Study: 24% of Americans now either atheist, agnostic, or deist
posted at 5:50 pm on March 9, 2009 by Allahpundit
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Red meat to cleanse the palate via the American Religious Identification Survey, well seasoned and tenderized thanks to a sample of 54,000 people. (Margin of error: 0.5 percent.) You’ll find the key data in Table 3. Self-identified atheists and agnostics have tripled since 1990, from 1.1 million people to north of 3.6 million — but the number who now claim “no religion” is 34 million, or fully 15 percent. So where does that 24 percent figure in the headline come from? Right here:
Note that the percentage who agree that “there is no such thing” is more than three times the percentage who self-identify as atheist in Table 3, meaning people are eschewing the label — probably either because of residual stigma in the culture or because high-profile proselytizing atheists have done such a good job of alienating the public that even those who agree with them don’t want to be associated. Meanwhile, people agreeing with any of the first three statements total 12.1 percent, which is more than seven times the total number of self-identified atheists and agnostics in Table 3. Toss in the deists via the fourth statement and you reach an obvious conclusion: A lot of people who identify as Christian have some highly nuanced beliefs about the Christian concept of God. What would one call a Christian who’s not sure he believes in a divine father? An atheistic theist? That label has been used before.
Exit question: How skewed is the data by the fact it only accounts for U.S. adults and therefore offers no prediction about the next generation? Hmmmm.
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Actually, the mental exhaustion of our beloved President has caused more people to go to church to pray for his recovery. I think that just as many conservatives are concerned as liberals.
genso on March 9, 2009 at 6:47 PM
Maybe just the free exercise thereof, if Quinn has his way.
DrSteve on March 9, 2009 at 6:47 PM
Clearly, even in the technological age, superstition festers. Remarkable really.
ronsfi on March 9, 2009 at 6:47 PM
Let me guess. Screwing kids doesn’t start until double digits.
radiofreevillage on March 9, 2009 at 6:43 PM
Working hard to get past level nine, are you?
Bishop on March 9, 2009 at 6:47 PM
I know. The Dutch are migrating to Iran in thousands.
radiofreevillage on March 9, 2009 at 6:48 PM
69% believe in a personal God
+ 12% believe in a higher power
= 81%.
Not bad.
Kalifornia Kafir on March 9, 2009 at 6:48 PM
That is a very good point. Combined with the weakening of the family structure and there is less of a buffer between the individual and the big clumsy government.
dedalus on March 9, 2009 at 6:48 PM
genso on March 9, 2009 at 6:47 PM
Let us pray we get out of this bush depression.
getalife on March 9, 2009 at 6:49 PM
Geez it has taken 2000 years (plus) for 25% to realize that snakes don’t talk,
You’ve never heard Ogabe speak? Whoa…a true minority in America.
Bishop on March 9, 2009 at 6:49 PM
So it’s better to be a Muslim than an agnostic?
radiofreevillage on March 9, 2009 at 6:50 PM
What percentage of Americans are Muslim ….
sheesh
Jamson64 on March 9, 2009 at 6:52 PM
Clearly, even in the technological age, superstition festers. Remarkable really.
ronsfi on March 9, 2009 at 6:47 PM
You’ll be trembling on your deathbed, wondering if you got it wrong and more than likely muttering a little prayer under your breath just in case.
Bishop on March 9, 2009 at 6:52 PM
Pedophilia is no joke friend. Hey Allah, can we have a little monitoring here. The friendlies are staring to not be so friendly.
portlandon on March 9, 2009 at 6:52 PM
My calendar says it became Obama’s on January 20th.
DrSteve on March 9, 2009 at 6:53 PM
The holy trinity is indeed real and is watching, judging & making selections, albeit very, very, very few selections…..of that I am 100% sure.
Ris4victory on March 9, 2009 at 6:53 PM
I’m guessing thats a joke?
Itchee Dryback on March 9, 2009 at 6:53 PM
Ok so it is WIKI but if you find a different number please let me know.
Muslim (0.6%)
Jamson64 on March 9, 2009 at 6:54 PM
We should just pray that President Obama recovers fast enough and doesn’t make any more blunders in his diminished mental capacity to keep this recession from becoming the Obama Depression. And, of course, there’s that foreign policy that seems to really be struggling because you guys have put more on the man’s shoulder than any man could bear. Please don’t push so hard while he is incapacitated.
genso on March 9, 2009 at 6:54 PM
Don’t worry …you are welcome.
Jamson64 on March 9, 2009 at 6:54 PM
I had wondered if I read that dolt’s (Radio’s) post correctly.
Jamson64 on March 9, 2009 at 6:55 PM
DrSteve on March 9, 2009 at 6:53 PM
Yes, he inherited the bush depression.
Who would Jesus bailout?
The poor, the hungry the huddled masses in tent cities?
getalife on March 9, 2009 at 6:55 PM
You got it right Bishop. I have a good friend who does Hospice care for dieing patients. Amazingly enough those who are close to the end never wished they had gone to the mall more, watched more Sunday football games, or wasted their time on religion.
portlandon on March 9, 2009 at 6:56 PM
I remember that guy, Allah.
He used to hit all the Iraqi blogs popular with Americans,
Iraq The Model, Healing Iraq, etc. LOL, some of the commentators would have real meltdowns with his spiel. I laughed.
Mister Ghost on March 9, 2009 at 6:56 PM
Spooky stories…oooooooh! How pathetic are you? Tell you what, just for you, when I die I’ll tuck a Hebrew to Greek dictionary under my arm in case your right so I can tell God to study up.
LevStrauss on March 9, 2009 at 6:57 PM
Man, you are so asking the wrong guy.
DrSteve on March 9, 2009 at 6:57 PM
What do you expect him to do? Ban all Vatican IP’s at this site?
radiofreevillage on March 9, 2009 at 6:57 PM
Having looked that up, that’s certainly an interesting methodology, but I still don’t see how it establishes causality to the degree necessary to make the observations found in their abstract.
I mean, we can rank the IQs of the population and be reasonably certain of a difference, but a causal one? Not so much.
Other problems include the fact that IQ’s accuracy as a proxy for g isn’t that great at the higher end – after all it was never intended to be used that way. Of course, this doesn’t at all touch the truth of a given belief system, which is another matter entirely from the supposed intelligence of “cognitive efficiency” of its adherents. I’d like to discuss the article in greater detail, but even after registering at the bloody site they won’t let me view the confounded thing. Transaction error indeed. :P
TheUnrepentantGeek on March 9, 2009 at 6:57 PM
DrSteve on March 9, 2009 at 6:57 PM
LOL. I was asking the believers.
getalife on March 9, 2009 at 6:58 PM
These lefties with their Jesus questions kill me. If they want religion in government they had better be careful. Hmmm how about adding the 10 Commandments to the Constitution. As we both know they want to pick and choose.
Jamson64 on March 9, 2009 at 6:59 PM
No, let it stand and show everyone just how intelligent he is.
carbon_footprint on March 9, 2009 at 7:00 PM
I think the rule goes something like this, God helps those who help themselves. Unless, like our dearly beloved President Obama, they are suffering from mental exhaustion and actually need the help of the community.
genso on March 9, 2009 at 7:00 PM
No, just ban all those IP addresses from Bernie Ward & the AxelRod computer centers. Does Axelrod pay you per post, hourly, or a set fee? Do you get double for Sarah Palin bashing?
portlandon on March 9, 2009 at 7:01 PM
You make it sound like its a recent revelation to you and you can’t quite get over it. Do you feel betrayed or something? Just asking because you sound bitter.
Itchee Dryback on March 9, 2009 at 7:02 PM
genso on March 9, 2009 at 7:00 PM
Well, I doubt Jesus would want to bailout the greedy that caused the bush depression.
getalife on March 9, 2009 at 7:02 PM
I’m thinking that, as zealots go, I’m completely outclassed in this thread.
Your question is ridiculous and intentionally provocative. Troll. But please do continue. Our space program will benefit greatly from the data yielded by your rotational gravity research.
TheUnrepentantGeek on March 9, 2009 at 7:03 PM
I could let it stand, but I’m not Michael Steele. When called a Nazi, or compared to Pedophiles I kind of take offense.
portlandon on March 9, 2009 at 7:03 PM
Neither did conservatives. However, we don’t want to punish everybody because a few acted wrong. I’m sure if President Obama was not mentally exhausted now he would agree. You are praying for his recovery, aren’t you?
genso on March 9, 2009 at 7:05 PM
Of the subject but interesting anyway
Bush V. Obama when it comes to the view of the military
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIHz5tevLAw&eurl=http://www.bookwormroom.com/
Jamson64 on March 9, 2009 at 7:05 PM
You misunderstood me. I was calling him “intelligent” sarcastically. With each post, he shows what a vile, satanic Russian he is.
carbon_footprint on March 9, 2009 at 7:06 PM
You make it sound like the proper interpretation of “God” is the best thing we could come up with. I’m not so much bitter as I am not impressed with your low standards. Ooooh you have a higher level of reading comprehension than the common person, makes you feel special doesn’t it? That is the definition of pettiness. Let’s get out of the Bronze age already.
LevStrauss on March 9, 2009 at 7:06 PM
Yes, I pray daily for recovery of this bush depression.
getalife on March 9, 2009 at 7:06 PM
What do you expect him to do? Ban all Vatican IP’s at this site?
radiofreevillage on March 9, 2009 at 6:57 PM
You’re posting from the Vatican? Now THAT is cool.
Bishop on March 9, 2009 at 7:06 PM
The really sad thing is the utter failure to delegate responsibility displayed by the Brown gift faux pas. How hard would it have been to get someone to find a nice, symbolic, appropriately meaningful gift for a visiting dignitary? The effort to the President would have been minimal – perhaps just a stamp of approval.
And Obama is supposed to be good at the whole charisma game. Turns out, not so much.
TheUnrepentantGeek on March 9, 2009 at 7:07 PM
There’s probably a company working on shrubbery anti-depressants as we speak. /rimshot
But seriously, we only need 1g dude – too many more and you’ll just flatten our poor astronauts. Although maybe power generation is an option! We could probably pay you in patchouli oil and Birkenstocks.
TheUnrepentantGeek on March 9, 2009 at 7:09 PM
Well, as I have been telling getalife, the administration has already admitted that he is suffering from exhaustion…mental, that is. Who’d of guessed it?
genso on March 9, 2009 at 7:09 PM
I see the troll is repeating his mantra over and over.
What a laughable little fool
Jamson64 on March 9, 2009 at 7:09 PM
When one has little it goes quick
Jamson64 on March 9, 2009 at 7:10 PM
There are so many religions that even a Christian should wonder if they got it wrong. I have heard preachers say that two billion Christians can’t be wrong, but that means 1.2 billion Muslims are. If 1.2 billion people can be deluded, fooling another 800 million can’t be that much more difficult.
Pelayo on March 9, 2009 at 7:10 PM
All of the above.
Yes.
radiofreevillage on March 9, 2009 at 7:11 PM
Actually, it does not meet the standards of a depression. Of course, if our beloved President does not recover from his mental stress and continues his blunders, it may, unfortunately turn into the Obama Depression. They are already comparing him to Hoover, who, every time he spoke, drove the market down…like our sick President does now.
genso on March 9, 2009 at 7:12 PM
Pelayo on March 9, 2009 at 7:10 PM
I didn’t say praying to a given religion, just praying in a general sense to hedge his bets.
Bishop on March 9, 2009 at 7:15 PM
Interesting. For someone to claim to know the answer is no god, whose voice was that speaking when you decided to believe that He would have tortured you forever had you not made the ‘invitation’? And if you are prepared to believe it was His voice then how could one not believe in His existence? Quite a conundrum it seems to me.
Then, of course, it could also possibly mean not knowing (or more accurately-not believing in) Him is hell in and of itself. The ‘deep sleep’ as some might say.
anuts on March 9, 2009 at 7:16 PM
I’ll be honest, there are days when I doubt. But that’s life in the real world as opposed to the world of the ideologue – you live with a certain degree of uncertainty.
I don’t anticipate hard empirical proof either direction in my lifetime (or anybody else’s, but that’s a rather philosophical question), so I went with the option that made most sense to me. And I’m running with it, because dithering endlessly or giving up isn’t my style. I do resent being called stupid (in an altogether smug sort of way), so I’ll defend my faith as best I may.
TheUnrepentantGeek on March 9, 2009 at 7:16 PM
Itchee Dryback on March 9, 2009 at 7:02 PM
Tell you what else. I don’t understand the smugness of these ideological transgenders, they actually believe themselves to be men, when in reality they have been and will always be women, the “many of the few” as I like to call them. There is nothing that I find more pitiful than someone that is confused about their gender.
LevStrauss on March 9, 2009 at 7:16 PM
Leave Allahpundit out of this.
carbon_footprint on March 9, 2009 at 7:18 PM
Oh stop it.
Atheists like “thinky” stuff. The way it plays out in real life situations just makes overload.
Itchee Dryback on March 9, 2009 at 7:19 PM
It may be hard to believe but I am not an atheist. I think there is a big difference between being so absolute about the nonexistence of a higher power, force, spirit, whatever and being absolute about God never being an author.
LevStrauss on March 9, 2009 at 7:21 PM
Do you have to fill out a W-4 or is it all under the table? I hope he with holds taxes, would want you to get into any problems or you might be nominated to the Obahmbo cabinet. Secretary of Misinformaton?
portlandon on March 9, 2009 at 7:22 PM
What do you find that moral message to be? Any improvements would depend on that understanding imo.
Itchee Dryback on March 9, 2009 at 7:22 PM
Funny. I just saw a report on the news how Church attendance is way up and in some cases, even the mega-churches are filled beyond capacity….so much for polls.
TheBigOldDog on March 9, 2009 at 7:25 PM
That really makes no sense to me.
Maybe I’m not understanding what you’re getting at.
What do you mean by ‘eternal serfdom’?
Itchee Dryback on March 9, 2009 at 7:27 PM
The most moral thing that “God” ever said:
And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. (Exodus 33:20)
LevStrauss on March 9, 2009 at 7:29 PM
One determines one’s conscience by poll?
Or one comforts oneself for belief/non-belief by virtue of poll standing?
“Scientific” approach.
maverick muse on March 9, 2009 at 7:29 PM
Why would he do that? I thought he was an atheist. The more the merrier, right?
LevStrauss on March 9, 2009 at 7:34 PM
I don’t see those type of situations as smugness. They are mental disorders imo. The smugness comes from the people telling them that they in fact are men trapped in a womans body or women trapped in a mans body, and expend great amounts of energy, and convince them to go through these horrible life and mind changing operations.
Itchee Dryback on March 9, 2009 at 7:34 PM
Dr. Nyborg is a colleague of Dr. Richard Lynn, and a co-author of the Intelligence and Religiousity study published in the Journal of Intelligence.
You can download the pdf of the paper here, and read criticism and response by one of the authors.
g is a pretty standard psychometric measure.
strangelet on March 9, 2009 at 7:36 PM
A solution would be to vote out the bandits that are complicit in the very policies that caused it. Any elected official who advocates even the smallest incremental push towards nationalizing any industry, micro-management thereof, heavy taxation, welfare creation, wealth redistribution/destruction, or outright socialism are the culprits. That is our start.
Since the tyranny advocates voted for Obama in greater numbers (electorally and even numerically), we are stuck with him and those policies for the next four years. The message has to be sent to DC that we, as a people, favor liberty. Unfortunately, we failed this last time around.
anuts on March 9, 2009 at 7:37 PM
What does that mean to you? If you’ve singled it out as the most moral thing in the Bible, other things have been found to be not reaching that level.
Itchee Dryback on March 9, 2009 at 7:40 PM
Straw man..or ad hominem….or how about straw herring?
This:
You make it sound like the proper interpretation of “God” is the best thing we could come up with
is incomprehensible to me.
Can you restate it in other words.
Seriously…I don’t know what you’re trying to say.
Itchee Dryback on March 9, 2009 at 7:44 PM
Yes. But we learn from mistakes. This will be the downfall of the liberal ideology.
Itchee Dryback on March 9, 2009 at 7:50 PM
Itchee Dryback, I consider myself a lesbian trapped in a man’s body.
I might be a good pickup line.
Pelayo on March 9, 2009 at 7:57 PM
Itchee Dryback on March 9, 2009 at 7:40 PM
Not reaching that level is not the term I would use, because without the others it would have no meaning. One must look at the totality of statements found within before they can appreciate the beautiful simplicity of that statement. And I will follow its example too, instead of going all medieval on the bible.
LevStrauss on March 9, 2009 at 7:58 PM
And yet both the fire-and-forget mortgage bundlers and the liars on mortgage apps will get some federal money.
It’s like Matthew 5:45, but with pork.
DrSteve on March 9, 2009 at 8:03 PM
Bush Depression? This is the Dodd-Frank Depression.
Pelayo on March 9, 2009 at 8:07 PM
This conservative agnostic is hungry now!
Yakko77 on March 9, 2009 at 8:07 PM
Ahh…forget it. Just bitter about being called bitter.
LevStrauss on March 9, 2009 at 8:11 PM
LOL..I’ve said that myself, to the confusion of most of my friends..they had to think about it a while. Thanks for reminding me!
Itchee Dryback on March 9, 2009 at 8:31 PM
.
Spare me your sick masturbatory fantasies. As some one who has come to the brink of death twice I assure you I have no fear of death, only dieing.
ronsfi on March 9, 2009 at 8:32 PM
HA has become so predictable.
Connie on March 9, 2009 at 8:33 PM
You know what sux most about being an Atheist? No Ambrosia.
ronsfi on March 9, 2009 at 8:33 PM
Good enough for me.
I know the fatigue of having to explain myself about things that seem obvious.
We can agree to disagree about how we view this. :)
Itchee Dryback on March 9, 2009 at 8:35 PM
I forget who said it, but I find it so apropos: “Atheist believe there is no God, and they hate Him.”
On a more rhetorical note, almost every argument for materialism falls under the logical fallacy of circular logic, or perhaps more stringently, they assert something that cannot be proven.
Specifically, atheists assert materialism, the belief that nothing exists outside of nature. Or otherwise, they use the following syllogism, with its faulty logic.
“If we cannot prove something to exist, then it doesn’t exist.”
“We cannot prove that God exists.”
Therefore: “God does not exist.”
The problem is that the syllogism is patently false, and the assertion is arguably false.
Now clearly, using p->~q instead of p->q above is equally false for a logical argument for the existence of God. Thankfully, we have much better logical arguments for the existence of God.
I will point out that Godel’s Incompleteness Theorem explicitly denies that the syllogism above is ever true.
Scott H on March 9, 2009 at 8:36 PM
Sounds like you need some Angel/Devil Food Cake.
Not technically the food of the gods but we mortals must do what we can.
Yakko77 on March 9, 2009 at 8:38 PM
AP In the headline you need to put in : Finally.
Fuquay Steve on March 9, 2009 at 8:42 PM
Jello! With cottage cheese and carrots…gak!
ronsfi on March 9, 2009 at 8:42 PM
AMBROSIA FRUIT SALAD
1 (11 oz.) can mandarin oranges, drained
1 (13 oz.) can pineapple chunks, drained
1/2 c. miniature marshmallows
1 c. coconut
1/2 c. whipped cream, whipped
Put together in bowl, let set overnight. Put ambrosia fruit salad in mold.
ronsfi on March 9, 2009 at 8:44 PM
I know several people who say that can’t be sure about God but believe in the value of a Christian Lifestyle and Christian morals and ethics. They say they are Christians; who are we to say they are not.
KW64 on March 9, 2009 at 8:52 PM
sounds good..except for the marshmallows. Can’t stand those things.
Itchee Dryback on March 9, 2009 at 8:55 PM
I’m trying to figure out the “higher power but no personal god”. We have either that
a) the higher power doesn’t care yet is altruistic, or
b) the higher power really doesn’t care at all, or
c) the higher power doesn’t care and is antagonistic.
If either (a) or (c), we have a problem, Houston, because how can a higher power which is either altruistic or antagonistic not be personal?
So, the correct value must be (c). Now, if the correct value is (c) for these people, then, since the higher power doesn’t care at all, the rules of the universe have been constructed totally for the pleasure of the higher power, which rules include our interactions with the universe. Since our interactions have been constructed for the pleasure of the higher power, we have that the higher power indeed does care, which is a logical fallacy.
Hmm. I’m getting dizzy here. Gotta stop while I’m ahead. Maybe I’ll say two graces at dinner tonight instead of just one — just in case.
unclesmrgol on March 9, 2009 at 8:58 PM
kW: As we cannot be certain of their exposure to correct teachings about Christ and His Church, we cannot be certain of their ultimate fate (this is true for everyone, actually).
However, were they interested, I’d be more than happy to try to help them.
Uncle: I believe you are still assigning personal qualities to a ‘higher power’ what with words such as ‘altruistic’ and ‘antagonistic’.
Truly, to believe in the supernatural without believing in a personal God almost invariably results in Pantheism. This is God is Everywhere and in Everything.
Deism is like Agnosticism lite. It avoids the glaring problem with Atheism (causality), but claims that this God has done nothing else, at least for us. Basically, it’s the ‘comfort zone’ who realize the incredulity required to be atheistic (which requires denial of the Principle of Causality), but want to enshrine human reason (and thus humanity) as the highest power. This explains the popularity of Deism during the Enlightenment.
Scott H on March 9, 2009 at 9:09 PM
Er, in that last, it should be ” ‘comfort zone’ for people who …’
Scott H on March 9, 2009 at 9:11 PM
What an absurd thing to say. Seriously.
capitalist piglet on March 9, 2009 at 9:13 PM
piglet: That entirely depends on Dobson and others. I don’t know them. I do know that the Bibles makes quite clear that God favors honest opposition (not that I believe most atheists are honestly opposed) to lukewarm acceptance.
Scott H on March 9, 2009 at 9:16 PM
[POUNDING HEAD AGAINST WALL.]
capitalist piglet on March 9, 2009 at 9:16 PM
I’m not suggesting that God does not love A/P, or Christopher Hitchens. I am saying this disparaging of Dobson – a man who has devoted his life to ministry – is just completely out of hand, and it is being advanced by people talking completely out of their a___s.
capitalist piglet on March 9, 2009 at 9:18 PM
This statement is absolutely 100% correct! And it’s called creating a god to suit yourself. Idolatry is perhaps the greatest and most dangerous of all sins because once you create a god in your mind that your comfortable with, you’ll also create a moral standard to go along with him. For example, you might like to create a god that believes in a woman’s right to kill her own children in the womb. Or perhaps your god would like to reward you for flying planes into buildings full of innocent people. You see, if I want to be an idolater, remember, I start with the phrase “To me”. “To me,” God is like this. “To me,” God is like that. And I’d make sure my god likes the things that I like, and hates the things I hate. So if I like to cheat and lie, steal and lust, my god will too, and I’ll be able to pursue all those sinful things right up until the day of judgment. This is committing the oldest sin in the Book and I was guilty of it for many years. Scripture warns that no idolater will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
You wouldn’t call him a Christian. Thank you.
apacalyps on March 9, 2009 at 9:19 PM
Oh, that’s quite possible, piglet, as I have already stated I don’t know the people in question.
It would seem to be a bit on the crazy side.
Scott H on March 9, 2009 at 9:20 PM
Apacalyps: Specifically, you would call someone who wants to believe Christian morals without a Divine Father (presumably, meaning no God the Father and one who denies Christ’s divinity) someone who likes insanity.
IF you like the morality of the Gospels (which shouldn’t be surprising), but you dislike the ’supernatural elements’ of it… you’re following the moral maxims of someone who is quite literally clinically insane, which puts the lie to all of his moral teaching.
Scott H on March 9, 2009 at 9:24 PM
Look. A lot of non-Christians, especially on the left but also on the right, HATE James Dobson. Just because non-Christians don’t like him doesn’t mean God likes atheists more…which is why that was such a profoundly stupid post.
And by the way, I am a Christian, but not a follower of Dr. Dobson…I don’t like my faith being wielded as a club over the head of the Republican party.
capitalist piglet on March 9, 2009 at 9:26 PM
Leave it to Allah to get excited when 2.3% are Atheists and 10% just don’t know or aren’t sure. Personally I’m more impressed by the 81.6% who do believe in some higher power.
Deanna on March 9, 2009 at 9:31 PM
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