I've been on the forums for a while now, and I've noticed something: a lot of people here are atheist. So I'm wondering, are gamers more likely to be atheist than non-gamers? And if so, why? And on another note, are atheists gaining more acceptance in the world? It used to be that saying the phrase "I'm an atheist" would lead to being cursed out by every single person in earshot. Nowadays, uttering the phrase more often than not causes no more than a raised eyebrow before conversation continues. So is atheism and agnosticism becoming more accepted, or is that just my experience?

People, especially young white males, who use the the internet regularly for recreation/sociality tend to be, if not athiest, at least secular.

Do we need another of these threads?

That aside, i'm rapidly starting to think of myself as an un-atheist.

Its far too much like belief for me nowadays.

I am the self worshipping leader of a cult dedicated to my greatness.

Ultrajoe:
Do we need another of these threads?

That aside, i'm rapidly starting to think of myself as an un-atheist.

Its far too much like belief for me nowadays.

I don't know many atheists who would steadfastly hold onto their (lack of) belief if they were proven wrong.

Hot spicy topics galore, Need we have another?

I will become an Atheist when someone proves there is no god.

Edit: The more extended reasoning is I will believe in a god when someone proves that there is a god, or not believe in a god when someone proves there isn't one. Right now I'm in the middle and just don't want to accept that something exists or doesn't exist because someone tells me it does or doesn't, and I can't accept anything without proof, so I have faith, but it's kinda spread out to both, there could be a god or there might not be, Until I know for sure I won't call my self religious or atheistic.

Reaperman Wompa:
I will become an Atheist when someone proves there is no god.

I think that reveals more about your lack of understanding in what "faith" and "proof" actually are than your steadfast resoluteness in your indoctrinated personal belief structure.

Non-belief is the order of the day. A lot of gamers like to think of themselves as non-conformist. Unfortunately, being a non-conformist means you identify with other people who don't conform to social norms, whatever those may be nowadays. So its a little bit of a paradox but a lot of gamers choose to ignore that argument entirely. I know quite a few atheists, but very few well informed ones. A lot simply wanted a departure from the normal, some wanted attention. In other words, being an atheist is much more about attention, than it is about a lack of belief. For some people, its better to get into a fight over beliefs or lack thereof than to blend into the background. Now, if you sincerely do not believe in God, thats fine, I support you in that, good on ya, really. But if you're just doing it so people will notice you and how much of a rebel you are, please, its much better to have friends and a personality of your own than it is to start anti-religious crusades on the internet. And as for Satanists...Well, c'mon, get with the times guys, its not the 80's anymore, don't you have a job?

No one who's played Halo 3 can believe in an all powerful all loving God.

HalfShadow:
To suggest to me that there is a god is to suggest to me that there is something controlling my actions.

That is offensive to me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflex_arc#The_Patella_Reflex

Are you akneeist too now? :p

Atheism is a form of faith, a faith that that there is no God. There's no doubt about that. But this thread isn't supposed to be about whether you're atheist, it's more a question of whether it is becoming more accepted. Sorry for the misleading subject, I couldn't think of anything better.

Eggo:

Reaperman Wompa:
I will become an Atheist when someone proves there is no god.

I think that reveals more about your lack of understanding in what "faith" and "proof" actually are than your steadfast resoluteness in your indoctrinated personal belief structure.

Or your lack of understanding of his religion.

Heres an example, In the old times it may have been though that steel was impossible to break. So until proof is provided its logical to conclude steel is impossible to break?

Now until science provides proof, Its reasonable to think that a god created us.

This will end well.

xitel:
Atheism is a form of faith, a faith that that there is no God. There's no doubt about that. But this thread isn't supposed to be about whether you're atheist, it's more a question of whether it is becoming more accepted. Sorry for the misleading subject, I couldn't think of anything better.

Atheism isn't a form of faith though.

And hopefully it will become more accepted although I really doubt we will see any major political figures who are atheists or unapologetic secularists.

Bulletinmybrain:
Or your lack of understanding of his religion.

Heres an example, In the old times it may have been though that steel was impossible to break. So until proof is provided its logical to conclude steel is impossible to break?

Now until science provides proof, Its reasonable to think that a god created us.

Or your lack of understanding of what science can actually address.

God exists outside of nature. He's supernatural.

Science can only provide proof of hypotheses within nature.

Bulletinmybrain:
Now until science provides proof, Its reasonable to think that a god created us.

Err, thinking that a god created us is reasonable only if you've been enculturated into thinking that a god created us.

Asking for scientific proof for the existence (or the lack of existence of God) is as silly and futile as asking for the religious proof for the existence of the valence electron.

Bulletinmybrain:

Eggo:

Reaperman Wompa:
I will become an Atheist when someone proves there is no god.

I think that reveals more about your lack of understanding in what "faith" and "proof" actually are than your steadfast resoluteness in your indoctrinated personal belief structure.

Or your lack of understanding of his religion.

Heres an example, In the old times it may have been though that steel was impossible to break. So until proof is provided its logical to conclude steel is impossible to break?

Now until science provides proof, Its reasonable to think that a god created us.

No its cowardly, you have no faith if you think that proof will come and you are a tool if you ask for it.

"faith" nobody gets a say in what you think but you, just like you get zero say in what others think.

Heres a little thoughts, Cells come from cells thats a given right? Where exactly did the first cells come from? They must have been created anew right? Well who/what created them?

Give me proof of how the first generation of cells came about.(I.E first cells.)

Now, There are resonable theorys about why we exist.(God created us is another answer for example.) That the universe started as one thing and grew and grew...

The problem with wanting scientific proof for or against a god is that science requires a small amount of faith. A belief in Evolutionary theory is having faith that Evolution occured. It may be based in logic, but it is still faith. And for waiting to prove that there is no god, that is nigh on impossible. Faith is faith.

But seriously, back on topic, because this is something I'm honestly interested in. I lived in a small American suburb on the mid-east coast, so I was never really exposed to popular opinion on a world scale. I'm wondering whether Atheism is gaining wide acceptance, or if that was just in my small community.

Well if its a question of it becoming more accepted, then yes, i think it is more acceptable now for people to be atheist. Personally, I believe in God, and I try to do right by my fellow man, so that, God willing, I will be able to go to heaven, at which point I'm going to find the nearest (former)atheist up there and be like "Hah, I told you so, now where's the restroom?" Yes, I do believe there are urinals in heaven. Its not rain, its angel piss.

Bulletinmybrain:
Heres a little thoughts, Cells come from cells thats a given right? Where exactly did the first cells come from?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_generation#Current_models
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biochemistry#Monomers_and_Polymers

Educate yourself.

Bulletinmybrain:
Now, There are resonable theorys about why we exist.(God created us is another answer for example.) That the universe started as one thing and grew and grew...

Forgive me, but I'm not finding a point which I can respond to in the above quote block.

You know what one of my biggest problems is with many theists who believe science cannot and shouldn't even bother trying to answer questions that have already been answered by believing in God?

Say goodbye to all the wonderful technological advances of modern science.

I mean, why study how molecules interact when God made it happen?

Academic and intellectual dishonesty and laziness won't probably be the death of us, but it will massively detract from our life expectancy and quality of life.

Eggo, why do this?

I have no doubt against a decent religious debater you would be thrashed, trounced and left out to pray to god to dry.

The average faithful just can't argue because he isn't that concerned with your lack of belief as you apparently are with their faith. Im going to have to say this in every damn thread aren't i?

"We have two sides that are prepared to accept that anything is possible. Except for the fact that the other one could be right"

Just because science cannot find proof for god now does not mean proof for him does not exist. There was no proof we knew of for earth being flat quite a long time ago, but as we advanced we found it to be true.

Do you know why the religious believe we will one day find this proof? Faith.

What makes you so sure we will never find proof?

These threads are rapidly turning me agnostic from Atheist, because i don't think i have the strength of faith to be an atheist.

Reaperman Wompa:
I will become an Atheist when someone proves there is no god.

Edit: The more extended reasoning is I will believe in a god when someone proves that there is a god, or not believe in a god when someone proves there isn't one. Right now I'm in the middle and just don't want to accept that something exists or doesn't exist because someone tells me it does or doesn't, and I can't accept anything without proof, so I have faith, but it's kinda spread out to both, there could be a god or there might not be, Until I know for sure I won't call my self religious or atheistic.

bravo sir, if only more people were like you

Bulletinmybrain:

Now until science provides proof, Its reasonable to think that a god created us.

Why is that? Science is wonderful because it can be explored, tested, even changed. Religion is pretty much set in stone. It cannot be proved and when asked how something came to be, it is easy to say a supernatural being did it insted of figuring out what really happened.

I'm agnostic; i.e. I don't agree with religions, but I also don't agree with the insistence that they're wrong.

As for atheists being accepted, if the Wiki page on it is to be believed, then it is more accepted today than ever before, but is still a distrusted and hated group in the U.S. We here in the states are actually far behind most other developed countries in the propagation and acceptance of atheism.

Atheism CAN be a form of faith like religion if taken to extremes. Not all atheists are like that, of course, but building superstitions and worshiping icons ('technology' usually) is the same as being religious on the functional level, as is gathering as a group to discuss common beliefs.

Ultrajoe:
Eggo, why do this?

Do what? I'm advocating for the cessation of discussions which ask for proof or lack of proof scientifically to confirm or deny the existence of God. Do you disagree with my goal?

Ultrajoe:
I have no doubt against a decent religious debater you would be thrashed, trounced and left out to pray to god to dry.

You need to cultivate more faith in me then! I've never met a religious person who I haven't thrashed, trounced, and left out to pray to humanity to dry. The Johns Hopkins University provides me with a fairly good education and it's pretty enjoyable (for a while anyway) watching people run in metaphysical circles around themselves.

Ultrajoe:
The average faithful just can't argue because he isn't that concerned with your lack of belief as you apparently are with their faith. Im going to have to say this in every damn thread aren't i?

"We have two sides that are prepared to accept that anything is possible. Except for the fact that the other one could be right"

Just because science cannot find proof for god now does not mean proof for him does not exist. There was no proof we knew of for earth being flat quite a long time ago, but as we advanced we found it to be true.

Do you know why the religious believe we will one day find this proof? Faith.

What makes you so sure we will never find proof?

These threads are rapidly turning me agnostic from Atheist, because i don't think i have the strength of faith to be an atheist.

When did I say that I was sure we will never find proof?

I just like to take a more scientific approach to being skeptical or accepting about omnipotent and omniscient skydemons...Just like with every other idea I encounter in my life.

What point is there to a scientific explanation of God? Science only does you good in the here and now. If there is an afterlife, you're certainly not going to find it at the bottom of a test tube and even if you did, what good would it do?

I don't understand why some people cannot accept a combination of faith and science. I do not believe that there is no possibility of a god existing. I just don't believe that he exists for me. When someone tells me that evolution cannot exist because god created the Earth and everything on it, I usually posit the question "Why can't God have created everything including evolution?" Science and Religion need not be two seperate things, as most people assume. My father is a devout Christian, and he still believes in evolution.

Eggo:

I just like to take a more scientific approach to being skeptical or accepting about omnipotent and omniscient skydemons...Just like with every other idea I encounter in my life.

I think, like Dawkins, you need to understand that because you have an upper hand you do not have an excuse to punch downwards with it.

Its all very well to giggle coyly and say 'i'm just being skeptical' while you cause people distress because you can.

And i mean by 'why do this?' that you and i both know how this ends, you will upset people and change nothing, making this one long exercise in asshatery.

Why do it?

And yes, i am ignoring the rest of your post. Not out of any malevolence or forced ignorance, but because i agree with you in every respect except for the fact that you need to piss off the faithful to advance the cause of science.

And on my neverending quest for a 'faith' i don't think i fit Agnosticism either, is there one of these fancy names for 'doesn't know or give a shit, why is it important?'

Im not a fan of Nihilism

I am so sick and tired of all this religious BS. I did not join the escapist forums to partake in grand theological discussions. Most of which center around how stupid it is to have faith or how you should not have faith.

I don't care that this particular thread isn't exactly that or not. It isn't cool to judge people for there beliefs, which is what is going on again, and it isn't cool to pry into peoples beliefs, which is the point of the flipping thread.

It is sooooooo focused on Christian / Protestant faiths as well. For some reason saying Jesus is a load of shit is acceptable. What if we started going on about how crazy the Jews are or talking about those nutty Muslims? Yeah, all of a sudden it's time to shutup.

Thank you Zero Punctuation for letting us know that Yahtzee might be atheist because of his Sims Society review. Now it is just the latest vogue thing to go on about in the off topic section.

For the sake of dignity I call that the entire escapist community just reject this whole religion discussion thing. I'm at the point where I almost don't want to come to the site because I'll see another atheist thread on the recent post boards.

We don't need another one of these, it's not why I'm here and I'm sure that sentiment can be found in a lot of the membership.

Atheism is becoming common for our generation as is agnosticism(?). many of our peer group, see futility in believing in organized religion, because of the conflicts it causes as well as the belief that it is a way of controlling the people. As well as the fact that evolutionary theory is becoming more accepted because of the evidence supporting it. people that believe evolution is too complicated to happen randomly underestimate nature, evolution merely seems like it is impossible to be random. But due to the fact that religion's stances have been proven wrong before so many times, just makes it hard for me to listen to it. the fact that the were wrong about the earth beeing flat, and the earth not being the center of the universe and being wrong about the existance of extinction just takes away their credibility in my eyes

WE HAVE ANOTHER ATHEISM THREAD ON THIS PAGE!!!! NOT JUST ON THE BOARD, BUT ON THE FRONT PAGE.

reported

...Where did I cause anyone distress?

And I think we take markedly different approaches to how we socially interact with people online and engage them in discussions. I see nothing wrong with acting differently online than how I do in real life.

Ultrajoe:
And on my neverending quest for a 'faith' i don't think i fit Agnosticism either, is there one of these fancy names for 'doesn't know or give a shit, why is it important?

Judging by how much you advocate for positively adva