Vault313
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Is atheism or secularism indeed a result of a more educated populace, or, in the west especially, is it more of a form of social conformity?
As a society whose focus is more and more on science and the material (and by this I mean both as a philosophy and an economic model) are people turning toward atheism/secularism due to the desire to not be "left behind" in the old ways of thinking?
I know that by percentage, atheists are still a minority (at least in the US) and by no means am I saying that religion is dead. However, any time atheism comes up in the media, the barrage of comments from the general public seem to be bent toward support of atheism, with the attitude that belief in a deity is "moronic", "childish", "nutty", etc.
Which would tend, IMHO, to push one who was on the fence toward atheism (or at least feigning atheism) so as not to feel left out or to feel ostracized as being one of those "true believers" which is usually translation for "idiot.
As a society whose focus is more and more on science and the material (and by this I mean both as a philosophy and an economic model) are people turning toward atheism/secularism due to the desire to not be "left behind" in the old ways of thinking?
I know that by percentage, atheists are still a minority (at least in the US) and by no means am I saying that religion is dead. However, any time atheism comes up in the media, the barrage of comments from the general public seem to be bent toward support of atheism, with the attitude that belief in a deity is "moronic", "childish", "nutty", etc.
Which would tend, IMHO, to push one who was on the fence toward atheism (or at least feigning atheism) so as not to feel left out or to feel ostracized as being one of those "true believers" which is usually translation for "idiot.