# Why is this site overwhelmingly atheist? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 30, 2014, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938 "2014-08-30T04:04:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/81 "2014-08-31T23:10:34Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Too bad nobody did much in the responses except act smug, mock the OP, link to acomic strip, and name check thermodynamics. If this place is actually about fighting ignorance, then this thread is a SDMB failure. If this place is about patting ourselves on the fanny over how smart we believe ourselves to be, then 10/10. Edited to add: njtt added a worthwhile post while I was typing. > [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > So what? It’s not like he’s going to ever read it. He’s _certainly_ not going to respond to any of it. Yep, and apparently me and [Talkorigins.org](http://Talkorigins.org) are chopped liver to **Scrumpup**. Sure there is snark on my post, but I do lay the evidence first before going for the mockery. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/82 "2014-08-31T23:18:09Z")
This place overvalues sharp tongues if it is actually about fighting ignorance. I have been a teacher since 1985. I have taught kids from grade 7 through 12 and I have taught adult education. Snark irritates a prospective learner but it does not promote either curiosity or learning. If we are really about fighting ignorance, then it is time to drop the snark outside of the pit. If we are about being sarcastic assholes who revel in how much smarter than other people we fondly believe ourselves to be, then it is time to quit bullshitting ourselves that we have any other purpose. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/83 "2014-08-31T23:23:44Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > This place overvalues sharp tongues if it is actually about fighting ignorance. I have been a teacher since 1985. I have taught kids from grade 7 through 12 and I have taught adult education. Snark irritates a prospective learner but it does not promote either curiosity or learning. If we are really about fighting ignorance, then it is time to drop the snark outside of the pit. If we are about being sarcastic assholes who revel in how much smarter than other people we fondly believe ourselves to be, then it is time to quit bullshitting ourselves that we have any other purpose. Objection, this ignores the past behaviour and background of the “student” in question. It was also a reason for the sharp tongue, and you are still ignoring that I posted the relevant info several posts before **njtt** BTW I’m also in education and indeed I do not snark to students. I expel (I worked in the administration side before too) the ones that wilfully ignore the material and snark to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/84 "2014-08-31T23:24:45Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I read that as “…totally irrelevant as Lawrence, Kansas…” and was about to jump in and support you wholeheartedly! Me too!😜 ---
**Author:** ![BrightNShiny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@BrightNShiny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightNShiny)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/85 "2014-08-31T23:36:11Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > This place overvalues sharp tongues if it is actually about fighting ignorance. I have been a teacher since 1985. I have taught kids from grade 7 through 12 and I have taught adult education. Snark irritates a prospective learner but it does not promote either curiosity or learning. If we are really about fighting ignorance, then it is time to drop the snark outside of the pit. If we are about being sarcastic assholes who revel in how much smarter than other people we fondly believe ourselves to be, then it is time to quit bullshitting ourselves that we have any other purpose. Oh, please. If the OP was actually interested in learning about the Big Bang theory or thermodynamics, he could have started a thread in GQ genuinely asking questions and he would have gotten a ton of people responding to walk him through the theories. Instead, the OP chose to spout out false information about those theories and falsely try to link those theories to atheism (when we all know there are plenty of science-minded folks who are plenty religious). These are bog-standard tactics of the dishonest creationist movement. Then you come in lecturing people about how they are “name-checking thermodynamics” when the OP brought it up himself in his very first post. And you completely ignore the fact that several posters gave solid answers to the OP, even though it’s clear from his posting history that he’s not interested in them. You can keep your school-marm lectures. You’re not interested in fighting ignorance. All you are doing is carrying water for utterly dishonest people. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/86 "2014-09-01T00:11:48Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > This place overvalues sharp tongues if it is actually about fighting ignorance. I have been a teacher since 1985. I have taught kids from grade 7 through 12 and I have taught adult education. Snark irritates a prospective learner but it does not promote either curiosity or learning. If we are really about fighting ignorance, then it is time to drop the snark outside of the pit. If we are about being sarcastic assholes who revel in how much smarter than other people we fondly believe ourselves to be, then it is time to quit bullshitting ourselves that we have any other purpose. This goes out to Scumpup and all… The above insults everyone, and I’ll allow it because no one in particular is named… But let’s not let it get personal. That wouldn’t be a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/87 "2014-09-01T01:27:33Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > This place overvalues sharp tongues if it is actually about fighting ignorance. I have been a teacher since 1985. I have taught kids from grade 7 through 12 and I have taught adult education. Snark irritates a prospective learner but it does not promote either curiosity or learning. . . . Agreed. It is much wiser to utilize the soft answer that turneth away wrath. Instead of, “You dummy, why don’t you use Google and look it up yourself,” we can say, “Yes, in fact, this has been well-known for a long time, and can be found in several places with a Google search.” By human nature, we don’t feel comfortable being told, “That was dumb.” We can much more readily relate to, “No, that isn’t correct; here’s how it really works.” Courtesy and good etiquette are far more conducive to persuasive education and correction of error. (And anybody thinks different is just a ol’ meany.) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![EndlessEntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f9ae1b/32.png) [@EndlessEntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EndlessEntropy)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/88 "2014-09-01T02:53:50Z")
Because we’re rational, intelligent human beings for the most part? My mom is pretty religious and used to take my sister and me to church every sunday, but now I find it just baffling that people would devote time and energy to praying in groups to a figure still not proven to exist. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/89 "2014-09-01T19:42:31Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Augustine knew that the Earth was round. So did pretty much any educated person in the Western world since 300 B.C. Where are you getting your information?: > > [Flat Earth - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Earth) Read the City of God by Augustine. He says; It is impossible for the earth to be round. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/90 "2014-09-01T19:49:13Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > We’ve had this discussion before; you’re simply wrong. There are lots of answers for this naïve riddle. > > You might as well say, “Before something can exist, its constituent particles must exist.” What is God made up of? Where did his “atoms” come from? > > It sounds profound, but it’s really just simplistic. The same reasoning “proves” that the universe can’t exist, because first there has to be a place for it to exist in – and that would be part of the universe, right? Not really a good response, there had to be Existence before any thing could exist, Anything has to be in existence (even the universe) or it wouldn’t exist! ---
**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:** [September 1, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/91 "2014-09-01T19:58:22Z")
> [@monavis](#): > > Not really a good response, there had to be Existence before any thing could exist, Anything has to be in existence (even the universe) or it wouldn’t exist! Ah, yes-suddenly speaking of “Existence” as if it were an entity instead of the physical state of being, which is the common definition of the word. EXISTENCE: noun- the state or fact of existing; being. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/92 "2014-09-01T21:34:44Z")
monavis, No. Here are some citations: [http://www.creationtips.com/flatearth.html](http://www.creationtips.com/flatearth.html) > **[Tektonics.org Bible apologetics and education](http://www.tektonics.org/af/bogusq.php)** > > Answering Bible contradictions, misunderstandings, and misinterpretations Quote for me the exact passage in _The City of God_ which makes you think that Augustine believed that the world was flat. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/93 "2014-09-01T23:21:48Z")
> [@monavis](#): > > Not really a good response, there had to be Existence before any thing could exist, Anything has to be in existence (even the universe) or it wouldn’t exist! The problem with this argument is that it means…nothing can possibly exist. You’ve defined “reality” as being self-contradictory. Since we know there is such a thing as reality, the definition is patently flawed. Again: God might be the universe. He isn’t “in” it: he “is” it. That is one possible exception to your argument about “having a place to exist” and, all by itself, invalidates your supposition. (I do not endorse that view, I hasten to add. I’m an atheist, and consider any talk about God to be meaningless. But it is not automatically invalid on the kind of definitional grounds you’re attempting to construct.) (I also hasten to add that I bear you no ill will, and that I am not stalking you, hounding you, or belittling you. I think you’re wrong, is all, and when you say something like that, I will respond. I beg you not to consider this in any way an indication of personal disrespect. You say “n is prime” and I say “n is composite” and there really isn’t any way for either of us to prove our contention.) ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/94 "2014-09-01T23:39:24Z")
I like the thread title, but it has nothing to do with the text of post #1. Re the thread title, in as much as it is true, it’s because people gravitate to places where viewpoints are similar. My hypothesis, which would take a lot of work to check, is that [boards.straightdope.com](http://boards.straightdope.com) started out only slightly more atheist than average, but that was enough to push it in a certain direction. Similarly, if you look at the most and least religious cities in US – possibly Provo Utah and Boulder Colorado respectively – Provo may have been only slightly more religious than Boulder a century ago, but, over time, as people moved around, they sorted themselves so that the difference became more pronounced. > [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > There is also the fact that the board, myself included at times, tends to be hostile to people who fall outside of certain groups (atheists, liberals, pseudoskeptics, etc). So I’m sure a lot of religious people just keep it to themselves to avoid being treated rudely. A good point, generously worded. Although this is called Great Debates, there still may be a tendency to defer to a strongly stated majority view, making those majorities seem more statistically dominant than they are. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/95 "2014-09-02T02:15:10Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Objection, this ignores the past behaviour and background of the “student” in question. It was also a reason for the sharp tongue, and you are still ignoring that I posted the relevant info several posts before **njtt** > > BTW I’m also in education and indeed I do not snark to students. I expel (I worked in the administration side before too) the ones that wilfully ignore the material and snark to begin with. Also, may we refer to the board’s inspiration and excuse for existence, namely Cecil Adams’ newspaper column \*The Straight Dope \*, Ed Zotti, ed. The typical answer there seems to be three paragraphs of more or less normal explanation sandwiched between an opening and a closing paragraph heavy on the snark, with the whole thing however generously seasoned with smartaleckry. So we’re just following tradition. ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/96 "2014-09-02T03:20:36Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > My hypothesis, which would take a lot of work to check, is that [boards.straightdope.com](http://boards.straightdope.com) started out only slightly more atheist than average, but that was enough to push it in a certain direction. [The poll currently running in IMHO](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732676) shows slightly under 53% of respondents identify as atheist. So, certainly more atheist than average but by no means “overwhelmingly atheist” as the OP claims. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/97 "2014-09-02T03:46:18Z")
> [@SeldomSeen](#): > > [The poll currently running in IMHO](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732676) shows slightly under 53% of respondents identify as atheist. So, certainly more atheist than average but by no means “overwhelmingly atheist” as the OP claims. If you were to break it into forums - the GD would likely lean much more Atheist in content (where it is a factor)- while other forums - where a persons faith/religiosity mean much less - will never even come into play. IOW - GD and religious topics - if thats all a person were to review - would generally make a passerby think that the SDMB were heavily atheist. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/98 "2014-09-02T05:38:33Z")
PhillyGuy, thinking about your guesses about the most and the least religious cities in the U.S., I found the results of several polls: [http://www.citylab.com/housing/2013/04/americas-most-and-least-religious-metro-areas/5180/](http://www.citylab.com/housing/2013/04/americas-most-and-least-religious-metro-areas/5180/) > **[These Are The Most Godless Cities In America](https://time.com/1541/godless-cities-in-america/)** > > A new survey ranks U.S. cities in terms of 'bible-mindedness' > **[PHOTOS: Most And Least Religious Cities In The United States](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/most-and-least-religious-cities_n_1522644)** > > PHOTOS: Most And Least Religious Cities In The United States > **[Dueling Top 10 Lists: Gallup's 'Most Religious' Cities vs Barna's 'Most...](https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2013/april/dueling-top-10-lists-gallups-most-religious-cities-vs.html)** > > Only two American cities rank in the top 10 on both lists. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/99 "2014-09-02T13:42:32Z")
> [@SeldomSeen](#): > > [The poll currently running in IMHO](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732676) shows slightly under 53% of respondents identify as atheist. So, certainly more atheist than average but by no means “overwhelmingly atheist” as the OP claims. The OP probably considers agnostics as being atheists as well. Add them in and you get up around 62%. Of course, he may consider anyone who isn’t an avid bible thumper to be an atheist, in which case the poll shows that only 13% of the respondents are devout theists and the remaining 87% are all heathens. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938/100 "2014-09-02T14:21:55Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > The OP probably considers agnostics as being atheists as well. Add them in and you get up around 62%. Of course, he may consider anyone who isn’t an avid bible thumper to be an atheist, in which case the poll shows that only 13% of the respondents are devout theists and the remaining 87% are all heathens. Don’t presume to speak for me, please. If I had thought they were the same, I wouldn’t have had separate categories. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-site-overwhelmingly-atheist/696938.md?page=6)