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That has been more pronounced over the Bush time, but you're right it is far more common in the uS than here. But then they have much higher church attendance than us so its not exactly surprising. What annoyed me was the insinuation that this sort of crazy idea might be fine for Americans but not for us.
No they're not, they are just born ignorant, theres a difference.
Atheism to me is far more of a definite choice, you decide there is no God which isnt something a new born can really do.
It's a good counter to 'influencing children to be atheist' though, no?
For me too, and if a person has the language to say "I am an atheist" then I'd assume the same.
It's hardly wildly different. I would agree, however, that atheism is more an active choice - which a baby isn't capable of making.
Therefore even if it not fully accurate it is far more proper to say people are born atheists, or certainly ignorant of the concept of deities and tales of Creators and divine interventions than they are somehow natural believers and are 'taught' atheism by their parents.
"Doesn't believe god exists" can mean that they believe in a different god, or that they're an agnostic, or an atheist, or simply (as it is for babies) that they know nothing about the concept of a god.
"Believes no god exists" = Atheist.
It's wildly different because the first one defines a supergroup of the other.
Oh come on Aladdin; how do you think the whole sordid affair got started in the first place? We, as a species, have inquisitive minds which are always searching for answers.
You've just got your knickers in a twist over semantics. IWS didn't specify a particular God.
Granted that many others might have developed a belief in magical deities of their own accord, simply because they could not explain certain events (earthquakes, eclipses, wonders of nature, etc). But today we can. Therefore a child will not naturally resort to inventing deities to explain most events and facts, since we already know they how and why of them.
POTW
I disagree, but it's a bit off topic.
Nope Mok, this is POTW
No they are not.
An atheist concludes that there is no god. A baby cannot reason to a conclusion.
However, if your point is that religion is learnt, then largely agree. I do believe that many people are born with a desire for there to be more to life and that this void is usually filled by 'religion' (or similiar) of some kind i.e. organised religion, star signs, tarot etc.
Where did you hear that? Atheism is a lack of belief in any gods. Therefore anyone who has never been introduced to the concept of a god is an atheist. Hell, your dog is an atheist. Agnosticism is a more definite viewpoint that either the answer is unknown or unknowable, rather than someone who simply hasn't considered the question. And even when someone is given a question to consider, they always start out at the "atheist" position of scepticism, until you bring into account various other factors (Do I trust the person? Are they an authority on the issue? How probable is the claim? Of course with kids, the first two will automatically make them believe it).
'The Independant Schools Commission is the main representative body of Independant Schools in the UK. The majority of ISC schools are charities (1,048 out of 1,278 schools), and ISC charitable schools educate 440,000 UK domiciled children.'
http://www.isc.co.uk/uploads/documents/Charity%20Commission%20final%20report.pdf
Agree to some extent but IMO its human interpretation and the way throughout history people have deliberately reinterpreted and customized the original texts to suit their own personal agendas and subjugate the masses.
This is no different to what happened with secular beliefs such as Socialism.
:yes:
Check your dictionary.
"Atheist : One who disbelieves or denies the existence of a God, or supreme intelligent Being."
An atheist makes a conscious decision to deny the existence of a god or gods. A baby cannot make a concious decision therefore, by definition of the word 'atheist', a baby cannot be one.
Maybe there is some other name but it is not 'atheist'.
Sorry I didn't make my answer clear, I know that most have charitable status. I disagree that it should be stripped.
Aha :thumb:
It's statements like this that reinforce my belief that creationists are batshit crazy. When I was younger, I don't ever remember thinking to myself "Oh boy I wish there was a creationist theme park I could visit so I didn't have to go out drinking with my friends tonight".
Well, yeah. That's why people watch it.
"A good and holy morning to all of you. Welcome to the Christian theme park, the biggest and newest creationist theme park in the United Kingdom - and incidentally, the first park that was built in seven days, thanks to Me, God. You'll probably have a lot of questions about what there is to do at My park - after all, this isn't going to be anything like that lovely Alton Towers place, is it?
Today, we have special guests in the park. Yes, I, the almighty God, have managed to get the Archbishop of Canterbury to come down for the day. And predictably, we also have Keith Chegwin - though wearing more clothes than I intended him to wear for that Channel Five show years ago. But not even this God can achieve miracles!
Well, once you've got your admission ticket, you can start the day by having a nice, refreshing cup of holy coffee at Noah's Ark, the best coffee shop in town. They give you enough coffee to last 40 days and 40 nights! And if coffee's not your thing, there's plenty of drinks to keep the kids happy for the day. Feel free also to pay a visit to our souvenir shop, where you can buy a range of gifts and toys. Christmas is coming - why not get the person you love some frankincense and murrh - the most in-demand presents at this time of year!
But what am I talking here for? Come into the park and see how I built it in seven days. Well, six actually. My disciples get Sundays off..."
Look at church attendance and trends of religion here and then compare it to the Bible belt in America.