Top 10 Most/Least Religious States in the Country

Now someone should compare that data with state literacy rates, education level and teen pregnancy rates.

I just noticed that if we change the word “religious” with “rednecks” in the map, it would still make sense.

I have never in my life been more profoundly proud to be from New Hampshire… or New England, for that matter.

😀

Now, if the question was a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answer, can we safely assume that the non-present percentage are agnostic or atheistic? That would mean that even in Mississippi 15% of the population are non-religious.
That makes the oft-claimed “only 14% of Americans are atheists”, seem paltry.

BTW. I like the ‘Redneck’ comment 🙂

See, here’s my problem with polls like this:

If I were asked this question, my most honest answer would be “Yes.”

Religion is a very important part of my daily life. I write about it almost every day. If I’m not writing about it, I’m often reading about it, or thinking about it.

I’m just not writing/ reading/ thinking very nice things.

How do you answer this question if you’re an atheist writer/ blogger/ activist?

And too think about that question. What are other types of things that would be important but not part of your daily life? I guess what I am asking is. Are you really religious if it’s not important to you? for me Baseball and Poker are both part of my daily life. I read about them or play them daily. So what 15% of the people in the most religious state in the union say is that to them, their religion has a lower status than a game has to me.

I think this falls under. Just because you don’t say you don’t believe in god doesn’t mean you do…and I think this is what the Right Wing is ultimatly scared of.

I’m happy to see that the overly religious city of Colorado Springs (home to that bastion of hate known as Focus on the Family) hasn’t corrupted the rest of us here in Colorado. I honstly expected us to be higher up on the list.

We’re #3! Not that it surprises me in the least that Maine is ranked so high on the list. Also proves that rural does not automatically equal religious since Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont as all very rural states.

I’m kinda supprised my state of North Carolina was so high. We’re the highest of all the blue states.

As a Californian, I’d really like to see it by county.

Is it at all surprising that New England has the lowest divorce rates, crime rates, teen pregnancy rates, etc? They also enjoy higher overall health, education and quality of living. Now that MA and CT have marriage equality, ME is pushing for it and the other states probably won’t be far behind my wife and I are seriously thinking of braving the cold and snow if Prop 8 doesn’t get overturned.

heh, the Wisconsin result surprises me, I woulda thought we’d be higher to be honest. eh well…hooray for being a midwest anomaly!

“Are there any surprises on here for you?”

Yeah. Texas. It is neither the darkest green nor in the top ten. WTF?

As a Canadian, I’m left wondering what this would look like for our provinces…

Sad sad. Would only that CT be last on the list.

It’s pretty much what I expected… Except I thought Alaska and California would be reversed… I’m also surprised Alaska is less religious than Washington!! But the colouring trend doesn’t surprise me at all.

For those interested in a similar map of Canada, check this out:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/religion/faithmap.html

The Canadian map is awesome! BC surprised me, until I thought about all the Canadians of Asian descent, particularly Chinese and Japanese heritage with no religion. But Alberta was far more non religious than I would have guessed, especially with Stockwell Day, and Stephen Harper coming outta there.

Mriana Said,
“Missouri is 15th in being the most religious? Couldn’t prove it by me! Geeze! These people down here are freakin’ NUTS! I mean they talk about being “immortal” and having a relationship with Jesus, like it were some sexual experience. Gee, puts new meaning to necrophelia.”

Take out St. Louis and Kansas City. The the next two cities are Springfield and it’s neighbor Joplin. Springfield is home to Larry Rice Ministries and several evangelical colleges. Joplin has a couple more such colleges, and is home to the state’s prison ministries services and a company that produces multi media presentations for missionaries. The population of these two areas combined is barely 1 million.

The most religious states here are the home to the most brainwashed people in this nation. These dumbasses are getting their wallets sucked thin for a promise of “heaven.” The people who believe needs a splash of cold water to their face. I have told many that they are going to be greatly disappointed when they die, but they’ll never know…such a sad tale of the ignorant blind-they always need someone to tell them what to do, how to vote, who to believe, never in their pathetic lives will they decide anything for themselves. If “god” would only tell them now: when you are suffering, know that I have betrayed you…

religion is the creation and the future of all evil in this country including the future of bipartisan politics from the “educated” fucktards that continuously keep getting elected.

i was extremely pissed to find that catholic priests in sections of Ohio even commented during their preaches that McCain was the choice of “god.” And these sheep buy anything…so us logical and radical people are doomed until our end. Like Ron White says…”you can’t fix stupid.”

I think religion is one of the stupidest invention ever to control human kind

I know this has been touched on already, but I found the question quite misleading. If you’re in the South and you were brought up in any kind of religious family, you would agree that religion is important. However, I think many of these folks are confusing religion with family. I’m from Ohio and the ranking (in the middle) was very representative. Lots of folks were raised with religion and believe in god, but only about 65% actually practice their religion. I would have preferred a question that related to some sort of frequent practicing of religion. I know Tennessee would still rank high, but it would be more represenative.

Oh how I hate living in Georgia. Washington sounds nice. Maybe I’ll move there.
Anyone notice what I did there? Atheist and patriotic. Take that, Bush 1.

I live in the 2nd least religious state (New Hampshire) and the other 3 are all surrounding my state. In other words, i live in the least religious geographic area in the country. Yet, my family is very religious. Location has not made a difference though.

Yep, county breakdown would be good. For example north Florida is closer to south Georgia. And one would see the almost universal urban vs rural divide.

JJ, Hanging replaced stoning. Now go back and look at the last 500 years. And I’m not just talking about slavery which by the way used the bible as justification.

Colossians 3:2 Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth

Now go back to Boston in 1658, Plymouth Court ordered that any boat carrying Quakers to Sandwich be seized to prevent the religious heretics from landing. A year earlier, Quakers in Sandwich had established the first Friends’ Meeting in the New World. Magistrates in both Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies were alarmed by Quaker teachings that individuals could receive direct personal revelations from God. To protect orthodox Puritanism, the courts passed a series of laws forbidding residents from housing Quakers. Quakers themselves were threatened with whipping, arrest, imprisonment, banishment, or death. But driven by conscience, some Quakers repeatedly returned to Massachusetts to preach; four of them, including Mary Dyer, went to the gallows before a shocked King Charles ordered an end to the hanging of Quakers in 1661.

JJ, Of coarse your not going to research my “claim.” I’ll make it easy on you. I cut and pasted it from The Plain Truth magazine. A christian magazine. New propaganda indeed. You said, “but you can’t name any incidents in America within the last 500 years.” I was talking about slavery in the south not 2000 years ago. Funny how things like that slip your mind, eh? Slavery = good work ethic, nice one JJ. (Psssst.. your I.Q. is showing.)

Feel free to fling some more poo, it’s only human.

I don’t think IQ correlates as well as salsa. I.m.h.o. it’s all about “Salsa deficiency”

[google: “salsa consumption map”]

If we overlay the “map of salsa consumption in 1997” with the map of religiosity above, we will see that there is a near perfect inverse relationship between the two. Less salsa is consumed in the Bible-belt, while the states with less religion have higher than average salsa consumption rates.
Not eating enough salsa makes one more likely to believe in God…or possibly faith causes an intolerance for salsa. (we all know faith causes intolerance).

If you are worried about becoming religious I suggest you try “salsa therapy”. You should start salsa injections now because it will take about 13 years to build up your immunity (according to the maps)…

I’m from Vermont and an atheist. Vermont is very rural it is the second least populated state, and trust me there are a lot of rednecks. Vermont is also a pretty poor state so poverty may not effect religious beliefs as much one might think. And I don’t know why that person would say that the least religious states are more violent… Vermont is the second safest state! Also you don’t have to be religious to own a gun!!! Vermont and Alaska have the loosest gun laws in the country (you can carry a concealed weapon without a permit, you don’t need to register the gun, or have a permit to own a gun you just need to be 18)! So maybe everyone needs to stop stereotyping nonbelievers, I love Vermont for all the reasons that makes it the most unique state in the country! (By the way ma and ct aren’t the only NE states with gay marriage! Don’t forget the 802!! we have medical marijuana and no death penalty too! Oh and about not stereotyping currently we have a republican governor… whatcha think about that???

@ Harknights: The Dakotas are that high because they’re crawling with hillbilly redneck religious fanatics. It’s like stepping into the dark ages as soon as you cross the border.

wEll I took a look at teen pregnancy and while there appears to be a higher incidence in “religios” states OK,TX,LA,MS,TN, there also exist anomalies such as Nevada very high teen pregnancies and very low score religiously.
Wonder how “hard drug” use compares?
Or how income might factor into the equation, and then there are other factors to consider, single parent upbringing, divorce rates, evangelical vs. liberal religions, climate?

I cant say im suprised. Unfortunately I live in Tennessee, and I can tell you its FULL of bible thumpin rednecks. The literacy rate is probaly extremly low and I can tell you the teen pregnancy rate is high. I cant wait to get out of school and get out of this place!

Assuming your map is accurate, I’d like to compare it side by side with a map ranking poorest/wealthiest states. In my experience people with little money are the ones who are more religous than weathier individuals. Religion appeals to the poor because it is the one thing that gives them some kind of hope in their lives. I’m not an athiest nor am I religious, I don’t claim to know one way or the other, but what I do know is that too many people/organizations manipulate weak minded people through religion for personal gain.

The top of this list basically reads as the states that make me embarrassed to be a citizen of this country in oh so many ways. The U.S. should seriously just split into two countries; trust me, the “great” state of Alabama won’t be missed.

First points first, religion is highly overrated and if you want to be religious no one on earth cares or has a problem with that.

The only atheists or anti theists that give religious people a hard time are those that are sick of seeing government supported religious policies everywhere. Why is stem cell research an issue? Abortion? Gay marriage? The average person does not care about these issues enough to write letters to their congressman or tv stations. They are normally waiting for some kind of influence to sway their opinion, “is this good? Bad? Not a big deal?” The irrational morons who make a big deal about these things are the ones who sway the average person-regardless of religion, creed, political views-into supporting this unconstitutional nonsense. No one has any right to tell scientists they are not allowed to experiment with stem cells. They can experiment with live mice just so you can wear cosmetics-not an animal activist to be honest, but I find this fascinating-but they are not allowed to experiment with something that is able to become fully frozen. You can’t freeze living beings people.

Sorry to say it, but it’s obvious that weak minded people are religious. Now I’m not talking about theologians, or theists, I’m simply talking about “religious” people. People who think superstitious nonsense actually makes your day better or makes something turn out ok. Putting holy water on your child’s burning, feverish head, does not “cure them.” If they get better, it will most likely be due to the medication they took right before you put water on your kids head. If you honestly believe in these things..you’re an idiot. Plain and simple, you are a complete and utter moron who deserves to be laughed at. Do you cross your fingers and hope something doesn’t come true? Do you say jinx? Do you freak out when you break a mirror or come across a black cat? So why do you think that prayer makes the outcome of a situation better? -God has a plan and asking him to change that is anti Christian and not even plausible. God does whatever he wants and doesn’t care about your silly prayer.

The real problem here is poverty. Stupid people are poor and uneducated and are more religious because of that. Some poor people may not be religious and may act out in other ways. Religion is like drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, raging, etc…Any type of thing you use to deal with your issues in life. Even music or art can be included in this because these are strong coping mechanisms for troubled people. The South is poorer, Nevada is a poor state, but they are also the gambling capital of the world. What do you think most people do there to cope with life?

I also fail to see how religion is a GOOD way to deal with your problems…I mean you allow yourself to pretend that superstitions make your life better. That is not a positive thing and why don’t theists find this more insulting? Is it just about the followers and club members for you guys? That’s so absurd. You should be angry that weak minded people are being brainwashed to believe your most important thoughts!

I understand why theists exist, there is something intellectual about those who ponder that which we do not know. One can look at science and be imaginative about it and wonder the possibilities (as long as they don’t call it fact), but religion makes no sense to me. It stopped serving its purpose during the middle of the 20th century. We have enough science and ideas to eradicate poverty around the world now. We don’t need to “have hope” aka dream that this will all come out ok at the end of our lives.

Because that’s all hope is at the end of the day! It’s just a fantasy and dream and if there is no basis to this fantasy, then your life is a waste. People cannot eat hope, they can’t pay the mortgage, bills, gas with hope. They can only do this by getting themselves out of poverty, which means getting a job. Which in turn means education, skills, training, and of course the most important, freedom. Until then your “religion” is like a stupid hobby that annoys the hell out of everyone else. The neighbors, your friends, family members, don’t want to hear you ramble on about what stupid superstitious things you do in your free time. They secretly think you’re irrational by doing this, but they’ve been brainwashed in general to think that being “very religious”=moral. It does not make you more moral or important than anyone else on the planet, what an ego trip.

I’m skeptic of the true representation of this list. Most people think religious in America as Christian. But after being in New York for several years I feel New York is a very religious place. While yes there are all types of religions in New York it is very separatist here with regard to what religion you are. I was never aware of my own religious upbringing until moving here. There are religious companies here as well as neighborhoods that are strictly one religion or another. Some religions dominate certain areas, some have more influence than others. But people look at me and assume I’m part if one group or the other and it’s alienating. I haven’t met very many atheists here. And it’s probably not a daily part of peoples lives because it’s a given, and undercurrent that defines who you are in New York.

The most religious states are typically the least tolerant….religiously and racially.
I live in Texas and HOLY CRAP the people are passionate! Half the time I’m totally isolated because I don’t go to church.

i live in south dakota. i actually know quite a few people that are atheists.. but, from my experience, most people here are pretty religious. some to the point where it gives me a headache listening to them talk.

Knowing God HAS improved my life. I think I would either be divorced or dead if it weren’t for Him. He is real, and He is faithful, and He is worthy of our respect and love. I come from a divorced family, and it’s been hell living with parents who still do not get along (I am almost 50). Only knowing God and His comfort has helped me through a lifetime of the pain of the strife and contention between my mother and father, and of feeling abandoned by my father at fifteen for another woman and her two teenage girls. It’s been a struggle forgiving him and my step-mother, and a struggle to walk in love and not pass the anger and grief and sadness of it all down to my children, and they are thriving (A students; gifted and talented and smart; musical). Not overweight or with diabetes. They aren’t perfect, and neither am I, and we still have some things we are struggling with, but knowing God has helped me to overcome a lot of pain and struggles in life. I am glad I found this site. I am shocked at the level of anger that many of you seem to have. God can take that away and heal the root cause if you allow him access to your heart. Life is short; too short to be bitter.

Sadly, tact is a dying art.

What a lot of you are forgetting with the “redneck” comments, is that most of the religious states also have the highest percentage of blacks (Mississippi 40%). Also the most religious countries in the world are in Africa.

There are very few black atheists. Funny considering they are worshiping their slaveowners and colonizers god.

Also explains the teen pregnancy, illiteracy, and poverty too.

Dan…the top 6 are regularly on the lower end of literacy and near the top of teen pregnancies.

Good to know there are like minded people out there.

The hatred that many atheists feels towards religious dogma stems from the fact that it affects the future of our lives and our planet… not just theirs. Religion often (not always) downplays the importance of sustainability (the basic need to intellectually preserve our planet for future generations). This is why “progressive” politics, often associated with the less religious, left leaning population are frowned upon by the religious right who tend to think that it is all in gods hands.

We feel like we are being road blocked by a stampede of clueless morons (excuse the lost art of tact).

It is not a simple as. “you can be religious, ignorant and live in fantasy land because it does not affect me”, because it does… in a BIG way.

The religious right has always been a road block to progress, including woman’s rights, banishing slavery, sexual expression etc.

We do not cherish the fact that the future of our lives and our planet is for the most part doomed due to uneducated, faith-based rather than scientifically rational based thinking people.

If we atheists, non-theists, spiritual and the mildly religious logical thinking people could live on our own planet while the far-right religious folks destroyed there own, we would have no problem with you eliminating yourselves. As long as you did not pollute our planet in the process 🙂

So YES… we do take it personally as it affects our very lives and futures.

Personally, I sometimes feel like I’m being illogically forced to interact with folks that would be better off residing in a zoo. The main difference being that I actually like zoo animals.

Again, sorry for the lack of tact, but this is serious business that affects our lives.

As a side note, never try to change a brain-washed religious person. It all starts with education from early on. Leave religion out of schools, let children decide for themselves if they want to believe in Santa Clause once they are old enough to know better. The current generation needs to die off of natural causes making way for a new generation of educated (progressive) thinkers.

Every wonder why certain politicians actually think it’s O.K. or even GOOD to cut school funding while at the same time giving the rich tax breaks?? Yup… Less competition from “enlightened” folks in the future.

NEVER EVER cut school funding unless it means that there will be no food on the table for anyone. A solid education system is the foundation of a sustainable and logical future.

Good Day!

Scandanavia

How can you assert that God is “real” with such confidence when your only backing for him is faith–“being sure of what [one hopes] for and certain of what [one does] not see.”? You can see how others might have plenty of doubts and see God as one who man has created in his image to be an emotional and societal cruch?

What makes you so certain that your “calling” is not of your own inspiration? Atheists and agnostics feel idetically led in certain directions over others but they don’t think it’s God. What makes Christianity different from anything else in the human psychy?

Complete empathy (though I attend a religious university in New England [not so bad]).

I’m sorry to burst your bubble…  I’m sure you spent a lot of time trying to come up with your quote, but for the record I actually DID make the intellectual decision to follow Christ…  While the vast majority of my Atheistic friends only based their decisions on an ’emotional’ desire to rebel against their families wishes for them.

If you need help revising your quote, just let me know though!  I’d love to help!

I’m sorry but do you feel the Jews rebelled “emotionally” from the Nazi Party? The reality is that there are both intellectual and emotional reasons for making a decision. For those of us who are both honest, wise and trusting enough in ourselves to think beyond what we are told, there is rational proof but there is also an emotional rebellion. Religion has caused an immense suffering on this planet, at least by Christianity, Judaism, and Islam…which are identical…and so there is also an emotional reaction. We don’t say you made the decision based on emotion because you are emotional, but because you lack intellect. In fact, assuming you worship the Bible, which Jesus commands you not to, you are instructed to suspend intellect in favor of faith. 

Like it or not, bureaucratic societies are the most successful, and by successful I mean the best at securing resources. Seeing as I don’t farm my own food, I can see the benefit in cooperating with society in order to maintain my connection with that which sustains my life. Going from Nomad to Agrarian 6000 years ago however, it is much harder to see the argument. Those that are more susceptible to societal influence, and who are fearful of themselves and the world, would more likely congeal into a single functioning unit, both for safety and for guidance. Unfortunately, because of those fearful beings willfulness to suspend the belief of their personal value, those groups were much better at killing. To be perfectly honest, we have only evolution to blame for religion. Let us hope that Creationism turns out to be dramatic irony and not simply indefinitely sustained stupidity. 

Great work!!

I agree.  To be a Christian is a personal decision.  You can be born a Catholic or Baptist but you have to consciously follow Christ or you’re not a Christian. Good point.

atheism is not about rebellion at all. It is about being logical.

I haven’t read all the posts here but I can tell you some correlations from first hand experience.  I have lived in the south, the midwest, the west coast and the new england area.   The south is obviously full of dumb people.  There are a lot of good people in the south but lets face it there are a lot of just plain uneducated people there.   It is the most religious place I have ever lived and I wasn’t even in the heart of it.   The teen pregnancy rate was sky high and the crime rate as well.  So you would have to be totally ignorant to not see that being religious doesnt make you any any better morally, despite the false claims that christians make and want to believe. The main lesson here is that most christians do not practice what they preach.   The south was also the poorest and most miserable people.  Was it because they were made to feel guilty of everything they do and fear an imaginary god?  probably but who knows.  In the northeast I rarely saw a church and there was very low crime rate and people there were extremely happy and extremely intelligent.  What have we learned here?  Desperation, despair, lack of education, lack of intelligence, all lead to religion.  Unhappy people tend to be more religious because it provides a sense of hope and security.  There is no logic in it.

The nazi party certainly wasn’t Christian, that was a cover to keep the people’s trust, the Catholic Church was one of the only institutions to oppose them (Hitler and his high command were planning on going after Christians after the war). Hitler actually preferred islam to Christianity because it was more militant. The Jews on the other hand were good religious people. Atheism is complete denial of god which is not intellectual because you can never disprove His existence. Agnostic would be more intellectual if you don’t believe, since it actually recognizes this.

Also Kim Jong Il, Joseph Stalin, Napoleon Bonaparte, Jeffrey Dahmer, Mussolini, Mao Zedong, Alfred Kinsey and the Columbine shooters were all atheists and among the most sadistic people in history (And atheism has always been a miniscule minority)

“Atheism is complete denial of god which is not intellectual because you can never disprove His existence.”

So what stops you from believing in the other countless gods man has dreamed up? Can you disprove their existence? Do you really not see how illogical that kind of thinking is?

I think I am moving to Vermont…

http://www.top50states.com/average-iq-score.html

Science in no way disproves God; however by definition atheists will utterly deny Him, therefore it is illogical. An agnostic is skeptical of God and thinks there is no way of proving His existence.

Nice one. If it was all about rebellion you’d get hundreds of thousands of kids from athiest/agnostic families converting to Christianity. It just doesn’t happen I’m afraid. Atheism is based on hard scientific fact from many of the greatest minds on earth.

Some people here are so stupid, it’s actually funny. First of all, a young child who has not hit the age of reasoning cannot decipher between right from wrong, simply because they do not understand, i.e., because they are so young and are still mentally developing. Giving a child that “choice” will obviously make them “choose” to live the easiest and most “fun” lifestyle. Doing a lot of statistical and analytical research, it is very evident that (to quote) “A family that prays together, stays together.” The happiest cultures with the most tight-knit family bonds are actually societies that base their life and everyday decisions around religion. So yes, religion is evidently very important. It’s so sad to see that today, societies think, act and live in such a primitive and barbaric way. God bless all you non-believers because I don’t know where you think you are going to end up when your time here on earth is up.

 please there has been plenty of sadistic religious people who where very religious. Like Ivan the terrible, tsar of russia was perhaps one of the most religious people in history even for that time. That norwegian guy who shoot a 100 people was very relgiious.
Even Hitler said many times that he was a chrisitan.

Also you do know that the catholic church made a pact with Hitler and didnt oppose him until that pope died and a new pope came to power.
Also the current pope was a member of hitlerjugend.

Since you are a Libertarian perhaps it would intrest you that Milton Friedman was an agnostic atheist, did not believe in god.
Ayn Rand was a hardcore atheist.
And many more famous libertarians were non-believers.

So there are good and bad people on both sides.

Omg, I know texass is fulla redneck inbred fuckwits(I live here unfortunately ) but that shit. Is scarey.

Gloria, I appreciate what you have to say although I find it logically ridiculous. The fact that you use religion in a peaceful way is a great thing, but you have to understand that one can live the same life and get over issues without the use of something that doesn’t really make any sense. Religion is to say the least, the most insanely corrupt form of control over people and is responsible for more death then anything else in history. If you use it as a personal coping mechanism, it’s basically just a psychological method of self comfort. It doesn’t make it true. To be blunt, your kind of creating an imaginary friend to speak to that helps get you by. Otherwise, you can’t credit god with actually ever having done anything.

Most atheists have no problem with the bible or the doctrines of Christianity, we have a problem with the idiots who claim to be following it and the horrible things they do because of their religion.

You cannot prove or disprove God. PERIOD. So, this will be an eternal debate. No one really gives a damn what anyone else thinks, we just don’t want what YOU believe effecting US. And we get tired of Christians constantly saying “I know” because you don’t “know” you “believe” which is fine. 

ANY “RELIGION”, FAITH OR ATHEISM IS  SUCH A DEEPLY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE…I DONT UNDERSTAND WHY WE ALL JUST CANT SEEM TO KEEP OUR OPINIONS AND BELIEFS TO OURSELVES, AND LIVE BY THE ONE UNIVERSAL GOLDEN RULE AND JUST “TREAT OTHER KIND”.  OUR BELIEFS SHOULD NOT BE SUCH A GROUND OF DUALITY…REALLY THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG…BUT WE ALL HAVE EACH OTHER REGARDLESS.
I AM A CLOSEST TO AN ATHEIST, BUT THERE IS LOVE OVERFLOWING OUT OF MY HEART FOR “EVERYONE”, REGARDLESS OF BELIEFS.

Many more great minds were Christian and Jewish, my friend.

Most records outside Hitler’s public speeches showed he hated Christianity, his policies also showed this. He was raised Catholic. Even in his speeches he quotes Martin Luther (because he was an anti-semite), and his publicly claimed philosophy was of an aryan Christ, that Paul corrupted Christianity, therefore negating most scripture. He persecuted the Catholic church often with things like the Immorality Trials. Even if you were to believe him in his speeches, he still wouldn’t even really be Christian, let alone Catholic, since he completely rewrites history including Christ himself; Muslims also believe in Jesus, but they are not Christians.

Oregon, at least the big cities, are a good place for atheists.  However, if you are like me and hate coffee, you’re completely isolated and ostracized by your fellow citizens.

Well it was written in the bible that disobedient children should be stoned. I think that’s a bad thing, however you say that every word should be followed, so I guess we need to start.

Say I claimed that I saw a twenty foot tall, pink bunny rabbit while walking through the woods. Say I then told you that forensic evidence could not disprove he wasn’t there, because he has magic powers that allow him to walk around without leaving any indication that he was ever there.  You cannot disprove that the rabbit does not exist. So should you be skeptical? Should you admit that my story is possible, or credible, just because you can’t disprove it? Science doesn’t directly disprove any god. What it does show is that there is no evidence one exists.

i am a scientist and i can assure you that science does not prove or disprove God.  There are many scientists who do not believe in God.  There are also many scientists who do believe in GOd (i.e. John Polkinghorn).  How things came to be has an answer outside science – either there has always been a God who created the universe or there has always been the pre-existence of matter which somehow reacted to produce the universe.  The claims of Dawkins does not fly well most of the scientists i know – they disavow that the matter can be decided by science .

You are not to worship the bible but follow the words of the bible.  Have you ever read the bible and saw how many of the intellectually moral decisions one should make to live their life are indisputable…
I’ve had my share of troubles in this country and I’ve realized that not once have I thought, what would the bible say about this situation.  So I searched for what 
the bible says about Trespassing.  It seems to me, it 
says nothing.  This is where I looked it up:
http://www.openbible.info/topics/trespassing 

First example of about 100…

 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

They don’t knoweth what trespassing is.

In fact, even though they don’t know it and it’s not written in the bible… the have a prayer for it.

Christians just need to be by your side… to
help you along.  I kinda learned that from the 
habitat for the homeless duplexes with 
unrelated families entering into doors that
were placed next to each other.

I think the Christians need to learn what Trespassing means and how important it is to Countries like Iran.

I take my stand while being “saved” at a rehab w/o drug
or alcohol arrests.  Sent to a church that says the
only children of god are those that are born again.

I don’t go anymore… I felt like I was trespassing.

You’re confused.  Unlike religion, evolutionary science does not claim to know all the answers about life and the universe.  It is not a “non-religious” view. It simply presents the evidence that scientists have discovered through observations, experiments and research.  

Religion is just a bunch of talk, it does not actively seek knowledge about the world around us like science does.  That’s why evolution is taught in schools – it presents FACTS and EVIDENCE about life that have been discovered through hard work and research.  And this work is continuous, new information is being discovered everyday.  This knowledge is an invaluable tool for students – it enlightens them, promotes critical thinking, and satiates the natural curiosity of the human mind.

Religion, on the other hand, has not provided humans with a shred of factual knowledge about life or the universe around us, nor is it actively seeking to find any such information.  Religious ideas are both baseless and unchanging – they do not provide evidence for any claims nor do they encourage any sort of critical thinking.  It’s like a dead end for the human mind.  

Thus, scientific and and religious ideas ARE NOT two sides of the same coin that should be taught to students as equal viewpoints.  If anything, the only thing that is worth teaching about religion is it’s relation to human culture and history.  But no way “hell” should it be taught as an alternative to science.

You realize Atheism IS a religion right? So saying ‘religious small minded nut-jobs’ includes Athiests just as much as it does any other religion.

hah come on do you really believe idiots like bill maher are the greatest minds on earth

I have never thought that believing in an invisible friend was a sign of emotional health.  Placing credence in imaginary deities speaks to people’s need to believe that someone or something outside of themselves is in control of their lives.  The atheist accepts that living in reality is much more fulfilling than believing in fantasy.  We accept full responsibility for our lives and are good people because it’s the right thing to do.  

what is the percentage of intellect here?  You mean all the civilizations based on some belief or another, the Romans, the Greeks, the Persians, all the most magnificent Art in the Renaissance, all the Victorian fabulous writers and painters, all the French/Italian incredible culture based On Christian Essential Beauty,
that is  using one’s emotions to make Art less intellectual and more GENUINE
you mean the Gift of Creation as given to man by the Lord,
all that is what you want to get rid of ?
You got to erase all the UNESCO heritage i am afraid.   and stay alone in the Valley of atheistic Death.  I checked out.  Not to mention that the Industrial Revolution and all the main Geniuses of the past were Christian or had some belief. 
Bigots or ultra atheists are exactly the same : their intellectual faculties are reduced to some primary emotions : pride and fear to learn.  not to mention their blindness.

you mean you never visited some Cathedral ?  You want to erase Winchester, Reims or Rome in order to show that the uggly modern architecture is intellectually better?
Geez.  your brains show a flat line of sterility. Not the wave of life.
Have you EVER watched how the planets keep Order?  Nope.

Atheism never flew planes into buildings. Atheism never stoned a woman for being raped.  Atheism never tried to repress or enslave people.  Religious fanatics (of any religion) are the most dangerous people on Earth.

Deeply catholic?  Yeah, I can tell by your Christ-like response. Quite frankly, the catholic church is one of the most evil organizations on Earth.  I don’t know how anyone can be part of a group, led by a group of nefarious pedophiles in Rome, that protects child rapists, represses women and their rights, and demands money, money,money ( you should give more) while the Pope wear a gold hat and jewels around hsi neck.  Old nuns are being kicked out of retirement homes after giving their lives to the “Lord” because more money is needed to defend pedophile priests.  Eat meat on Friday and burn in hell…yeah, great religion you have there.

 Without condensation, many areas suffering from desertification would be imperiled! How would they use their air wells or fog fences to collect water, THEN?

I’m a scientist, too! Let’s have a Bunsen party!

 I was made to go to church at an early age. I attended a Catholic
college, studied most of the “major” religions and I also went to
several different kinds of churches in my childhood (Baptist, Orthodox
and Roman Catholic). I also dabbled in religious and non-religious
philosophy where we held many conversations and dissected various
literature on whether or not there is/are a God/Gods.

As I grew older, I also looked into Spiritual churches and the “fringe” religions; mostly just to see what the big deal was.

I’m not an expert, by any means, but I think I’m safe now in assuming
I’ve made a very logical decision; one free of emotions. I’ve explored I
think as much as I can without totally devoting myself to one
particular religion.

My conclusion is that religion is not for me. There should be a
separation of Church and State. This is the land of the free, and we
should be FREE to pursue any sort of religion we want to. I shouldn’t be
made to feel uncomfortable for not being a part of the “gang”. I
shouldn’t be persecuted or looked down on with that “tsk…tsk…”
manner most purported Christians I’ve run into give to anyone who is
different than they are.

I think religion is a GREAT tool for times of need, or even if used
correctly to apply the parables and dogma to your life to make it
BETTER.

I contribute to society just as much as anyone else. I certainly do my
best. I’m a kind person, and I like to think I’m not entirely stupid or
“savage”. I know some very kind and loving religious folk, but I also
see far too many of those people using it as a tool for hate-mongering
and fear-mongering.

I would like to think of myself as Agnostic, rather than as Atheistic,
only because I don’t deny that there could be some all powerful being or
beings up in the sky…but I find it very improbable. I find it just as
easy to believe that aliens came down and created Earth as we know it. I
know immediately upon reading that, some people’s brains almost
exploded in fury or disbelief…but if you’re talking about people who
are being used as avatars for the gods, who ride around on crazy flying
chariots, who used supernatural abilities to fight demons or heal the
sick or bring the dead back to life…who part oceans and who are
ultimately omnipotent and know all there is and all there will ever
be…are aliens or anything else really all that hard to believe? See my
point?

Humans are fallible and thus can never truly know the answer to this
great debate. Faith is one thing, but faith is for YOU. Faith is
something YOU hold to, that YOU believe in. It is not FAITH any longer
if you impose it on others. It is something else entirely. Keep YOUR
faith, and stop denying others theirs if it’s not hurting you.

yeah…because Wikipedia is known for their thorough fact checking system…

The existence of a creator of a universe IS a scientific question.

People who try to separate religion from science do not want the questions of religion answered. 
People who say there is no incompatibility between religion and science know neither religion, nor science.  Religion is active denial of science.  While, science consistently discredits accepted religious beliefs.  Here is another difference between religion and science. Science has no interest in kicking down church doors and forcing their ideas on the congregation.  While, religion has a vested interest in bulldozing schools and shutting down labs, or at least controlling what these secular institutions are doing, because religion is at risk from people utilizing critical thought, facts, and other empirical evidence.

What we don’t have a problem with is the bible as Myth or Literature, and used in the proper genre and context.

It’s when people claim that it is Truth, Morality, and History that get our hairs up.

And when people say that the bible should be used as a basis of law and governance, it gets the steam seeping out of our ears.

But when they say that our educational institutions and and our science labs should use the bible as some sort of foundation…well that’s when we tend to blow gaskets!!

Funny how you claim the position of “intellect” yet also say that Christianity, Judaism and Islam are identical. That is not a well thought out claim at all. In fact, it’d be more accurate to say you feel the same about all 3 which clearly makes you emotional

God is not an invisible friend, niether is He outside of ourselves. He lives within all us!  He is the spirit of life.  We are all given a mind of choices and free will to choose how to live life here on earth.  Some choose to follow Christ and live according to his word, which is very fulfilling.  And some choose to follow Satin by believing that they themselves are in control to make better choices.  Those who believe in Christ don’t condemn those that are lost, instead we pray that someday you will come to know God.   We are all created as good people trying to find our way through life the best we know how.  Some get so lost on this journey we travel together that the mind becomes corrupt and evil by choice of free will.

Please do not compare the wealthiest states as it has to do with intelligence.. look at Pakistan  20 % literacy then look at Mississippi. If you look at other religions and see there wrong ,look at your own religion and look at thru history how many people have been put to death because of religion.

Life is bliss as an agnostic, neither fretting left and right, up or down, to be as just a being.  Agnostics strive to find answers to connect the spiritual to the scientific, to show everyone in the world that we all live in the same one that came about in the same way, to silent ignorance and self rightousness we are tireless in our pursuit to make your world safe to each other someday.

Actually, atheism is simply a lack of belief in deities. I’ve been an atheist my entire life, and it didn’t require any effort or conviction on my part. I was just never indoctrinated to believe that gods and goddesses were real.

OK Let me get started… First, Kent Hovind is not a reliable source on which to take evidence from.

Second, “it only changes existing features rather than creating new ones”, false. The bat has wings and it is a mammal, a pigeon has wings, it is a bird. One did not evolve from the other.

I suggest you learn the basics of divergent and convergent evolution which is basic high school biology.

You can find similar maps that track things like income, health, disease, immorality (you know out of wedlock children, sexual diseases, etc.) crime etc.   I find it UNSURPRISING that there is a very high correlation between people claiming that god is important to them, and all the bad things like rape, divorce, teen pregnancy crime etc., and a LOW correlation between belief in god and health education etc.   It is almost like god hates people of faith and likes people of knowledge.   Like he made us in his image so he gave us a brain and expects us to use it

I think the commenter has a valid point in saying the only way to be evil is to stray from god… though the misconception is that the only way to be good is to be affiliated with Christianity… 

In christian logic god and jesus created goodwill and morality for man, though in actuallity man created god and jesus to facilitate what was already there.

Being good is not a characteristic that only Christians possess, yet the largest argument against secularism I’ve been exposed to is simply “atheists are evil because they do not believe in god”

am I evil for not being affiliated? I  guess any donations I make to charity are in the name of evil… I am incapable of good.

Of coures the South is the most religious <3

 Some say ignorance is bliss. I applaud you in your bliss, however I prefer intelligence.

 Your post, just like (modern) Christianity is full of contradictions. While I absolutely believe that we should all “get along” hyper-religious freaks believe ” it’s my way or the highway” Mad men fed on fear and lies attempting to FORCE their antiquated superstitions upon everyone is the antithesis of “getting along” While I do applaud the charitable contributions of “Christian”  based religions I still believe that (so called) organized religions have caused FAR more harm than good to humanity throughout the years.

 Apparently, you are trying to use a FEW  noteworthy names to support your hypothesis. By the same token, I can site pedophile priests, capitol punishments or in the case of Gallaleio  rescinding your accomplishments, albeit to his humiliation to circumvent death for “house arrest” by the Catholic church. I (somewhat) agree with your distinction between Atheist and Agnostic. Few people understand the correlation between the two.  That’s why I am a “REALIST’. I have had experiences with the existential. As far as an alleged supreme, all knowing being that knows and created all, lets just say I have educated doubts!

 Moreover, Atheism is far from a ” MINISCULE MINORITY” it’s  an up and coming ideology, largely unknown to the masses by design! However, the more the religious “WRONG” attempt to persecute us, the more we must speak out! We are not the “bullies” we just react rather than pro act i.e. the ERRONEOUS “war on religion”   we are not the AGGRESSOR!. We have no desire to CONTROL you, but we will not stand to be CONTROLLED by your unmitigated ignorance, and prejudice.   Just like in the media, TRULY GOOD people are generally overlooked, while pure evil always get the headlines! We don’t PUSH our beliefs upon every one! While the hyper-religious superstitious, narrow track, control freak mad men fed on antiquated superstitions, fear and lies try to FORCE their ideology upon everyone.

 Hey I remember that rabbit. I gave him a carrot and we bonded! Not really, but that rendition is at least as good as any “B’ movie that I have ever seen and has far less holes than any religion that I have studied.

 Has anyone here ever read the “satanic bible” even if only in an attempt to dis-prove it? Against what many have been BRAINWASHED to believe, and, moreover a “bubble burst to those that think it proclaims ‘PURE EVIL” it actually proclaims adherence to self preservation, but WITHOUT creating harm to others!

I apologize for the modern day church’s lack of goodness. I’m sure all of you, like me, have seen many christian hypocrites over the years. So many people profess christianity for reasons other than, like you say, a decision for themselves. Most christians don’t even understand the implications that living out their faith has. The christian way should never condescend or judge. That’s not the way the bible teaches.  Matt7:1-5. we love you! everyone! no matter what they’ve done! we love you because God loves you! I’m sure you’ve seen evidence to the contrary, whether it be at church or an encounter with a so-called “christian,” but that’s not how those who are truly following Christ would act. Those who sincerely follow Jesus love you and want the absolute best for you! Jesus teaches in Luke 6:27-38 how those who believe in Him should behave themselves! I follow Jesus because I know his teachings and they are good and just. I hope and pray that christian hypocrisy does harm those who do not believe. I am praying for this web page! God bless!

Really good article. Interesting and useful. I used to go
to church when I was a kid but discontinued when I was in college. I want to be
regular again.  Someone suggested that Thomas Meano   is one of the
best ways to know about Christ. His views give energy & new style to
life.  Do you guys have any idea about
him? I will like to talk to you.

It is somewhat similar to the map of states showing percentages of college degrees.

http://chronicle.com/article/Interactive-Map-Proportion-of/65009/

Yes, you’re right. Brainwashing is another way to say it. Any and every organization interested in acquiring an adult following knows the importance of indoctrinating the children while they’re still very impressionable. Fear plays an extremely important role. The Jesuits know it. Hitler knew it. It’s indisputable.

the church is a tax free organization where criminals can clean their money through…. criminals who know god’s a myth n hell doesn’t exist, n are so high in society that they are above the law and judicial punishment., yet they proclaim they are hellbound n have no fear..all this so people don’t see them for what they are…. IN VAIN FUCKING PUSSIES BORN INTO MONEY..

I’ve seen this argument so many times. Religious people view atheism as a religion because they cannot comprehend the world outside of a religious context. Therefore everyone must have a religion so they too have a basis for their beliefs. What the religious communities are missing is atheists don’t have ‘beliefs’, they have ideas.

 Neither is a decision.  You either believe a thing or you don’t, and from there, you’re either honest with yourself (and others) about it or you aren’t. 

People tend to assume that others act out of emotion, while they have rational reasons for what they do, but psychological research shows that everyone has an initial emotional reaction and then rationalizes it after the fact.  If you want better control over your thinking, you need to use critical thinking skills on yourself.  Practice scientific skepticism, and learn about all of the cognitive biases that tend to influence human thought.  You can’t completely avoid cognitive bias errors, but just being aware of them helps.

Unless you consider creation,  then a higher being becomes a logical choose while ignoring the facts becomes an emotional rejection of truth.

How can we question God as to what is logical? He made everything. Can you imagine creating something from scratch then having people attempt to explain and rationalize your creation?

How dare we, the creations question the almighty creator? Rest assured my friend one day when you stand in judgement before God, you will remember this conversation.

No one wants to force you to do anything, as a Christian and Christ follower- I would like to tell you that Jesus loves you and died on the cross for your sins. If you are a scientist, atheist, Christian, Jew, or identify with any other group, Jesus died for all of us and that love is open to you if you are willing to accept it.

That doesn’t make their belief systems true.

There is no doubt that Newton and Einstein were geniuses.  But when an atheist like Stephen Hawking comes along and proves that the universe did not need a divine creator, where is your god now?

If you don’t have a problem with the bible, then you haven’t read it.  If you don’t have a problem with the doctrines of Christianity, then you haven’t given them enough rational thought.  Turn the other cheek?  Never.

I am an atheist, but I cannot speak for the majority of my kind, as you do.  But I do tend to think most atheists know more about the bible than Christians do.

It’s vile, and an insult to human dignity and intelligence.  Yes, even the story of the sweet baby Jesus.

At least watch some of Christopher Hitchens’ videos, friend.

Opinions aren’t facts.  And just because the scientists you claim know turn a blind eye to the matter doesn’t mean that the tools of logic and of science cannot be used to determine it conclusively.

No, it sounds to me like they’re just choosing to remain ignorant (for whatever reason, maybe because they don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, boo hoo) rather than “waste” any thought on the actually very important God hypothesis.

For what it’s worth, I think you or they may be using “science” as a broad term, when you really mean the Theory of Evolution, in which case I would say you are correct— that that particular theory doesn’t prove or disprove the existence of gods.

I am a scientist as well, and despite the mountains of non-conclusive evidence against the existence of a divine creator, the field of Cosmology has recently uncovered concrete, objective, peer-reviewed PROOF that one doesn’t exist and has never existed: a fact that makes perfect sense, despite anyone’s opinions on the matter (science has lots of these, you know).  The facts are there; the only thing that we need are more accurate instruments to measure it with certainty.

With this new-found knowledge, it should be obvious that if gods do not exist in our natural universe, and if they didn’t create it, and if they DO exist and they don’t concern themselves with the natural world, then they are utterly useless and irrelevant, if not just a product of the deranged imaginations of feeble humans looking to explain away natural phenomena.  Old news to those of us with rational, non-religious minds.

Stephen Hawking, for one, is in agreement that the universe did not need a divine creator, and has said so publicly quite recently.  This is the first time in history that a real scientist of his status has done so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ImvlS8PLIoWr

I remember something my dad told me back when I identified myself as a christian (because I didn’t know I had a choice), “God knows you, before you were even thought of, he had a plan just for you.  And he has a plan for everyone.  He knows everything before it happens.” 

I questioned it then, I asked him about something else he told me, “Not all Christians are good Christians, some try to take advantage of people’s trust in them.”  So I asked my dad why god would plan for somebody to take advantage of other people using him as a tool for it.  He said, “Satan got a hold of them and poisoned their minds.” 

To this I asked him that if god were all powerful, then he would be stronger than Satan and he would have the power to stop it, and if he’s all knowing, then he knew that Satan was going to poison their minds and he would have the power to stop it before it even happened.  So, daddy answered, “God works in mysterious ways.”

I didn’t say it back then, but I’ll say it now: That is such a grotesque evasion of the many contradictions in Christianity that it is almost pointless to even point it out, because surely someone so delusional doesn’t care that it doesn’t make sense.  And why should they?  When they have “faith” it doesn’t have to make sense.

And so, an atheist was born.

So here’s my point of view, I dislike organized religion, not necessarily the teachings of the religion itself, but you can be a moral person without God.  Keep it out of schools and government.  If you want to believe in God, go ahead, but please don’t get offended and pushy (or even scared, as I have experienced before) if I say I am atheist.  I am not evil, nor do I worship the devil.  Honestly all I want is to be able to be who I am without persecution from the religious.  Is that so hard?   

When everybody believes a false subject, it becomes the truth.

You don’t think there is evidence of that? Seriously? PROVE to me that someone created the Mona Lisa painting? Did it create itself? Could it have? Is there the possibility that a windstorm went through an artists room and miraculously made that? Of course not! How much more intricately woven is the human eye? Dealing now with a perfectly made LIVING organism and with just ONE rod or cone off, one would see in only black and white or upside down. That is only to name TWO of the over 60 specific roles that the cells have. If someone can’t see that someone created us and the world around us, they are definitely  scientists only in the universe of “fools”. Over and out!

My friend, I am a scientist. You do not seem to understand what science is, thus I can reasonably believe you are not a scientist

Excuse me, but Atheists are further from satin than theists–We don’t even believe he exists!

Well, i always end up in this argument, since childhood. i would get to the point where they say, well then who created the universe?, then i’d say i dont know. then they reply with it must have been god. then i say who created god and they say he created himself. Are you kidding me?

Humans are not at all perfect. what you call intelligent design is not intelligent at all. Humans have a bad design, the head and brain, the most delicate, yet most important body part is in one of the most vulnerable places.
The reproductive system is in the middle of a sewer.
He put us in the wrong place in the universe, as we are going to collide with the Andromeda galaxy.
We are screwed, we orbit a galaxy which will bring us to a supernova, 2/3 of the planet is inhospitable 
We cannot detect some of the most powerful radiation with our senses.
Breathing is incredibly inefficient, we lose most of the oxygen we inhale!
We breathe, eat drink, vomit, sneeze, cough all through the same pipe in our body, guaranteeing the death of millions!

Maybe you don’t get it because you were indoctrinated from birth to believe otherwise? Children aren’t born believing in gods and goddesses. Adults tell them that they are real. Why assume that what the adults told you is true? Maybe the “Creator” is simply a figment of the human imagination.

Maybe you hadn’t read the posts then, Anna. I would encourage you to do so. The original question had nothing to do with the comments, at all. Just skimming the first 3 or four comments below, i see “indoctrinated”, “emotional decision”  “brainwashed”, “invisible friend”…..what else would you  need to form the conclusion that there is  a tremendous amount of “verbal attacking” going on, which is a response to a question not even related. Perhaps you are reading an entirely different post and accidentally commented on this one.

i acknowledge christ every sunset, for he “cometh with the clouds” and “every eye shall see him even those that pierced him” or “his face shineth like the sun, and out of his mouth came a sharp double edged sword” … yea a sharp double edged sword… that kills both the good and evil… but the evil enjoy the light (jesus the sun) way more, with their born riches and tyranny.. How can good people love a god who gives free will to predators and lleaves the prey with a book of promises of reward for their suffering at the hands of evil men…  the only explanation is god is an invention of these evil tyrants…
 

Great points: I to was raised Christian and never spoke out because I saw the judgement imposed on those who did. Now I speak out and people think I have lost my way, to a 
Bachelors and Masters degree that is looked down on because my education has made me realize faith is for the fearful and the immature. Who else would even think the idea of living for even was practical or able to apply logically. Just like people who say a dead relative is looking down on you, but not when you are masturbating, right!

I agree that there is this hypocrisy with theists (all denominations) where they want there freedom at the expense of your. I don’t even want to identify myself as an atheist, because then you get locked into the idiots who twist that too.

I just wish this world would focus on society evolving our own values, rather than forcing ones on people, which do not work. Look at the trail of prejudice handed down by religion, scientists attacked for believing outside the box, Salem witch trials, slavery, sexism, homophobia, skin-heads, abortion doctors’ murdered, Catholic priest ass-fucking kids, the Inquisition, the Crusades! Nice track record, but Atheist are problem, right? BULLSHIT, keep shoveling it!!

I’m sure you’re emotions will overpower your rational mind if you experienced the darkness of hell as I did. I used to worship the goddess until I experienced God’s wrath and then forgiveness and love. I wish more people went through what I did. Prayers and love to you 🙂