I don’t see this as a problem but I am curious how so many atheists ended up on one message board? I think I saw a poll where over 50% of the people here are agnostic or atheist which is way above the US number . (and yes I know not everyone here is in the US) I can also tell by posts that there are many atheists here. There seems to be almost a universal “believers are dumb” theme that runs through posts about religion on a regular basis.
Well, this isn’t a very friendly place for people who are fervent believers: an evangelical Christian would find many of his ideas scoffed at, especially if he starts with an evangelical view of the natural world (e.g., evolution). They’d likely go where their beliefs aren’t challenged.
I think (with no real evidence) that the internet in general has a greater percentage of atheists/agnostics than the population at large. I’d guess due to its younger and more educated user base. You also have a somewhat hostile attitude towards religion here so anyone who feels as strongly about their faith as others here feel about their atheism is probably more likely to give up on the SDMB. The flip side is that atheists can all hang out here in one happy group and just dogpile any vocal believers who wander by.
I personally just don’t bother with religion threads outside of GQ (where there’s a specific answer to why something is observed or done) or threads asking for specific experiences (“Have you ever attended a Latin Mass?”). Anything else is largely a waste of time.
I think it has to do with the characteristics of atheists. They seem to be skeptical by nature and therefore like to dig a lot of places for answers to questions they have about the world around them. They value humanity and see their fellow man as their support system to get answers, opinions, critiques, concensus, opposing views, explanations, etc. This place fits the bill nicely.
Whereas I think believers would rather put their support system in a church or religion to give them these type of things.
And I think atheists value diversity of thought in their life which there is plenty of here. I think believers/religious people prefer to be around those who share their beliefs/opinions and avoid those with opposing views. This message board is definetly not a place to be coddled by others who share your beliefs.
I agree that very religious people probably won’t hang around here long so that’s part of it. It’s the old “birds of a feather flock together” argument.
I was looking for something… and ended up here by accident. And then I read some threads… and a few more… then I saw something so inane I had to register to set the person straight. And it appears I can’t find my way out of here anymore.
People who are drawn to the column are going to be people with analytical/skeptical bents of mind, so it’s no surprise the message board would self-select against people prone to much magical thinking.
Even the religious people we do have tend not to be the YEC, Jesus on a taco shell, whack-a-doodle types.
Don’t necessarily intend it as an insult of believers, but the subtitle does indicate a desire to fight ignorance, which most often depends upon rational analysis and reference to testable phenomena. Sure, there are places for witnessing and “feelgood” posts, but underlying all of the forums is a strong measure of skepticism and rationalism - neither of which is good company for many religious beliefs.
Sorry, it really isn’t. There have been over the years a number of believers on this board who have been active members of this community - as you know. There still are. But some members of this board are openly hostile, others scoff or make fun of even the smallest level of belief - see Martiju’s response.
While this board definitely has more atheists than the general population - its a comfortable place for atheists, I also think the believers around here under report.
I can think of maybe one poster who does that. It’s not an accurate descritption of the board as a whole, although specifically falsifiable or ridiculous claims (e.g. Noah’s Ark or demonic possession) might get blown out of the water. People do not get attacked simply for saying they are believers.