NotSoObvious Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 Wow. Another ex-Mormon here. We should start a social group. ;) We've been UU but don't have a great church here, so we don't attend anywhere now. I voted atheist but on a different day I might have voted agnostic. I agree with the apathetic descriptor used by others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 I know it's different in some places, but where we live, no one asks what religion you are, so I honestly have no clue how most of the people I know would respond to this poll. I assume the results would be pretty mixed, though. It's hard to get a real feeling about this stuff on an internet forum, too, because all it takes are a few loudmouths who burst into every possible thread to either preach their strong religious beliefs or, on the other side of the coin, "educate" people about why having religious beliefs is stupid and unscientific, and all of a sudden it looks like there is a huge movement one way or the other -- when really it's just the same small number of people on either side who make a lot of noise. I think most of the people on this forum are kind, decent, and tolerant. I also think that many people refrain from posting about topics that are either specifically religious or atheist in content because they don't want to be bullied or mocked by a few people who will almost inevitably show up to derail their threads or nitpick at their posts. Personally, I don't care what anyone believes or doesn't believe, because it's none of my business and I don't think religion or a lack thereof has the slightest impact on whether or not someone is nice, honest, caring, and decent. QFT I am shocked that Christianity is so high % on the poll. Sure seems like more atheists most days. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 Agnostic. I decided I don't know enough to be an atheist. ;) I am very much drawn to Buddhism, however. I never met a meditation room I didn't love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 QFT I am shocked that Christianity is so high % on the poll. Sure seems like more atheists most days. :) I'm not atheist, but this comes across to me as rude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 Unitarian Universalist (UU). Interests in eastern traditions and philosophy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livetoread Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 As I understand it, atheist means lacking a belief in any gods, which is subtlety different, but still different from saying you believe there are no gods. I have no idea whether there are any gods or not, which also means I'm agnostic. I don't claim to know one way or the other, though I think probably not. The atheist part comes from not believing in any. They or s/he/it might be out there, I don't know (agnostic). At this point, until further evidence presents itself, I don't believe in any particular one (atheist). I think the common understanding of atheist is someone who claims to know there are no gods - sometimes obnoxiously :) Technically though, that person would be gnostic regarding the existence of a deity because she claims to know. That's why I voted atheist, but usually, given the connotation associated with the word, I tell people I'm not a believer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 Where I live, people assume you are Mormon/LDS unless you say otherwise. It's a dominant culture as well as religion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freckles Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 I suppose I would describe myself as a Calvinist who is seeking community. edited to delete personal info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 I'm not atheist, but this comes across to me as rude. I thought she was just making a general observation, just like Sadie did earlier, because the results weren't what either of them had expected. I didn't read either post as being negative. As for me, I'm too clueless to have had a prediction. :D I figured there would be quite a bit of diversity, but I had no idea about what the numbers would turn out to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MFG Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 I know it's different in some places, but where we live, no one asks what religion you are, so I honestly have no clue how most of the people I know would respond to this poll. I assume the results would be pretty mixed, though. It's hard to get a real feeling about this stuff on an internet forum, too, because all it takes are a few loudmouths who burst into every possible thread to either preach their strong religious beliefs or, on the other side of the coin, "educate" people about why having religious beliefs is stupid and unscientific, and all of a sudden it looks like there is a huge movement one way or the other -- when really it's just the same small number of people on either side who make a lot of noise. I think most of the people on this forum are kind, decent, and tolerant. I also think that many people refrain from posting about topics that are either specifically religious or atheist in content because they don't want to be bullied or mocked by a few people who will almost inevitably show up to derail their threads or nitpick at their posts. Personally, I don't care what anyone believes or doesn't believe, because it's none of my business and I don't think religion or a lack thereof has the slightest impact on whether or not someone is nice, honest, caring, and decent. Preach it, Sister! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Nyssa Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 Christian here (Orthodox) I am surprised at the results, because from our discussions I would have thought we are about evenly divided between Christian and atheist/undecided/agnostic, with a smattering of everyone else. The population here is much more heavily Christian than I thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 In controversial discussions, I tend to fall on the side that atheists tend to fall on even though I'm a Christian. There are lots of different kinds of Christians. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 "Other." I identified as a Unitarian Universalist for most of my adulthood, but fell away from that a couple of years ago. My involvement there had been feeling spiritually lackluster for some time, and after an nasty episode with the leadership of the church we'd been heavily involved with for 15 years made me feel unenthusiastic about continuing membership there, I just kind of stopped going at all. In my heart of hearts, I think I'm probably on the extremely progressive/liberal edge of Christianity, but I have yet to find a church close enough to me geographically and spiritually to be a good religious home. And I can't bring myself to identify as "Christian" when I'm interacting with folks on these boards, because my version feels too different from what seems to be assumed when one uses that word. So, I read a lot of books and watch sermons online and listen to podcasts and wait for the path to become clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 I thought she was just making a general observation, just like Sadie did earlier, because the results weren't what either of them had expected. I didn't read either post as being negative. As for me, I'm too clueless to have had a prediction. :D I figured there would be quite a bit of diversity, but I had no idea about what the numbers would turn out to be. Probably so. My irritation in the threads of magnitude and circularity is probably coloring my reading of perfectly innocuous comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Strawberry Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Your gift package of chocolate and wine ice cream is in the mail!! http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/513724-ask-a-buddhist/ (yes, wine ice cream apparently exists http://www.mtlblog.com/2014/11/wine-ice-cream-is-now-a-thing-you-can-eat-and-get-drunk-on/#) ^ That's my thread :D. I'm a Buddhist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Probably so. My irritation in the threads of magnitude and circularity is probably coloring my reading of perfectly innocuous comments. Well, if it makes you feel better I have the same coloring of certain comments as you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonFaerie Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Celtic Wiccan witch. But that wasn't a choice, so I went with Pagan. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Celtic Wiccan witch. But that wasn't a choice, so I went with Pagan. :D One must make do in this imperfect world... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Strawberry Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 I think any spiritual views that are not exclusive (as in, you can be It and Something Else at the same time without proponents of It arguing you're not really It) can make polling hard. Buddhism is a more "mixable" spirituality. Even so, I was surprised that there weren't more people who identified as just Buddhist. Maybe it's my particular social circles. I have a daughter who is a Korean adoptee who attends a very Asian (in pedagogy and ethnic backgrounds ) marital arts school with mostly children of Asian immigrants. We also celebrate some Korean holidays with the Korean immigrant community. Many of them only identify as Buddhist, not as a mix. I expected that to be more the norm than the mixed version. We are Shinto-Zen Buddhist. Fully and completely. Unfortunately, we have no community or temple where we currently live, but we'd are as committed as we possibly can be at any given time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Hellenic Neopagan polytheist with strong influences from Buddhism, Shinto, and Reform Judaism, attending a UU church. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferB Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Orthodox Christian aka Eastern Orthodox. However, I'm not Eastern, I'm American. Jesus was Eastern ;-). My faith practice should just be called Christian, but the Great Schism, split of East/West, then the Reformations etc. and now the modern American Christian churches make this distinction necessary.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodhaven Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Christian. PCA, somewhat conservative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 I thought she was just making a general observation, just like Sadie did earlier, because the results weren't what either of them had expected. I didn't read either post as being negative. As for me, I'm too clueless to have had a prediction. :D I figured there would be quite a bit of diversity, but I had no idea about what the numbers would turn out to be. Yes just an observation of some recent threads where it seemed to me there were more atheists commenting than there were Christians. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanne Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Yes just an observation of some recent threads where it seemed to me there were more atheists commenting than there were Christians. I think that is a reflection of personality and content rather than of the demographics of the board. TWM forum seems to reflect homeschooling in general, still a majority of Christians with a significant percentage of them of them conservative in politics and theology. It IS more diverse than when I started homeschooling but still mostly as I described. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 In controversial discussions, I tend to fall on the side that atheists tend to fall on even though I'm a Christian. There are lots of different kinds of Christians. Ditto. I hesitantly put Christian on the poll because I feel like that's where my head and heart still are, but I almost always agree with the atheists when there are questions of religion in public life on this board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 I'm surprised there aren't more Muslims, honestly. It always seems like there's a nice group of Muslims here. Small, but not that small. But maybe statistically that's about right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim in Appalachia Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Christian. Married to a current atheist, former Christian. Surprised there aren't more Buddhists. Sorry to not see (from the movie St. Vincent) "...I don't know what I am." ..."it's sweeping the nation...." That scene made me laugh because it was a sweet, funny way to handle the situation. This is OT, but I wanted to agree about that scene. :) I thought the movie was wonderful, and that scene was super sweet. I actually teared up, because it was so genuine and tender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albeto. Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Yes just an observation of some recent threads where it seemed to me there were more atheists commenting than there were Christians. I think that's just a matter of perspective. Most people assume their beliefs and opinions are true and good, and when they're challenged, it catches their attention. That's true for all of us, I think. Most times the beliefs and opinions of the religious posters on this forum are not challenged, but when they are, you're more likely to be aware of it. I suspect if you started to look at this dynamic specifically, you'll find that the various "pray for me/my family/friend" threads, comments about being "blessed," and "knowing" what God wants usually are left alone, and they're common enough here. ETA: or what Joanne said. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 I think that's just a matter of perspective. Most people assume their beliefs and opinions are true and good, and when they're challenged, it catches their attention. That's true for all of us, I think. Most times the beliefs and opinions of the religious posters on this forum are not challenged, but when they are, you're more likely to be aware of it. I suspect if you started to look at this dynamic specifically, you'll find that the various "pray for me/my family/friend" threads, comments about being "blessed," and "knowing" what God wants usually are left alone, and they're common enough here. ETA: or what Joanne said. ;) I think the beliefs of both religious people and atheists are being challenged here far more frequently than they used to be -- and often not in a polite way. I find the discussions to be very interesting and informative in threads that were created for the purpose of debate, but it can be offensive in threads where it's pretty obvious the OP isn't looking for a debate or has specifically asked for like-minded people to respond to a question, and someone pops in to derail the thread by telling the person that everything would work out if she would just start praying, or to say that prayers won't help her because believing in a higher power is the equivalent of believing in the tooth fairy. Neither perspective is helpful. I think there is a time and place to challenge others' beliefs, and there are at least a few people here who are so interested in pushing their own personal agendas that they lose sight of basic manners and courtesy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Christian. Catholic. Roman. Cradle. Practicing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albeto. Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 I think the beliefs of both religious people and atheists are being challenged here far more frequently than they used to be -- and often not in a polite way. I find the discussions to be very interesting and informative in threads that were created for the purpose of debate, but it can be offensive in threads where it's pretty obvious the OP isn't looking for a debate or has specifically asked for like-minded people to respond to a question, and someone pops in to derail the thread by telling the person that everything would work out if she would just start praying, or to say that prayers won't help her because believing in a higher power is the equivalent of believing in the tooth fairy. Neither perspective is helpful. In my experience, there's an evolving internet etiquette that differs from offline social etiquette. Offline, when people say something factually wrong, foolish, or even offensive, people smile politely and gloss over the comment or change the subject. Online, each phrase and turn of a word can be singled out to explore in greater detail to support a larger point. It may feel unnecessarily nit-picky to people who expect the kind of offline politeness, but online, it's a perfectly acceptable social behavior. WTM forum is an online community, and the social dynamic evolves as it does in online communities in general. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Christian. Catholic. Roman. Cradle. Practicing. That. Was. Very. Succinct. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 In my experience, there's an evolving internet etiquette that differs from offline social etiquette. Offline, when people say something factually wrong, foolish, or even offensive, people smile politely and gloss over the comment or change the subject. Online, each phrase and turn of a word can be singled out to explore in greater detail to support a larger point. It may feel unnecessarily nit-picky to people who expect the kind of offline politeness, but online, it's a perfectly acceptable social behavior. WTM forum is an online community, and the social dynamic evolves as it does in online communities in general. I completely disagree with the bolded. Why is it acceptable to be rude, nitpicky, and offensive online? Why is it OK to treat people differently online than you would treat them in real life? Poor behavior is poor behavior, online or offline. And it really and truly is entirely unnecessary to single out "each phrase and turn of a word to explore in greater detail to support a large point." Often, it's just plain rude and is nothing more than a way for people to introduce their own personal agendas into an unrelated thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albeto. Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 I think there is a time and place to challenge others' beliefs, and there are at least a few people here who are so interested in pushing their own personal agendas that they lose sight of basic manners and courtesy. To add to your edit, I think it helps to consider "basic manners and courtesy" as a rather broad concept. In our last exchange, you told me to "just give it up," and added a rolling-eyes smilie. I interpreted that to mean, "albeto, just shut up already, I mean, my god." I didn't think that qualified as "basic manners and courtesy," but you explained it was simply your sense of humor. When someone else made the same general appeal to you, the follow-up was different. So, who breached the parameters of basic manners and courtesy? Whose opinions should we follow? The most sensitive member of the community? The least? I think in general, online etiquette favors focusing on the words on the page, in part because we are blind to one's body language as a part of the communication process. Getting back to the point, I think contributions that challenge religious assumptions are considered rude from a community where those assumptions are expected to be respected, whereas those making those challenges think them to be squarely within the realm of basic manners and courtesy. In short, I think the best thing to do is focus on the words, and not try to assume intent. I suspect online social mores are evolving in this direction, but that's a personal opinion to be sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 That. Was. Very. Succinct. :D In.deed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albeto. Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 I completely disagree with the bolded. Why is it acceptable to be rude, nitpicky, and offensive online? Why is it OK to treat people differently online than you would treat them in real life? Poor behavior is poor behavior, online or offline. And it really and truly is entirely unnecessary to single out "each phrase and turn of a word to explore in greater detail to support a large point." Often, it's just plain rude and is nothing more than a way for people to introduce their own personal agendas into an unrelated thread. It's okay to treat people differently online than offline in the same way it's okay to treat people differently in the office than it is in bed. Different social settings inspire different social rules. Challenging a claim isn't considered poor behavior in an increasing number of online communities, it's an emotionally neutral part of the conversation. I don't mean to suggest each phrase should be explored, but any can be. It's what you're doing here. Are you being rude, or are you challenging the claim I made in a socially appropriate way for this online community? ETA: There are times when questions and answers and follow up questions become frustrating to those who are not interested. Perhaps you'd like to start a new thread to avoid the appearance of "hijacking" this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tohru Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 I know it's different in some places, but where we live, no one asks what religion you are, so I honestly have no clue how most of the people I know would respond to this poll. I assume the results would be pretty mixed, though. It's hard to get a real feeling about this stuff on an internet forum, too, because all it takes are a few loudmouths who burst into every possible thread to either preach their strong religious beliefs or, on the other side of the coin, "educate" people about why having religious beliefs is stupid and unscientific, and all of a sudden it looks like there is a huge movement one way or the other -- when really it's just the same small number of people on either side who make a lot of noise. I think most of the people on this forum are kind, decent, and tolerant. I also think that many people refrain from posting about topics that are either specifically religious or atheist in content because they don't want to be bullied or mocked by a few people who will almost inevitably show up to derail their threads or nitpick at their posts. Personally, I don't care what anyone believes or doesn't believe, because it's none of my business and I don't think religion or a lack thereof has the slightest impact on whether or not someone is nice, honest, caring, and decent. Golly, I wish I could "Like" this 100 times! Where is 67_others?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 My guess is the majority will be Christian with agnostic/atheism second (granted, those are 2 separate choices in my poll). Based on the poll alone, you were right, though there's a huge gap between 1st and 2nd. Atheist comes in second, with agnostic close behind. Even when you add atheist and agnostic to create a combined 2nd, there's still a big gap. Still, I think a poll like this here five years ago would have had a much smaller atheist group. Whether that's because more of us are here now, or more are open about it is anyone's guess. Even though I suspect my Grannie thinks I'm a heretic since we do yoga. :lol: Poor Grannie. Although, I have to say I never heard yoga was a no-no for Christians until we started homeschooling - and we were practicing Christians at that time. I found out some considered it off limits when we joined our first local hs group (we didn't stay long due to a number of reasons, a SOF that didn't fit our faith was a big reason). That isn't really surprising. I have had the worst time with the search feature since the last board change. Have you tried googling it? Sometimes it garners better results. Completely OT, but yes. I knew there was a thread on Korean drama but couldn't find it. I'm pretty good at searching and have good google-fu, but here at the forum the searching is hit and miss. I started a new thread, and someone linked me to an old one. I don't know if that poster already had it saved, or if searching worked for her when it wouldn't work for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 It's okay to treat people differently online than offline in the same way it's okay to treat people differently in the office than it is in bed. Different social settings inspire different social rules. Challenging a claim isn't considered poor behavior in an increasing number of online communities, it's an emotionally neutral part of the conversation. I don't mean to suggest each phrase should be explored, but any can be. It's what you're doing here. Are you being rude, or are you challenging the claim I made in a socially appropriate way for this online community? ETA: There are times when questions and answers and follow up questions become frustrating to those who are not interested. Perhaps you'd like to start a new thread to avoid the appearance of "hijacking" this one. No need for a new thread, as I think we're done here. As far as I'm concerned, if it's okay with you, I think we should just agree to disagree and let it go. I'm popping in and out of here as I'm doing a bunch of Christmas shopping online, so I'm not really in the mood for a big discussion. :) Never let it be said that I let a serious discussion get in the way of my fun! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tohru Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 In my experience, there's an evolving internet etiquette that differs from offline social etiquette. Offline, when people say something factually wrong, foolish, or even offensive, people smile politely and gloss over the comment or change the subject. Online, each phrase and turn of a word can be singled out to explore in greater detail to support a larger point. It may feel unnecessarily nit-picky to people who expect the kind of offline politeness, but online, it's a perfectly acceptable social behavior. WTM forum is an online community, and the social dynamic evolves as it does in online communities in general. Yep, I'd have to agree. It is unfortunate. Either way, off or online, the emotions are just as real and intense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Why is it acceptable to be rude, nitpicky, and offensive online? Why is it OK to treat people differently online than you would treat them in real life? Poor behavior is poor behavior, online or offline. And it really and truly is entirely unnecessary to single out "each phrase and turn of a word to explore in greater detail to support a large point." Often, it's just plain rude and is nothing more than a way for people to introduce their own personal agendas into an unrelated thread. :iagree: I'd like to think people who meet me IRL see the same me they do online and I'd rather poor behavior not be part of "either" me. Live and let live. It does bug me when others feel their agenda is to always nitpick or pit-bull a topic, but I soon learn whose posts to lightly skim and whose to read. Plus, I don't get bothered leaving a thread when it devolves. It's sad that it happens, but it's pretty predictable. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Atheist is not a belief, it's a lack of belief... I am a secular humanist. I attend a UU church. One can be a humanist with or without a deity. The original humanists were actually religious. Secular humanism of course, suggests no deity but doesn't insist there isn't one. UU churches are different in different areas of the country. Many of the local UU's have a strong Christian flavor. I know one UU church (a friend is a member) that had a huge influx of very liberal Christians a few years back. My friend said her church was being taken over by "the God people". Up until that time, most of the members would have called themselves "spiritual but agnostic". I'm not trying to offend anyone, UU or Christian or whatever with the above paragraph. I'm just relating what I know of the local UU church. . Atheism isn't a religion, but I definitely consider it a belief. It's an assertion--an active belief--that there is no God. If anything is a *lack* of religious belief, I would say it's agnosticism. But apathetic is even more so. :) A lack of belief is not a belief. I don't actively disbelieve in unicorns even though if pressed I'd have to say I'm an aunicornist (we've done this before - sorry Sparkly). I also don't have an active disbelief in ghosts, fairies, or leprechauns, though I could put an "a" in front and an "ist" in back of each of those words to tell you what I think of those things. There's a fairly well known quote that goes, "Atheism is a belief like not collecting stamps is a hobby." Atheism: 'a' - Greek prefix meaning not or without. 'Theism' - from the Greek Theos meaning God. A-theism - not a theist, without God. Pretty simple. Not believing in something isn't an active belief. I know it's different in some places, but where we live, no one asks what religion you are, Around here no one asks because they assume you're Christian. Oddly enough though, we have a large secular homeschool community. The Christian hs community is bigger, but we've never had trouble finding secular homeschool friends once I knew where to look. As I understand it, atheist means lacking a belief in any gods, which is subtlety different, but still different from saying you believe there are no gods. I have no idea whether there are any gods or not, which also means I'm agnostic. I don't claim to know one way or the other, though I think probably not. The atheist part comes from not believing in any. They or s/he/it might be out there, I don't know (agnostic). At this point, until further evidence presents itself, I don't believe in any particular one (atheist). I think the common understanding of atheist is someone who claims to know there are no gods - sometimes obnoxiously :) Technically though, that person would be gnostic regarding the existence of a deity because she claims to know. That's why I voted atheist, but usually, given the connotation associated with the word, I tell people I'm not a believer. There are levels of agnosticism. There's agnostic theist and agnostic atheist. An agnostic theist doesn't know but thinks there might be gods. Agnostic atheists don't know but think there are probably no gods. Most of us are agnostic to some extent, even if we claim we know there's a god or we know there isn't. Semantics can be tricky. It will probably never be completely settled. http://atheism.wikia.com/wiki/Atheist_vs_Agnostic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 One woman's 'devolving' is another woman's 'Ooh, this is fun!' :) Oh, sometimes it's fun for me too - like with the recent ebola/shark attack deal when I was able to have visions of 3 weeks home with my boys AND a professional cleaning afterward! It all depends upon whether it's lighthearted or not for me. Personal attacks with venom or implied stupidity are what constitutes devolving in my vocab. I personally think intelligent people can and do have differing beliefs on many topics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 There's a line. And people of all spiritualities cross it now and then. But hey, if I can live with being called a baby-murderer, I guess everyone else can suck up the occasional snark that comes out of my atheist mouth :) The thing is, no one should be calling anyone a baby-murderer at all. It's not something anyone should have to live with. Just as no one should have to live with being told that they are ignorant for having a different belief system than another person. It's all totally unnecessary and mean. But I have to say that the baby-murderer thing is one of the most offensive things I have ever heard anyone call another person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Yes, I guess my only point is that we ALL shape the culture around here, and how positively or negatively we do so doesn't really depend on spirituality. I agree that spirituality -- or the lack thereof -- doesn't guarantee good behavior or poor behavior around here. I think it's entirely an individual personality thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Christian. I refuse to qualify that, and no one can make me. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albeto. Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 The thing is, no one should be calling anyone a baby-murderer at all. It's not something anyone should have to live with. Just as no one should have to live with being told that they are ignorant for having a different belief system than another person. It's all totally unnecessary and mean. But I have to say that the baby-murderer thing is one of the most offensive things I have ever heard anyone call another person. I think precious few people intend to actually be mean. I think people assume intent that isn't there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Christian. I refuse to qualify that, and no one can make me. ;) So....Christian with authority issues? :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 I think precious few people intend to actually be mean. I think people assume intent that isn't there.This is true. I've got some family members that don't intend to be jackasses..... Yet there they are braying at every family function! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 I think precious few people intend to actually be mean. I think people assume intent that isn't there. Well... I'm not sure how a person could use a term like "baby-murderer" in a conversation without it sounding mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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