People who don't believe in a god are frankly in the extreme minority in this country- how would you consider it a purely political move, and not one which reflects his personal belief that we can disagree and all still play like good little boys and girls in the sandbox?
I think he DOES believe we can play together in the sandbox. Perhaps it's not a fully political move. His early life WAS very non-religious
What he said helps to put a normal, human face on people who have no interest in religion or creator-mythology...and for that I'm quite grateful.
But I DO believe his actions were equally political. Because he's a politician and a very smart one at that. I'm sure he realizes that atheists/agnostics/secular humanists/people who just don't care tend to be lumped together as one unit and that unit is one of the fastest growing minorities in the world. And unpopular as we might be in America...we vote. He can get away with fostering a bit of tolerance towards us because he is "the change president". And all of that is awesome and it makes me giddy. And I almost cried several times during the inauguration. But he's still a politician.
We're not really as much of a minority as people think. Between people who identify as atheists, agnostics, brights, humanists or simply 'non-religious', we actually make up between 10-12% of the population. That's more than the Jewish community (1.4 - 2.2 %), Buddhists community(0.5%), Muslim community (0.5 - 0.6%) and Hindu community (0.4%) combined. And these were the numbers in 2001 - before the 'Out Campaign' and before 'The God Delusion' and 'God is not Great' hit the best-seller list.
We may be a minority, but we're not a small minority by any means, and it's about time we have a president that recognized and celebrates that.
I understand that he's a politician, don't get me wrong- I thing it's possible though, after enduring the absolute worst "politicing" we've ever seen for the past eight years, we're also ready to see everything Obama does as a calculated political maneuver.
I think it's possible that he said it because he truly believes we have a place at the nation's table (even if we don't want to say grace) and not because he thinks it'll get a re-election vote from us.
"Obama may well be a closet non-believer or agnostic, but if he is I doubt that's why he acknowledged people like me in his speech."
Personally, I think he's probably a Universalist... I get the idea that he probably does believe in the ol' zombie Christ, but he doesn't necessarily think other people will be burning in Hell for not doing so.
I think growing up in a non-religious household, he probably does put a much more human face on the non-believers in the country. It's hard to demonize the godless when your own mother was one of them.
"If the closet skeptics were to emerge all at once I think their large numbers would be extremely shocking - even to other non-believers"
That's the purpose of the Atheist Out Campaign, and the real reason behind the Blasphemy Challenge - these things aren't just a way for atheists to piss in the Christian's Cheerios; it's to demonstrate that there are far more of us out there than people usually realize.
Comments 6
People who don't believe in a god are frankly in the extreme minority in this country- how would you consider it a purely political move, and not one which reflects his personal belief that we can disagree and all still play like good little boys and girls in the sandbox?
Reply
What he said helps to put a normal, human face on people who have no interest in religion or creator-mythology...and for that I'm quite grateful.
But I DO believe his actions were equally political. Because he's a politician and a very smart one at that. I'm sure he realizes that atheists/agnostics/secular humanists/people who just don't care tend to be lumped together as one unit and that unit is one of the fastest growing minorities in the world. And unpopular as we might be in America...we vote. He can get away with fostering a bit of tolerance towards us because he is "the change president". And all of that is awesome and it makes me giddy. And I almost cried several times during the inauguration. But he's still a politician.
Reply
We may be a minority, but we're not a small minority by any means, and it's about time we have a president that recognized and celebrates that.
Reply
I understand that he's a politician, don't get me wrong- I thing it's possible though, after enduring the absolute worst "politicing" we've ever seen for the past eight years, we're also ready to see everything Obama does as a calculated political maneuver.
I think it's possible that he said it because he truly believes we have a place at the nation's table (even if we don't want to say grace) and not because he thinks it'll get a re-election vote from us.
Reply
Personally, I think he's probably a Universalist... I get the idea that he probably does believe in the ol' zombie Christ, but he doesn't necessarily think other people will be burning in Hell for not doing so.
I think growing up in a non-religious household, he probably does put a much more human face on the non-believers in the country. It's hard to demonize the godless when your own mother was one of them.
"If the closet skeptics were to emerge all at once I think their large numbers would be extremely shocking - even to other non-believers"
That's the purpose of the Atheist Out Campaign, and the real reason behind the Blasphemy Challenge - these things aren't just a way for atheists to piss in the Christian's Cheerios; it's to demonstrate that there are far more of us out there than people usually realize.
Reply
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