# Majority atheist world: How far away are we? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 31, 2011, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913 "2011-12-31T03:19:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/61 "2012-01-01T18:25:05Z")
> [@Scripture debates - Satan, omnipotence, etc. \[split from 'Majority atheist world' thread\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scripture-debates-satan-omnipotence-etc-split-from-majority-atheist-world-thread/608308/11): > > Welcome to the SDMB, Theophane. I hope your stay here is a fruitful one. As long as the fruit isn’t an apple. ---
**Author:** ![ItchyThoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ItchyThoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ItchyThoughts)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/62 "2012-01-01T20:02:20Z")
> [@IMfez](#): > > How far do you think we are from a majority atheistic world? What major global/national events or circumstances will need to happen for us to get there? > > Or do you think that it will never happen and religion will always dominate most of the world? I would not say that religion will always dominate most of the world, but I think there will always be at least pockets of it. When some people don’t understand something, they assign it to the realm of religion. I think even if science determined the, well science, behind everything, there would still be people who think certain events are fueled by a deity, or deities. Additionally, there is the anthropocentric aspect. Many, though possibly not all, people stop believing the physical universe revolves around the Earth, however there is still a large number of people who, on some level, believe that humans are the hottest ticket in the universe. ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/63 "2012-01-01T20:25:10Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Three words: “ice pick religiotomy.” > > What a wonderful world it would be! Sooner or later, the psychopaths would turn on each other. ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/64 "2012-01-01T20:26:19Z")
> [@ItchyThoughts](#): > > I would not say that religion will always dominate most of the world, but I think there will always be at least pockets of it. When some people don’t understand something, they assign it to the realm of religion. I think even if science determined the, well science, behind everything, there would still be people who think certain events are fueled by a deity, or deities. > > Additionally, there is the anthropocentric aspect. Many, though possibly not all, people stop believing the physical universe revolves around the Earth, however there is still a large number of people who, on some level, believe that humans are the hottest ticket in the universe. I am not one of those people. ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/65 "2012-01-01T20:31:04Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I have a hypothesis or two, the gist being that religion offers a pseudo-explanation for things that are not immediately obvious to our senses, i.e. what causes thunder and such. As our ability to explain things improves, the need for comforting stopgap “just so” stories will fade. > > Admittedly, the uber-big questions like “why?” will elude science, but I figure this’ll gradually reduce religion to little more than “A mysterious God started the universe running… then kinda went away, never to be seen or needed again.” Religion addresses the WHY questions. Science tackles the HOW questions. That’s how they work. Together. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/66 "2012-01-01T20:55:24Z")
> [@Theophane](#): > > Religion addresses the WHY questions. Science tackles the HOW questions. That’s how they work. Together. That may be how they work, but I don’t see the “togetherness” aspect of it. Rather, science is utterly indifferent to religion and as science expands, it leaves less of the universe unexplained, gradually driving religion out of its favourite environments - doubts, fear and gullibility. Not _just_ religion, of course. Science hasn’t been all that kind to ghosts and ESP, either. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/67 "2012-01-01T21:52:03Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Or into Gods! 🙂 Or into supermen! Or into a _Master Race!!!_ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/68 "2012-01-02T00:28:16Z")
> [@Theophane](#): > > Religion addresses the WHY questions. Science tackles the HOW questions. That’s how they work. Together. Nonsense. Religion doesn’t “tackle” any questions, it makes up falsehoods and demands they be treated as truth. And they don’t “work together”, religion and science are poison to each other. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/69 "2012-01-02T00:57:29Z")
> [@Theophane](#): > > Religion addresses the WHY questions. Science tackles the HOW questions. That’s how they work. Together. Do you not know the difference between making up an answer and finding out an answer? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/70 "2012-01-02T01:32:51Z")
> [@Scripture debates - Satan, omnipotence, etc. \[split from 'Majority atheist world' thread\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scripture-debates-satan-omnipotence-etc-split-from-majority-atheist-world-thread/608308/15): > > To the woman he said, > > “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; > with painful labor you will give birth to children. > Your desire will be for your husband, > and he will rule over you.” > > So ya, God is still punishing women for what this original woman did, and that seems reasonable to Christians today? Great religion guys. > > So lets see God is omnipotent but gets tired when he exercises a finite amount of his power. > > God is omniscient but pretends not to be for the sake of conversation. > > God lies but that’s ok because he means well. > > God cannot predict the future even though he is omnipotent and omniscient or he likes punishing his children for what he set them up to do. > > I guess as long as you accept he’s a liar (or works in mysterious ways or whatever euphemism you prefer) than the bible makes sense as a manipulation for our own good. Except you can’t really know what God wants from you at that point so what are you getting all worked up with various human behaviors in sex, drugs, whatever else? > > Convolutions upon convolutions like the surface of the human mind, the vastly most likely origin of God. Maybe we should have called God Wohuman instead. Once again, religion doesn’t always equal Christianity! That’s a major problem I see in debates around here – talking equating all religion with Christianity. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/71 "2012-01-02T01:44:47Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Once again, religion doesn’t always equal Christianity! That’s a major problem I see in debates around here – talking equating all religion with Christianity. Largely because that’s the only religion the vast majority of people here genuinely care about. After all, that’s pretty obviously why the people arguing against atheism always use the Christan term “God” even while they pretend to be defending the possibility of some generic deity. They talk about a male, capital -G “God” and not neuter, female or multiple gods because ultimately, it’s the Judeo-Christian god they so desperately want to exist. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/72 "2012-01-02T02:43:16Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Once again, religion doesn’t always equal Christianity! That’s a major problem I see in debates around here – talking equating all religion with Christianity. Geez, ego much? What Parable described were tenets of Judaism 1000 years before some schmo got himself born in Bethlehem. Christianity is the Muzak of religions - taking the creativity of others and dumbing it down for mass consumption. If it happens to be a pervasive and popular flavour, well… so is McDonald’s. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/73 "2012-01-02T02:59:53Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Once again, religion doesn’t always equal Christianity! That’s a major problem I see in debates around here – talking equating all religion with Christianity. When theists square off against atheists, they paper over all the differences among denominations and present the entire issue as a yes/no question. If atheism is wrong and science can be made out to be wrong about some things, then “religion” must be right–any religion, but that usually means the dominant one in a society. But increasing religious diversity sort of plays into the hands of a movement towards atheism since it means that differences among religions are more visible. If one man’s saint is another man’s infidel, then there must be something wrong with the whole approach. They can’t all be right, so there’s a lot of wrongness in there. The truth becomes like a pea in a shell game. It’s not under most of them–it might not be under any of them, but we’re expected to assume it’s under any given one of them. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/74 "2012-01-02T15:49:02Z")
I see it more like bogus religion and bogus science on one side (even tho they consider each other to be the enemy), and authentic religion and authentic science on the other. Yes heads will explode with delight here upon reading that, but you haven’t exhausted religion once you’ve demolished mythic religion, in the same way that art isn’t demolished after you critique a hack’s (or child’s) painting. ---
**Author:** ![IMfez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f07891/32.png) [@IMfez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IMfez)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/75 "2012-01-02T16:44:07Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I see it more like bogus religion and bogus science on one side (even tho they consider each other to be the enemy), and authentic religion and authentic science on the other. Yes heads will explode with delight here upon reading that, but you haven’t exhausted religion once you’ve demolished mythic religion, in the same way that art isn’t demolished after you critique a hack’s (or child’s) painting. What would you describe as non-mythic religion then? ---
**Author:** ![Untoward\_Parable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/51bf81/32.png) [@Untoward\_Parable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Untoward_Parable)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/76 "2012-01-02T16:52:58Z")
Were already there, it’s just that most atheists are liars for social advantage in societies(most of them) where there are plenty of advantages to being part of one purple-people-eater club or another. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/77 "2012-01-02T16:57:53Z")
> [@Untoward\_Parable](#): > > Were already there, it’s just that most atheists are liars for social advantage in societies(most of them) where there are plenty of advantages to being part of one purple-people-eater club or another. Huh? Please explain this. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/78 "2012-01-02T17:40:55Z")
2030\* - there will be no room for theism after the Machine God rises! - or whenever Vinge and Kurtzweill are saying the Singularity is going to happen - that shit’s like workable fusion power. ---
**Author:** ![Untoward\_Parable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/51bf81/32.png) [@Untoward\_Parable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Untoward_Parable)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/79 "2012-01-02T18:10:57Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Huh? Please explain this. a large proportion of people saying they believe in any particular religion don’t, but it’s convenient for them to say they do. In the US there are plenty of obvious examples of people who’s claim to a religious affiliation are not at all trustworthy: Politicians: You want to get elected in the US you better not be an open atheist. Business executives: You want to be in the boys club you have to join a God club. Married to a woman who you could not have as an atheist: plenty of dynamics to this from psychotic parents to psychotic woman. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/80 "2012-01-02T19:07:09Z")
> [@IMfez](#): > > What would you describe as non-mythic religion then? Buddhism. Oh, it has its myths, but at some point you are expected to move beyond them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913.md?page=5)