LINK What Name Comes to Mind When You Think of Atheism? Many Americans Say… “Satan” | Hemant Mehta | Friendly Atheist | Patheos
Who is the first person who comes to mind when you think of atheism?
Mind you, that doesn’t mean the person is the most famous atheist. Just the name that comes up when you think of the word.
The Pew Research Center asked that question, along with similar ones concerning the major world religions, and they just released the responses. It won’t surprise you to learn that Buddhism prompted Buddha (55% of respondents said that) or that Catholicism led to the Pope (47%).
Perhaps it’s a bit surprising that 21% associated Billy Graham with Evangelical Protestantism, more than any other single person, given that he died in 2018 and stopped preaching regularly long before then, though many of the more prominent evangelicals today are better known for politics than religion.
But when it came to atheism, the one name that came to mind more than any other was… SATAN!
8
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When I think about atheism, what comes to mind is freedom to think and be, not a person''s name.
wordywalt
Level 9
July 2, 2022
3
I wonder why some people are terrified by the idea of thinking for themselves. Do you have any idea?
@anglophone Not fitting in, fear of being judged, and being an outsider maybe.
@Betty That fits. I will need to get my head around it. Thanks.
The first person? Richard Dawkins.
I wonder why evangelical Christians are so obsessed with Satan.
anglophone
Level 9
July 2, 2022
2
Anyone that doesn't think and believe like them are considered evil, and evil's name is Satan.
@Betty Good point!
Satan depends on God, no god no Satan. Therefore he is not an atheist. I think of Michaelangelo, or any of over a thousand important and smart people.
dalefvictor
Level 8
July 2, 2022
2
May be a bit 'off topic here' but here goes anyway.
According to the "original (LOL what a huge joke imo)" transcript of the Goat-herders Guide to the Galaxy, Satan, a.k.a Lucifer ( from the Latin name Lucius btw meaning Bringer of Light) was cast down by God for the Sin of Giving Light, Reasoning and Self-awareness to Humans, the ONE thing God did NOT want humans to have.
Keeping in mind that the ENTIRE Goat-herders Guide to the Galaxy is nothing more than a plagiarized compendium of Myths and Legends then the Gift of Fire, Light and Self-awareness that caused Prometheus to condemned to being Chained to a cliff and having his liver and entrails pecked out EVERY day for Eternity and having them grow back again each and every night, then I say Hail unto Satan ( Lucifer) for YOU were and ALWAYS will be the First Atheist for you DEFIED and Stood against the Oppression of God.
Triphid
Level 9
Mar 19, 2021
4
Cast down for the sin of wanting to take the place of god. I'm not sure the mythical god did not want humans to have light.
First that comes to mind to describe an atheist is: “normal”
Mvtt
Level 7
Mar 19, 2021
6
How about SANE
Mvtt:
@Healthydoc70 agreed. Sane, is better.
@Healthydoc70 I only wish "sane" was "normal".
@snytiger6 77 million voted for Trump. I'm afraid sane is just not a fact associated with many Americans. The Ad says America does Duncan. Could it be Roundup soaked GMO food and the sea of serious chemicals we "swim in"?? And Trump was/is all about Monsanto/Dow and fossil fuel. Trump even said he "digs" coal. You know. the mercury polluting digging.
@snytiger6 Forgot. Could it be SATAN????
Healthy.
There is no specific name that comes to my mind in relation to atheism. I simply associate it with intellectual and moral maturity.
wordywalt
Level 9
Mar 19, 2021
9
Bill Maher comes to mind...
EXACTLY
Total lack of education. Anyone with an actual thought process knows that in order to believe in Satan, you have to believe in gods and religion, making you a theist, not an Atheist. But then if they had a thought process, they wouldn’t be able to believe the Bible was anything more than a popular work of fiction.
Barnie2years
Level 8
Mar 19, 2021
8
The American religious are taught that atheists don't really exist. They are taught atheists just want to sin or that they are mad at God, so they pretend not to believe. It's the height of arrogance to discount the thought process and study many atheists go through to come to their lack of belief.
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