# Yet another poll on religion/irreligion. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 8, 2007, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-poll-on-religion-irreligion/395115 "2007-03-08T15:56:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-poll-on-religion-irreligion/395115/21 "2007-03-08T19:09:00Z")
And after reading this thread, I have to say I am surprised at what conclusions people are leaping to. It seems religion is a subject that people find impossible to be objective about. But I guess we knew that already. I am interested in discovering the OP’s intentions here. ---
**Author:** ![SiXSwordS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-poll-on-religion-irreligion/395115/22 "2007-03-08T19:12:15Z")
[QUOTE=Revenant Threshold] I’ll say what the idea behind this is when i’ve got a few more responses. [/QUOTE] Are we nearing critical mass? ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-poll-on-religion-irreligion/395115/23 "2007-03-08T19:37:27Z")
Without having read the rest of the thread: Sample 1: I think the person thinks they’re peacemaking. I’d say that the person is probably nice to the people around her/him. Part of this may be because the people around her/him are very much like her/him and they have assumed common ground. I think this person would be polite in public. “Provocative”? Not exactly. But it’s definitely simplistic, ignorant, illogical, and underinformed. Plus, there’s a bit in the tone that has the air of benevolently superiority, pity, and condescension over those who disagree with the poster. Which combined with the poor debate skills the poster demonstrates makes the post at the least annoying. After the millionth post of this type that people in GD have read or the millionth similarly badly made argument that people have heard - one more might provoke them. In any case, the writer should not be able to have that statement unchallenged in GD. I’m a Protestant Christian. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-poll-on-religion-irreligion/395115/24 "2007-03-08T19:43:05Z")
[QUOTE=Ghanima] And after reading this thread, I have to say I am surprised at what conclusions people are leaping to. It seems religion is a subject that people find impossible to be objective about. But I guess we knew that already. I am interested in discovering the OP’s intentions here. [/QUOTE] Could you elaborate what conclusions people have leapt to? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-poll-on-religion-irreligion/395115/25 "2007-03-08T19:52:36Z")
I read #2. “Looking at the post, and imagining the context it is in, what would you say would be the likely mood of the person posting it? Do they seem happy? Annoyed? Condescending? Confident?” **Confident and condescending.** “If all you could go on was that post, but it was a good example of their character, would you say that the person who wrote it seemed like a nice person?” \*\*Perhaps. It’s not hate-filled, and perhaps in the context of the thread it would be fine. But there’s a smugness about it that I don’t like. \*\* “How provocative would you say the post was? Does the poster seem to be spoiling for an argument at all? Is it a simple statement of belief?” **I’d consider it quite provocative, though it might be more tone deaf than spoiling for a fight.** “Are you yourself a religious person? Would you characterise your faith as believing in a monotheistic god, believing in no gods, or other (so faith in a pantheon of gods, some forms of agnosticism, etc would be “other” as relates to this)?” **I’m an atheist.** ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-poll-on-religion-irreligion/395115/26 "2007-03-08T21:46:01Z")
I chose spoiler box # 2. To answer your questions: > [@](#): > > - Looking at the post, and imagining the context it is in, what would you say would be the likely mood of the person posting it? Do they seem happy? Annoyed? Condescending? Confident? Condescending and confident. Possibly annoyed. Not particulrly happy. > [@](#): > > - If all you could go on was that post, but it was a good example of their character, would you say that the person who wrote it seemed like a nice person? Not to people who disagree with him on the subject of religion. To people who agree with him or whose views are unknown, possibly. > [@](#): > > - How provocative would you say the post was? Does the poster seem to be spoiling for an argument at all? Is it a simple statement of belief? If there are religious people who posted in the thread, I’d say he seems to be spoiling for a fight. If the thread is mostly objective discusion of a religious issue without religious people in the discussion, I’d say it’s a simple statement of belief. > [@](#): > > - Are you yourself a religious person? Would you characterise your faith as believing in a monotheistic god, believing in no gods, or other (so faith in a pantheon of gods, some forms of agnosticism, etc would be “other” as relates to this)? I am a religious man, monotheistic - Orthodox Jewish, to be specific. ---
**Author:** ![SiXSwordS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-poll-on-religion-irreligion/395115/27 "2007-03-08T22:04:49Z")
I count six hours of polling… any hint as to what the underlying idea is (was)? ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-poll-on-religion-irreligion/395115/28 "2007-03-08T22:46:01Z")
**I selected (2):** So, the questions; - Looking at the post, and imagining the context it is in, what would you say would be the likely mood of the person posting it? Do they seem happy? Annoyed? Condescending? Confident? **I’d call the mood “confused”, or maybe “misinformed”. Or even “ignorant” (in the strict meaning of lacking knowledge).** - If all you could go on was that post, but it was a good example of their character, would you say that the person who wrote it seemed like a nice person? **Nice, possibly. Maybe passive-aggressive. Probably well intentioned.** - How provocative would you say the post was? Does the poster seem to be spoiling for an argument at all? Is it a simple statement of belief? **It’s funny, mostly. It’s like hearing a tropical native telling a companion to listen patiently and to not laugh at your stories about snow.** - Are you yourself a religious person? Would you characterise your faith as believing in a monotheistic god, believing in no gods, or other (so faith in a pantheon of gods, some forms of agnosticism, etc would be “other” as relates to this)? **I believe in God as the facilitator of goodness, and as personified by Jesus.** ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-poll-on-religion-irreligion/395115/29 "2007-03-09T00:07:16Z")
Seems enough people to get an idea now. There were a couple of thoughts behind this. First off, I was guessing that people who shared the beliefs of the sample post would be more likely to give them a pass. Measuring three things; the deliberate tone of the post, the niceness of the poster, and the deliberate provocativeness of the post. Note the deliberates; it’s not “bad tone” vs. “good tone”, but “deliberately bad tone” vs. “deliberatly good tone or non-deliberate bad tone”. So results. Bear in mind that, since the responses were pretty open, my own bias as an atheist may play a role in how i’ve interpreted them (though i’ve tried to treat each post the same). And of course my questions may be poor question, and so on. And, of course, this is such a small size of respondent that we can’t generalise the results. It’d need a lot more people to respond before any real trend emerged. And since the “other” category is so varied, I don’t think we can draw any reasonable conclusions at all from that section unless a hugely obvious trend emerged. Ok, then. 6 Monotheists have answered; 2 read the Theist post (1) - 1 thought the post did not have a deliberately bad tone. 1 wasn’t sure. - 1 thought the poster was nice. 1 thought they weren’t nice. - Both said it was not a deliberately provocative post. 4 read the Athiest post (2) - 2 thought the post had a deliberate bad tone. 1 said it did not have a deliberate bad tone. 1 wasn’t sure. - 3 thought the poster was nice. 1 thought they weren’t nice. - 3 thought the post was deliberately provocative. 1 thought it wasn’t deliberately provocative. 7 Atheists have answered; 2 read the Theist post - Both thought the post didn’t have a deliberate bad tone. - Both thought the poster was nice. - Both thought the post was not deliberately provocative. 5 read the Athiest post - 4 said the post had a deliberate bad tone. 1 said it did not have a deliberate bad tone. - 2 said the poster wasn’t nice. 1 said they were nice. 2 weren’t sure. - 2 said the post was deliberately provocative. 3 said the post was not deliberately provocative. 7 “Others” have answered. This group consists of everyone who didn’t self-identify as a monotheist or an athiest. 4 read the Theist post - 3 said the post had a deliberate bad tone. 1 said it did not have a deliberate bad tone. - 1 said the poster was nice. 2 said they were not nice. 1 wasn’t sure. - 3 said the post wasn’t deliberately provocative. 1 said it was deliberately provocative. 3 read the Athiest post - 2 said the post had a deliberate bad tone. 1 wasn’t sure. - 1 said the poster was nice. 2 weren’t sure. - 2 said the post was deliberately provocative. 1 said it wasn’t deliberately provocative. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-poll-on-religion-irreligion/395115/30 "2007-03-09T01:19:07Z")
Hmm… Which one was I, and what did I think? (Seriously. I’m not sure from the summaries how I was assigned.) ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-poll-on-religion-irreligion/395115/31 "2007-03-09T01:33:59Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Hmm… Which one was I, and what did I think? (Seriously. I’m not sure from the summaries how I was assigned.) [/QUOTE] You’re down as a monotheist who read 2. I’ve put you as saying that the post did not have a deliberate bad tone (your use of misguided and ignorant suggested you thought it might have a bad tone, but that it wasn’t on purpose by the poster), that the poster was a nice person, and again that the post was not intentionally provocative (again from the sense that they’re misguided rather than mean spirited). ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-poll-on-religion-irreligion/395115/32 "2007-03-09T02:14:24Z")
> [@](#): > > - Looking at the post, and imagining the context it is in, what would you say would be the likely mood of the person posting it? Do they seem happy? Annoyed? Condescending? Confident? A little weary and a bit abrupt. > [@](#): > > If all you could go on was that post, but it was a good example of their character, would you say that the person who wrote it seemed like a nice person? Too little to go on here. It could very well be that the Poster has been in many of these discussions with largely the same battle lines and outcome. > [@](#): > > How provocative would you say the post was? Does the poster seem to be spoiling for an argument at all? Is it a simple statement of belief? It may seem provocative to some but not to me. I think it is simply a bland statement of disbelief without any sugar-coating and and impatience for sugar-coating in this particular topic. > [@](#): > > Are you yourself a religious person? Would you characterise your faith as believing in a monotheistic god, believing in no gods, or other (so faith in a pantheon of gods, some forms of agnosticism, etc would be “other” as relates to this)? No. I don’t believe in supernatural things. No gods, no ghosts, etc. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-poll-on-religion-irreligion/395115/33 "2007-03-09T03:21:49Z")
[QUOTE=Revenant Threshold] Ok, then. 6 Monotheists have answered; 2 read the Theist post (1) - 1 thought the post did not have a deliberately bad tone. 1 wasn’t sure. - 1 thought the poster was nice. 1 thought they weren’t nice. …etc [/QUOTE] Well??!? Are you gonna make with the stepwise regression or what?? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-poll-on-religion-irreligion/395115/34 "2007-03-09T03:56:03Z")
Alright, I selected Box 2, and: - Looking at the post, and imagining the context it is in, what would you say would be the likely mood of the person posting it? Do they seem happy? Annoyed? Condescending? Confident? Condescending. - If all you could go on was that post, but it was a good example of their character, would you say that the person who wrote it seemed like a nice person? Indeterminate. Being high handed in GD isn’t probably a good indicator of niceness in daily life. It could equally well be that the person has responded to so many religion threads that they have ceased trying to argue anything rationally. - How provocative would you say the post was? Does the poster seem to be spoiling for an argument at all? Is it a simple statement of belief? Statement of belief. - Are you yourself a religious person? Would you characterise your faith as believing in a monotheistic god, believing in no gods, or other (so faith in a pantheon of gods, some forms of agnosticism, etc would be “other” as relates to this)? I am an atheist. ---
**Author:** ![illoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a3d4f5/32.png) [@illoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/illoe)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-poll-on-religion-irreligion/395115/35 "2007-03-09T04:03:33Z")
I picked the first post and have read nothing else in this thread. [QUOTE=Revenant Threshold] So, the questions; - Looking at the post, and imagining the context it is in, what would you say would be the likely mood of the person posting it? Do they seem happy? Annoyed? Condescending? Confident? [/quote] “Dumb as a slow-witted rock,” was the first thing I thought. Confident in that blithe, oblivious way that makes constructing sincere, content-free arguments by begging the question seem as natural as snot. Condescending, in calling “loving” a God that could allow… well, I’ll shut up before I start showing too much of my bitter atheist panties. > [@](#): > > - If all you could go on was that post, but it was a good example of their character, would you say that the person who wrote it seemed like a nice person? No. I generally don’t trust people who make bald assertions and couch them sneakily in the language of consensus. Painting oneself as conciliatory and generous while making blatant, foot-stamping ontological assertions seems fundamentally dishonest. > [@](#): > > - How provocative would you say the post was? Does the poster seem to be spoiling for an argument at all? Is it a simple statement of belief? It provoked me, but I’m susceptible. The poster may be spoiling for an argument, but he or she is not _saying_ anything. Can I use the forbidden word to describe a hypothetical poster in IMHO? Better not. In imagined context, the poster is defending someone else in the least effective way possible. But (unless my imagination in broken) that poster very likely thinks of him- or herself as magnanimous and rational, possibly even slightly heroic. Maybe even – oh, just a touch – dare I say… Christlike?! > [@](#): > > - Are you yourself a religious person? Would you characterise your faith as believing in a monotheistic god, believing in no gods, or other (so faith in a pantheon of gods, some forms of agnosticism, etc would be “other” as relates to this)? There are billions and billions of things more interesting than religion. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-poll-on-religion-irreligion/395115/36 "2007-03-09T04:09:31Z")
I highlighted the first box. > [@](#): > > - Looking at the post, and imagining the context it is in, what would you say would be the likely mood of the person posting it? Do they seem happy? Annoyed? Condescending? Confident? I can’t tell anything about mood. I would characterize it mostly as naive and possibly smug. > [@](#): > > - If all you could go on was that post, but it was a good example of their character, would you say that the person who wrote it seemed like a nice person? I get no impression of character from that post. I would draw no conclusion on way or the other. > [@](#): > > - How provocative would you say the post was? Does the poster seem to be spoiling for an argument at all? Is it a simple statement of belief? Statement of belief, but naive in its certainty. > [@](#): > > - Are you yourself a religious person? No. ---
**Author:** ![illoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a3d4f5/32.png) [@illoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/illoe)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-poll-on-religion-irreligion/395115/37 "2007-03-09T04:18:25Z")
Having read the second box, I am slightly surprised and quite pleased to see that I have a very similar reaction to those irrritatingly dopey (non-straight-dopey) assertions in support of my general (atheist) worldview. I was, frankly, worried that I wouldn’t take issue with it, after I got the gist of the thread. But in fact, I found it _more_ disturbing than the oblivious theist, after honestly trying to approach it with fresh eyes. Maybe that in itself should give me pause. What an interesting experiment, **Revenant Threshold**. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-poll-on-religion-irreligion/395115/38 "2007-03-09T04:25:57Z")
My reaction to the second post would have been pretty much the same as the first. I would have concluded little but that the poster was naive and a little to over-confident in his/her assertions. If you substutue “Flying Spahetti Monster” for “loving god,” though, the first poster sounds like an idiot and the second one sounds completely reasonable and inoffensive. ---
**Author:** ![Ins\_Outs\_What-have-yous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8797f3/32.png) [@Ins\_Outs\_What-have-yous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ins_Outs_What-have-yous)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-poll-on-religion-irreligion/395115/39 "2007-03-09T09:23:47Z")
I only read the first post (so far). > [@](#): > > what would you say would be the likely mood of the person posting it? Do they seem happy? Annoyed? Condescending? Confident? The mood of the person seems indifferent to me, but the author is confident in his/her words. > [@](#): > > - If all you could go on was that post, but it was a good example of their character, would you say that the person who wrote it seemed like a nice person? I suppose some niceness can shine through self-centeredness. > [@](#): > > - How provocative would you say the post was? Does the poster seem to be spoiling for an argument at all? Is it a simple statement of belief? It’s an over-zeaous statement of belief that is put in such a way that it puts down other beliefs. > [@](#): > > - Are you yourself a religious person? No. > [@](#): > > Would you characterise your faith as believing in a monotheistic god, believing in no gods, or other (so faith in a pantheon of gods, some forms of agnosticism, etc would be “other” as relates to this)? Other (i.e. agnostic) ---
**Author:** ![mamboman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@mamboman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mamboman)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-poll-on-religion-irreligion/395115/40 "2007-03-09T09:31:03Z")
#1. the person is deluded. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-poll-on-religion-irreligion/395115.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-poll-on-religion-irreligion/395115.md?page=3)