Analytic thinking can decrease religious belief

"A new University of British Columbia study finds that analytic thinking can decrease religious belief, even in devout believers.

[...]

Researchers used problem-solving tasks and subtle experimental priming – including showing participants Rodin’s sculpture The Thinker or asking participants to complete questionnaires in hard-to-read fonts – to successfully produce “analytic” thinking. The researchers, who assessed participants’ belief levels using a variety of self-reported measures, found that religious belief decreased when participants engaged in analytic tasks, compared to participants who engaged in tasks that did not involve analytic thinking."

The University of British Columbia, Apr. 26, 2012

I Can't Believe It's Not Religion

As every atheist knows, it can often be an exasperating task to explain that atheism is not a religion, and well, I guess this picture won't be of any help.

As long as parents mislead their children, religious belief will lead to atrocities

"WHAT would turn eight intelligent, respectable doctors and other medical professionals into terrorists bent on a killing spree?

Faith.

For intelligent young people brought up in religious households and grappling with the concept of faith, fundamentalism can be one of only two options: it is either all or nothing. When it comes to faith, there is no logic to holding a moderate viewpoint. You either believe fully that some supernatural being created everything around us and eavesdrops on all six billion-plus of us, monitoring every word and deed, every minute of every day, now and forever, or you don’t."

Irish Examiner, 11 July 2007

Is Atheism a Philosophy or Belief System?

"Atheism is no more a belief system or a philosophy than theism is. Both can be part of belief systems, some religious and some not, some good and some not.

If atheism were a philosophy, then John should be able to explain exactly what philosophy it is that is held in common by all atheists who are: Raelians, Objectivists, Buddhists, Religious Humanists, communists, libertarians, socialists, Secular Humanists, conservatives, monarchists, Jews, liberals, etc. I don't think John can — just as his email didn't actually offer any counter-arguments to the explanations I have provided on the site. No one else that I've ever posed this challenge to has ever managed to provide an answer, either."

atheism.about.com, July 8, 2007

An annoying question answered nicely!

Most people on earth believe in reincarnation

"Most people of Planet Earth believe in reincarnation, the latest survey undertaken by the Gallup Institute says.

Meanwhile, according to the sociologist Prof. Jorg Stolz, director of l'Observatoire des Religions of the University of Lausanne, this tendency comes up as people's understanding of the supernatural gets increasingly blurred, the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily reported Wednesday.

'If you ask people what they believe in, you may see that the more precise question about afterlife you ask, the fuzzier answers you get. For most people, even God is no longer their Father in Heaven but rather a supreme power uniting man, nature and cosmos,' he said.

According to Stoltz, the concept of hell also becomes increasingly unpopular. Only 5 to 10 percent of Europeans still believe it exists, he said."

Interfax, June 27 2007

Religion getting more warm and fuzzy!

[stats] 45% - Daily Prayer Important in USA

"Fewer than half of American adults (45%) now completely agree with the statement that "prayer is an important part of my daily life;" that number has declined from a high of 55% in 1999, although adding in those who mostly agree with the statement, fully 78% of Americans endorse the importance of prayer. Large numbers also agree completely or mostly that "we will all be called before God at the Judgment Day to answer for our sins" (79% down from 84% in 1994) and also at least mostly agree that they never doubt the existence of God (83% down from 88% in 1999)."

PewResearch 14. May 2007

Check the links for graphs.

[Comment] Extra! Extra! Atheists Whip Christians in Debate! Again! And Again

"For one, nobody out-rationalizes Sam Harris. The guy has a brain the size of Europe — and all of it is connected to his mouth. He also seems entirely compassionate and utterly Pro-Human, two qualities I know I enjoy in a person. I think Sam Harris stands as pretty much the ultimate example of what a person can be and think when they insist that rational thought, above all, should be respected. And I can respect that. It's certainly not the worst thing for a person to stake their claim on.

[...]

But we've got to understand that once we decide, for whatever reason, to Vote God, we necessarily mark ourselves, in the eyes of someone who's gone with option No God, as extraordinarily irrational. At that point we can't help but seem to them as fundamentally (so to speak) bonkers.

[...]

So Rick Warren loses the debate. In the end, we Christians will always lose the debate with atheists. Because they're using the language of logic. And there are no words for the essence of the Christian experience. And there never will be, thank God."

John Shore, Crosswalk, 19. May 2007