they're not simple but its very easy to see how they contradict the bible. Just because the catholic church officially stated that they don't doesn't make it true. To me the simplest contradiction comes from one of the first lines: "in the beginning god created the heaven and the earth." well that made perfect sense thousands of years ago when that is all people knew about, but as science discovered the solar system, other planets, galaxies, and such it becomes less and less believable and formerly literal statements are almost forced to become figurative. This is exactly the same for all the old religions such as Greek and Roman mythology,druidism, and Wicca. At the time they made perfect sense but science has utterly destroyed them.

I was mostly joking and imo you're right that wealth reduces religion. It just seems like a good way to dismiss non believers. Kind of like "there are no smart theist" does.

Don't get me wrong. I don't have an agenda here, so no need to be on guard.

This is my perspective:
There are smart people who think about things. Some believe in God, others don't. These are a minority.

The majority is a reflection of the society around them. Their beliefs are not motivated by articulate or intuitive forces; they are motivated by the general climate around them.

In Saudi Arabia, Islam is in the air. Thus the masses are strictly Muslim. In America, neither atheism nor religion is in the air - it is strictly material that dominates the American psyche.

My perspective is that the majority of people have no active belief system. They are not properly educated in theology, biology, physics, or history that would propel them to a solid view of reality. They more or less have a passive belief, or a shadowy void where others are theist, deist, atheist, or agnostic.

Its interesting how the answer to your question, or at least how its perceived, will vary depending on where the person lives.

One person answered 'no change' and they live in the Bible Belt.

I've lived and worked in NYC for over 15 years. I know a lot of atheists. No one is really shy when it comes to mentioning their religious beliefs or lack there of. But the people who seem like fundamentalists (think splendours or plethos) are a rare find. Most people are rathar quiet about it and no one seems to care much or judge much either way.

Its only when I travel (outside of NY, LA, etc) that I find people who not only wear their spirituality on their sleeve, but they ASSUME that you are also religious. And after being in NYC for so long, its sort of odd to have people talking about God in casual conversation with strangers.

Where I live in the UK the big problem is the fact that a lot more people are aware of things such as the Big Bang and the Bible really offers people very little in terms of substance.

I know people will say that the Bible doesn't in fact contradict evolution and Jibninjas once posted a massive article on deciphering Genesis. The problem with those things is that it smacks of desperation and looks like there is so much complicated interpretations and ambiguous meanings to make the story fit. People don't tend to believe it and become apathetic towards the whole thing. Also the startling lack of evidence for God unless you "feel his presence" doesn't help in this day and age when science is advancing rapidly.