Why Are So Many Popular Atheists European?

Post Reply New Topic

I wouldn't say that there is a general US decline. The Unites States still dominates worldwide scientific activity (only challenged by the UK) due to top universities like Harvard, MIT and CalTech .

However, as measured by scientific output per capita, the US lags behind many European countries:

Illustrations (life sciences):
Total publications: http://rpsychologist.com/wp-content/upl ... e_plot.png
Publications per capita: http://rpsychologist.com/wp-content/upl ... capita.png

So what we've got here is a failure to disseminate.

I believe in everything and nothing, all at the same time.

I don't know the answer to your question.

Well judging by the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study the US is on the rise from a very big low, it is still outranked by the top performing asian countries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trends_in_International_Mathematics_and_Science_Study

The worry many have is that scientific research is now very much profit driven and the concept of research for its own sake is not valued highly enough.

By the way, where is the OP.

Not all popular atheists are European, however the fact that many are is partly down to the fact that the Age of Enlightenment started in Europe. With the Age of Enlightenment and as Europe became more tolerant of different religious beliefs, they became more tolerant of atheism as well. A whole new school of philosophers that based their moral philosophies on purely secular values instead of any kind of belief system (called humanists) emerged during this period and that was also the start of modern atheism as we know it today. Obviously, since modern atheism started in Europe and it has been around for a few centuries, it seems logical that many well-known atheists, even today, will be European.

Then how do you explain that the founding fathers based much of their ideas on humanism and the US constitution is somewhat humanist in nature.

Again OP where are you. Your absence makes me think you are not enjoying the answers given to your question.

I would have to say that one factor is the fact that being an atheist in the US puts a great big target on your back. Personally, I no longer tell people that I am atheist because I do not like being accused of being an immoral moster, being accused of being the root of all of the country's problems, or having someone shout in my face about how I'm going to burn in Hell for all eternity.

This really surprises me. here in New Zealand the majority of people are agnostic or atheist which is just fine. it makes me a bit angry to think people feel they have to keep their beliefs secret unless it conforms with the societal norm for fear of persecution. people seem to have very strong opinions and stick to them like they were john Wayne with guns drawn. is this obtuseness considered a virtue in America?

For your perusal

http://www.gallup.com/poll/155285/atheists-muslims-bias-presidential-candidates.aspx

How many is "So Many"?

edit:removed double post

Last edited by DentArthurDent on 08 Jan 2014, 5:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

We may never know as it appears moviefan has left the building.

I don't understand the question. Humanism started in Europe but that doesn't mean that the founding fathers in the USA could not of based their ideas on humanism.

Probably because the Churches in Europe made the horrible mistake of not opposing the First World War. The people flocked to the Somme were, by and large, highly optimistic people. Not even Germany at the high of their victories matched the universal war fever of 1914. It has probably been hard for Europeans to believe in anything ever since.

Are you seriously contending this as the reason for why atheism is increasingly so popular in Europe? As arguments go, it looks so thin I'd call it a non-sequitur.

You use the example of Humanism to explain in part the greater propensity for atheism in Europe. The US founding fathers based the constitution upon many of those principles, so extrapolating your argument the US should have a similar outcome.

My goodness you are such an apologist for religion, you simply cannot understand that the majority of the population of Europe do not believe in the God of the bible due to reason and logic. You invent some nonsense relating the realisation of the senselessness of war to an increased decline in faith. I am a skeptic in regards to human ability for rational thinking, but you surpass me by miles. People in non US western countries have walked away from god, not because "war is so terrible that if there were a god he would not allow such atrocities, ipso facto there is no god" No they have walked away from the Bible due to education, enlightenment, understanding of science, rational thinking. Why the US is going backwards is beyond my understanding, I am sure though, if I were to study US history I would come to some rational conclusion.

Your argument is somewhat trashed by the state of affairs here in Australia, the trend toward atheism is ever increasing, the last census showed almost 33% stated they had no religion (we should probably add to this the .37% who stated Jedi), this is up from around less than 1% in 1921. In New Zealand it is even more striking where it is predicted that by the next census 'no religion" will reach 50%. Neither country has suffered significantly from either world war, Australia likes to pretend that it did, but in relation to European countries this pales into almost insignificance.

One theory I have heard is the US's obsession with the threat posed by the "godless russian communists" and the communist witch hunts of the 1950's, even today we see results of opinion polls like this gallop one
http://www.gallup.com/poll/155285/atheists-muslims-bias-presidential-candidates.aspx


Edit = grammar and punctuation, something I am not good at. Anyone wishing to constructively correct and educate me regarding my grammatical and punctuation mistakes is invited to do so.

Last edited by DentArthurDent on 09 Jan 2014, 6:30 am, edited 8 times in total.