Now, to turn the question around, where are all the hospitals solely funded by the faithful? Considering that about 77% of adult Americans self-identify as Christians of one kind of another, should it not follow that roughly the same percentage of hospitals would reflect those leanings? Along those lines, only 0.4% of Americans admit to being Atheists, while a much larger percentage (13) identify as “secular/nonreligious.” Think it might have something to do with the word “atheist” still having some sort of social stigma attached to it? Thus making “secular” a ‘safer’ choice?
Speculations aside, the whole point of the OP is rather a moot one. For all it tries to convey is an underhanded smear on atheism, framing the debate in order for Christians to appear more ‘pious’ by virtue of the number of hospitals that bear some sort of affiliation to religion.
I simply called “bullshit!” on that and showed why. Reasonable people – to which, depending on the day or even the hour, you sometimes belong to – should be able to conclude that there’s really no inherent difference in the amout of charitable contributions (be it health care or any other endeavour) between nonbelievers and members of spiritual organizations.
Your strawman on the number of faithful that might work at a secular hospital, is just that, a strawman. Because for all practical purposes ‘secular’ institutions of any kind are inclusive as opposed to exclusive – thus they are quite likely to reflect the overall numbers of the general population.
Same can’t be said if we turn the tables around. For nonreligious patients looking for any number of perfectly legal health care services (abortions, tubal ligation, vasectomies, etc.) would be shit out of luck finding same in any number of Christian hospitals. Which, ironically, actually recieve MORE secular funding than those without the religious affiliations.
Your friendly handstabber and IPU devotee.
~Red
PS-How’s that God-proof of yours coming along? Any new squiggly symbols you’d care to share?
Huh? I don’t have a dog in this fight (except to note that for-profit hospitals provide more like 8% of their revenue in charity care than .8% so you can probably throw all that article’s stats out a window), but I’m not seeing this any more than I’d expect 77% of pizza joints and aerospace manufacturers to identify as Christian.
Nothing to add to the debate, but I think that many people are just willing to reserve judgement on the existence of God, rather than saying He/She/It absolutely exists or doesn’t. The Theist/Agnostic/Atheist categories simply aren’t sufficient to encompass post-modern thought.
Or, you could just say that the self-identified “secularists” are intellectual weenies who don’t have the balls to pick their noses, much less a philosophical position
Well Leaper, it looks like you’ve been hopelessly hijacked here. Hello People! It’s not really about atheist hospitals. It’s about atheists being no fun. Now I gotta admit that I am not much fun. But it has nothing to do with me being an atheist. (I think).
Maybe it’s because atheists are more involved in creating the vaccines, treatments and cures for the diseases that hospitals are treating.
Then again you don’t see many pagan hospitals either… I guess the Goddess is taking care of Her people personally huh? :wally
LOL If you are in the same boat as I am you aren’t any fun because you’re BROKE. That is caused by the government NOT religion. Oh that’s right… our Illustrious leader is Christian huh… :smack: … Note any similarities there?
I’ve forgotten which book this is from, but Terry Pratchett’s dwarves are religious because when you hit your thumb with a hammer, it is somehow unsatisfying to yell, “Oh random fluxuations in the space-time continuum!” “Oh billion-to-one chance!”
This gets another “huh?” I’m an atheist and I’m tons of fun! And the government is taking less money from me than it used to, so I’m less broke. How is the government taking more of your money? I agree that that would suck the fun out of someone.
Well since I’ve not been working for almost three years and supposedly am not eligible for disability you tell me. My husband makes good money but the Gvt takes out more than they should IMHO. The cost of living keeps going up, taxes go up, cost of food goes up but wages stay the same. When are we going to have the money to have FUN?!?!
Perhaps I wasn’t clear enough. All I’m saying is that Lib’s comment about the number of religious staffers in secular hospitals is meaningless. Since the majority of Amercans identify as Christians it only follows that they’d be represented in a similar proportion in secular institutions – which, no matter how staffed, remain secular. Thus I was simply following his logic, not mine, in order to make that point.
I agree. To be slightly more precise, I’d define myself as an atheist when it comes to man-made gods, and as a soft* agnostic when it comes to origins.
However, I also think my point stil stands vis-a-vis the stigma attached to the ‘atheist’ label. No cites, just MHO based on personal experience.
*Note that I attached the “soft” modifier to agnostic – which only furthers your own point w/regard to the limited number of ‘categories of thought’ available.
To get back to the OP’s question about the location of atheist’s orgies and all around rebel rousing behavior.
You need a map and a secret evil password to find same. But you’re in luck, for I happen to be the master book-cooker (ya didn’t think we’d keep straight books, now did ya?) for Wild and Sexy Heathens Inc. E-mail me at XXXHandstabberXXX@WSHI.com for further info. Your wallet might feel lighter afterwards, but you’ll have a hell of a time.
Of course there aren’t any atheist hospitals, because atheism isn’t a belief system. If an atheist builds a hospital, he calls it a “hospital”. We usually name things what they are rather than what they’re not.
You quoted the inapposite definition “worldly rather than spiritual”, but let’s go with it. (Inapposite because no hospital is metaphysical — the definition you chose applies in the sense of something like a secular opinion.) Spiritual need not mean religious at all; in fact, an atheist can believe in ghosts. Perhaps he believes the spirit world is anarchistic and thus needs no God.
No, it doesn’t. Why would it?
Possibly. When I was atheist, I was rather militant, and wore it as a badge of honor.
Well, Christians are definitively more pious than atheists.
Well, let’s just say that at this hour, I’m reasonable. Otherwise, you’re arguing with a madman, and that would bring your own mental stability into question. So far as I can determine, no one has mentioned anything about contributions other than you. I believe that the OP was talking about establishment. Religious organizations have worked to establish hospitals and other charities partly because their God calls upon them to be, well, charitable. The OP, I think, is asking why the likes of American Atheists hasn’t worked to establish hospitals and soup kitchens. I’ve seen them suggest that churches be made into hospitals, but I haven’t seen them buy any churches and actually do it.
Um, a strawman, by definition, cannot be an original argument. And anyway, we agree. You just rephrased the very point that I was making.
That doesn’t make any sense. Only about 5% of abortions are done by hospitals. Plus, nearly 80% of women having abortions identity themselves as religious (and more than 27% are catholic).
Let’s get you mastering the alphabet first. Then we’ll reach for the moon.
Well there will probably be a good atheist ‘orgy’ at rawhide in sanfrancisco this Saturday.
In London their is a fairly atheist hospital it is called University College Hospital, it’s not calle University Colledge Atheist Hospital because atheism does involve promoting itself in such things. Many hospitals are named after royalty, as they are not bound by any religious affiliation. And all national health hospitals are meant to cater for patients of any faith. So how can a hospital be religious? Does a catholic hospital refuse donations from Hindus? Does it get all its money (or a significant part) from the catholic church? No, I didn’t think so either.
