An Interesting Explanation

[Engyo]

Very interesting explanation; makes a lot of sense...............
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Hi, I’m Evangelical and I Don’t Trust You

For some time now, I’ve felt that Evangelicals in the United States (and throughout the world for that matter) are generally scared of secularism and atheism more than anything else. While Muslims and Mormons may garner much of the media attention and picketing from Evangelicals, I had an inkling that ole’ Joe or Jill Atheist was an increasingly more intimidating individual for most Evangelicals and that the specter of “secularism” and atheism was more menacing.

A recently published (June 22, 2011) Pew Forum report on worldwide Evangelicals lends credibility to such a hypothesis.

While sex, violence and consumerism rank near the top of the “threat countdown” for Evangelicals it is the “influence of secularism” that most terrorizes Evangelicals in the theoretical dark of the night. Conflict between religious groups, say between Muslims and Christians or Mormons and Evangelicals, barely even registers when compared to the prospect of growing secularism.

Furthermore, while it is certainly true that Evangelicals don’t hold a very favorable opinion of Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims (65-67% hold an unfavorable view of these groups) it is the Atheist demographic that garners the statistically higher unfavorable opinion among Evangelicals (70%).*

Why might this be the case?

Hi, I’m Evangelical and I Don’t Trust You | Sacred Duty | a Chron.com blog

[Kilgore Trout]

It's threatening and scary when you see people who are able to do fine without the limitations you thought were necessarily imposed on everyone. It's easier to violently react against this, then to face the possibility that you can break your own chains.

[waitasec]

secularism is the arch nemesis of theism...
this is from another thread

Originally Posted by Jordan St. Francis

...concepts like inalienable rights, human dignity, inherent equality and the value of individuality are all contemporary Enlightenment "myths" that we can't really derive from history or science and especially from a purely material view of the universe and the evolutionary process.

They are stories we tell ourselves and concepts that we hold up as sacred in every practical definition of that word, concepts that we augment with symbols, defend with taboos, celebrate with rituals, parades, declare in demonstrations, enforce in government and promote through institutions. Yet none of them have any objective grounding in reality. They sound nice and they make us feel warm inside and good. But they are merely useful for the organization and harmony of our species for the time being.

scary...

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Originally Posted by Kilgore Trout

It's threatening and scary when you see people who are able to do fine without the limitations you thought were necessarily imposed on everyone. It's easier to violently react against this, then to face the possibility that you can break your own chains.

Right - I could never figure out why people would get mad at ads and messages that basically amounted to nothing more than "atheists exist"... until I realized that if your worldview is based on the idea that faith is as necessary as breathing, then a person who can exist just fine without faith is a fundamental threat to that worldview.

[Jayhawker Soule]

Originally Posted by Kilgore Trout

It's threatening and scary when you see people who are able to do fine without the limitations you thought were necessarily imposed on everyone.

What limitations, Kilgore?

[Kilgore Trout]

Originally Posted by Jayhawker Soule

What limitations, Kilgore?

Basically, what Penguin said.

[waitasec]

Originally Posted by 9-10ths_Penguin

Right - I could never figure out why people would get mad at ads and messages that basically amounted to nothing more than "atheists exist"... until I realized that if your worldview is based on the idea that faith is as necessary as breathing, then a person who can exist just fine without faith is a fundamental threat to that worldview.

well said.


i would love to see a billboard that simply states "atheists exist..."


in fact, i'd laugh my **** off if i ever did.

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Originally Posted by waitasec

well said.


i would love to see a billboard that simply states "atheists exists..."


in fact, i'd laugh my **** off if i ever did.

"Don't believe in God? You are not alone" comes pretty close, and it's been rejected by more than one transit agency as "too controversial".

[Kilgore Trout]

Originally Posted by 9-10ths_Penguin

"Don't believe in God? You are not alone" comes pretty close, and it's been rejected by more than one transit agency as "too controversial".

Well, if you allow such perverse views to become normalized, then that opens up the door for all sorts of other immoral ideas, such as homosexual marriage, to be portrayed as normal as well. We've got to protect people from these evil concepts, and make sure they are restricted to the antisocial perverts and weirdos.

[LuisDantas]

For a while now I feel that a variation of that disconfort is the reason why Creationism exists as an organized movement.