECAUSE THEY KNOW A LOT COMMUNICATORS SATELLITE PLATFORM manipulate USUALLY ACCIDENTS.
MOVIES WHERE ARE SUBJECT TO SEE MOVIES TAKEN FROM SATELLITES RECORDED .
sold between agencies to get money.
SOME DAMAGE CASES LES MUSCLES ON STRIKE GLOTTIS , OPTIC NERVE , TESTICLES , ORGANS .
NANO TECHNOLOGY AND SOFT WARE ASK THE AGENCY AGENTS THEY HAVE THE INFORMATION.
ELECTRO PULSE Ascesores MAGNERICOS LOCKS IN COMPUTERS FOR NOT WORK .
POP IN LIQUID DRAIN MUSCLES .
September 1, 2013 at 1:48 pm | Report abuse | Reply
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"These categories seem to overlap and don't therefore seem distinct as categories." Just like religion.
I think you forgot one category: the idea itself of God makes no sense. It is absurd and clearly fictional.
Vulcan Atheist: anyone who knows God's idea makes no logic sense and therefore simply does not take it for granted.
The study (as far as I can see) and the article did not reference the Holocaust. This is the most important driver of atheism in history, and yet it was ignored? Why is that?
Nonsense. The Holocaust and Atheism had nothing to do with each other. Hitler was Christian – for the first part of his 12 year reign a devout Catholic, and he really believed that he was fulfilling a Christian duty by eradicating Jewish people, which were at the time – collectively – accused of 'deicide'. That charge was only repudiated during the Second Vatican Council in the 60s.
Hitler was hostile toward Atheism. Here is a quote from 1933:
"And now Staatspräsident Bolz says that Christianity and the Catholic faith are threatened by us. And to that charge I can answer: In the first place it is Christians and not international atheists who now stand at the head of Germany. I do not merely talk of Christianity, no, I also profess that I will never ally myself with the parties which destroy Christianity. If many wish today to take threatened Christianity under their protection, where, I would ask, was Christianity for them in these fourteen years when they went arm in arm with atheism? No, never and at no time was greater internal damage done to Christianity than in these fourteen years when a party, theoretically Christian, sat with those who denied God in one and the same Government."
Jens, he's quoting the Pope. What do you expect?
The study (from what I can see) did not reference the Holocaust as being a driving reason for atheism. There should be a separate classification for "Holocaust Atheists." Why is there none? Did your reviewers miss the most important reason for atheism in history?
sanjosemike
Are you insane? If you can't say anything constructive, I suggest keeping your stupid trap shut.
You piece of cra$.... That story comes from the Pope who should have been hung for saying it. READ THIS: http://inversesquare.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/pope-blames-atheism-for-holocaust/
I don't see any point or value to your extreme anger against me. Also, I think you are reading more into my post than is actually intended. The Pope is really irrelevant to the Holocaust, except that during it, the Pope who served at that time did little if anything to prevent it or help.
Lots of people have blamed "atheism" for bad things as well as religion. All I'm pointing out is that the article and study did not seem to reference the Holocaust, which it SHOULD have.
Ease off on your anger. Try meditation and relaxation exercises. Your blood pressure will benefit from it. As far as my own personal beliefs, I am an atheist and a rather relaxed one. But I don't like to pay extra taxes because religions don't pay their share.
sanjosemike
If you read the post, you'd know they were referring to Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, who reined between 2005 and 2013, not the Pope during the Holocaust.
Holy Hanna. Thanks for the link. IT is outrageous.