Quote:
Originally Posted by bryantm3
it's uncanny how alike many atheists (not all, but many) evangelize in nearly the same way as christians— i think it derives from the US being a mostly christian society.
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I just wanted to speak to this one point, because I've been on the receiving end of accusations along these lines before, and I disagree - or at least I do in my case.
As much as I personally don't believe in God, and as much as I think religion causes more problems than it does offer solutions in the modern world, I have no interest in evangelizing in the classical sense, with the goal of trying to convert anyone from their religion to non-belief. All I, and most atheists I tend to come across, tend to speak to is the willful denial of basic scientific knowledge and such in the name of religion. And that's a pretty common occurrence in the U.S. For example, out of all western nations
the United States ranks second only to Turkey in the population's rejection of the theory of evolution. In fact, just shy of 40% of all Americans outright dismiss the theory, which is much higher than most European nations. So when I encounter someone who insists evolution is false in the context of a religious debate, I will take them on over it. Typically, the arguments against it are that "it's just s 'theory'" and such, which really serves only to illustrate their ignorance on the subject, not to mention on the scientific definition of the word "theory". Or they try to argue that irreducible complexity - a failed hypothesis - somehow disproves it. Or, they claim there are no transitional fossils to prove evolution's accuracy.
So I and other atheists will jump in and explain evolution a bit more. Of course some are nicer than others in their explanations, but it's not done in hopes of conversion to our non-belief, it's just a defense of fundamental scientific knowledge.
That's pretty much all I wanted to mention.