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SKOKEY Profile
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Registered: 12-2005
Province: Bennington, NH
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I was wondering if any data existed for children raised atheist that became religious as adults. This survey is conducted by CARA - The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate. If it is accurate, It firms up my thought that most people are just wired to have to believe in something that has all the answers, even if those answers are made-up fairy tails. Those people may bounce around from one faith to another but no amount of logic can make them atheist. 30 percent retention rate.
9/26/2012, 12:05 am Link to this post PM SKOKEY
 
Lesigner Girl Profile
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Minerva
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Re: Atheists: No God, just whining


I guess it depends on what they mean by "raised atheist." Are their parents simply not talking about religion at all with their children, or are they actively teaching them about the history of religion, promoting critical thinking, etc? Considering the source, are they considering "atheist" to mean anyone who doesn't believe in their particular god?

Religion is so entrenched in our society, it doesn't surprise me that people will fall for it if they're not immunized against it. The same can be said for belief in bigfoot, the loch ness monster, alien abductions, the illuminati, and a whole slew of other woo.

I'm not saying that nobody is wired in a way that would make them susceptible to belief in the supernatural. In fact, I think they have found, through brain imaging and possibly other methods, a strong correlation between supernatural beliefs and other physiological attributes. However, even if these statistics weren't coming from a biased source, I still don't think this kind of study can determine whether it's due more to physiology or cultural influence.

There is actually a good explanation here of why many people convert. It starts around 1:30 and ends around 9:45.



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9/26/2012, 1:10 am Link to this post PM Lesigner Girl Read Blog
 
SKOKEY Profile
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But still, I think those people that were taken in by the food and support and convert to the religion of the helper are people that need those kinds of spiritual answers. If you or I were in a real bad way and they came to our aid, we would be thankful that they helped and would not attribute the aid to some god. Most humans are very needy and cannot stand on their own or feel totally responsible for themselves. It all goes back to what my Uncle Moe said to me when I asked him about religion and he said, "Everybody needs to believe in something". I know he firmly believed what he said although I don't agree in the way that he meant it.

The survey included non-Christian religions and I tend to think the results are close to accurate but of course, they tried to spin the results to their way of thinking, that everyone needs to believe in something and that's coming from someone that needs to believe in something.
9/26/2012, 1:57 am Link to this post PM SKOKEY
 
Lesigner Girl Profile
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Minerva
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Re: Atheists: No God, just whining


I agree that biology appears to play a role in believing extraordinary claims, but there are also atheists who believe in other types of extraordinary claims like Bigfoot, Nessie, alien abductions, the Illuminati, a full moon causing weird things to happen, etc. So yes, this can show a biological predisposition for believing in extraordinary claims, but is it really a need to believe in the supernatural, or more like a vivid imagination?

Last revised by Lesigner Girl, 9/26/2012, 4:17 am


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9/26/2012, 4:15 am Link to this post PM Lesigner Girl Read Blog
 
SKOKEY Profile
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If someone calls themselves atheist and then believes in other supernatural ideas, it would seem to me that they are just transferring the need onto something else. How can you be so clear headed and logical to dispel the notion of a god and then go off the deep end with cryptozoology? I think there is a difference though if someone investigates to see if a claim is true as opposed to believing it to be true and coming up with "evidence" to bolster your claim.
9/26/2012, 11:30 am Link to this post PM SKOKEY
 
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Ignore me.

Registered: 01-2007
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Re: Atheists: No God, just whining


I think the reason that Uncle Moe said:

"Everybody needs to believe in something"


Because most people can not handle thinking that when they die, that's it........"Nothing". They become worm food. They don't want to think that after a life usually lived well, worked hard and done right....that they become nothing more than the dirt we came from. emoticon

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9/26/2012, 1:39 pm Link to this post PM Queenyforever Read Blog
 
SKOKEY Profile
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Oh - but it's much more than dirt - it's Starstuff!
9/26/2012, 4:50 pm Link to this post PM SKOKEY
 
Lesigner Girl Profile
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Minerva
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Re: Atheists: No God, just whining


Not every atheist arrives at atheism through logic and reason, though, and these things:

Bigfoot, Nessie, alien abductions, the Illuminati, a full moon causing weird things to happen, etc.


...aren't on the same level as an all-powerful creator of the universe. Someone can easily say, "Ok, the Bible is bunk because we know otherwise," and either discard Christianity or all religion at once. But even though Genesis, the Exodus, and other stories in the Bible have been disproven, this doesn't disprove the existence of a biological species hiding out in the woods, or another biological species in some lake. The idea of a technologically-advanced species from a different planet isn't so far-fetched, even if the probability of them finding us is very small.

I don't believe in any of the things listed in my quote above, but I can see how someone would arrive at the conclusion that there are probably no gods while still believing in some of those other things, if for no other reason than they are educated about some things but not about others. Remember, not everyone is as skeptical as we are, and some may actually need to see evidence against a popular claim before disbelieving it, rather than simply acknowledging that there isn't enough evidence for it, or that there are alternate explanations as to why people make some of the claims that they do.

"Well, a lot of people say they've been abducted by aliens, and since the idea of technologically-advanced species on other planets isn't so far-fetched, then what they say must be true." Maybe these people simply haven't heard of sleep paralysis.


It is also believed that the phenomenon of reported alien abduction is caused by sleep paralysis where the hallucination of aliens has been generated by 20th and 21st century science fiction.



Even if the CARA study were to prove a need to believe in something extraordinary, it still doesn't prove the need to believe in something supernatural. The idea of a full moon causing people to do weird things might be seen as supernatural, but some people might believe there's some natural explanation they're just not aware of, or they might have heard a naturalistic explanation and believed it, much like some people believe our mind can affect water due to some metaphysical something or other. You and I may not believe it, but others may be convinced due to their limited understanding about something.

Also, what Queeny said. For those who do feel the need to believe in religious concepts, some might hate the idea of ceasing to exist, others might be comforted at the idea of having a supernatural being guiding and protecting them, etc., and we can't discount the fact that Christianity (as I'm sure other religions) convinces people that, "You have a disease (original sin), and we have the cure (Jesus)."

So, I do think that one's physiological makeup can create a predisposition toward believing in extraordinary things, but I don't think we should rule out life experiences as a major factor, either.

Take, for instance, someone who lacks the ability to feel empathy, due to an incurable neurological deficiency. If this person grows up in a loving environment with good role models, there's a good chance they will mimic that behavior and treat other people decently, even though they can't feel empathy for those around them. If, on the other hand, this person grows up in an abusive environment, this increases the possibility that they might go out and commit violent acts themselves. On the other hand, someone who feels empathy is more likely to treat people decently no matter what, even if they grow up in an abusive environment.

This is how I see brain function creating a predisposition for belief in extraordinary things, but I think learning why it's important to examine all the evidence for and against any claim, and think critically about this evidence, can go a long way toward immunizing these people against believing extraordinary claims without sufficient evidence.

Last revised by Lesigner Girl, 9/26/2012, 11:44 pm


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9/26/2012, 11:12 pm Link to this post PM Lesigner Girl Read Blog
 
SKOKEY Profile
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Citizen

Registered: 12-2005
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I see your point on extraordinary claims. If someone hasn't learned critical thinking skills, they could easily believe something if it is presented in a sciency way. When Animal Planet ran a fake documentary a couple months ago about mermaids, My boss was talking about it the next day and believing it could be real. I had to set him straight which also comforted his daughter who was leery of ever going to the beach again.
9/27/2012, 12:40 am Link to this post PM SKOKEY
 
Lesigner Girl Profile
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Minerva
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Re: Atheists: No God, just whining


Lol. Your boss sounds like an interesting person. You might want to warn him about the Onion and some of the other parody sites, in case he ever runs across them and takes them seriously. emoticon

I've spent the last 7 years, or so, trying to understand various religious mindsets, but lately, I'm finding more and more atheist skeptics exhibiting similar mindsets. I'm not just talking about stuff like Bigfoot and Nessie, either, but about the vastly different perspectives of people, based on lifetimes of experience.

How familiar are you with Elevatorgate? Are you familiar with the details of the incident that prompted a "Don't do that" comment in a video, and all the controversy that followed?

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9/27/2012, 1:30 am Link to this post PM Lesigner Girl Read Blog
 


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