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Religion
In reply to the discussion: Scientists discover that atheists might not exist, and that’s not a joke [View all]beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)54. Another religious bigot proudly displaying his scientific illiteracy and intolerance.
If a loved one dies, even many anti-religious people usually feel a need for a farewell ritual, complete with readings from old books and intoned declarations that are not unlike prayers. In war situations, commanders frequently comment that atheist soldiers pray far more than they think they do.
There are other, more socially-oriented evolutionary purposes, too. Religious communities grow faster, since people behave better (referring to the general majority over the millennia, as opposed to minority extremists highlighted by the media on any given day).
Why is this so? Religious folk attend weekly lectures on morality, read portions of respected books about the subject on a daily basis and regularly discuss the subject in groups, so it would be inevitable that some of this guidance sinks in.
There is also the notion that the presence of an invisible moralistic presence makes misdemeanors harder to commit. People who think they are being watched tend to behave themselves and cooperate more, says the New Scientists Lawton. Societies that chanced on the idea of supernatural surveillance were likely to have been more successful than those that didn't, further spreading religious ideas.
Why is this so? Religious folk attend weekly lectures on morality, read portions of respected books about the subject on a daily basis and regularly discuss the subject in groups, so it would be inevitable that some of this guidance sinks in.
There is also the notion that the presence of an invisible moralistic presence makes misdemeanors harder to commit. People who think they are being watched tend to behave themselves and cooperate more, says the New Scientists Lawton. Societies that chanced on the idea of supernatural surveillance were likely to have been more successful than those that didn't, further spreading religious ideas.
In the meantime, it might be wise for religious folks to refrain from teasing atheist friends who accidentally say something about their souls. And it might be equally smart for the more militant of todays atheists to stop teasing religious people at all.
Woo peddlers should stick to writing fantasy and leave the thinking to real scientists.
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That premise is not obvious in the short excerpt above. Which mostly suggests hard-wired values.
Brettongarcia
Jul 2014
#19
At best he's illustrating that there can be a spectrum of belief as well as non-belief
AtheistCrusader
Jul 2014
#21
What does the existence of a soul have to do with religion or belief in a god?
Starboard Tack
Jul 2014
#47
My sister used to say that anything I did that was good, that was because her god put
djean111
Jul 2014
#30
Another religious bigot proudly displaying his scientific illiteracy and intolerance.
beam me up scottie
Jul 2014
#54
Exactly. But why let facts get in the way of perfectly acceptable religious intolerance?
beam me up scottie
Jul 2014
#59
He is promulgating a bigoted belief, as if true. He's begging the question on an assumption.
AtheistCrusader
Jul 2014
#71
He's saying that atheists behave worse. That is categorically untrue as a society.
AtheistCrusader
Jul 2014
#78
Don't bother. This is acceptable intolerance in this forum because it comes from a believer.
beam me up scottie
Jul 2014
#81
The 'no atheists in foxholes' meme is generally considered offensive and bigoted.
AtheistCrusader
Jul 2014
#64
I don't see that assumption at all, particularly given his thesis that humans are so predisposed.
rug
Jul 2014
#65
Um, he's deliberately bending over backwards to accomodate people of faith in that eulogy.
AtheistCrusader
Jul 2014
#76