Theists: Is it weird being in the minority here? - Religion, God, and Theology

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Theists: Is it weird being in the minority here?

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11-13-2009 , 11:26 PM

Arouet

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I know that here on RGT the atheists outnumber the theists pretty handsomely. It occurs to me that this must be a strange situation for theists, who must be used to being in the majority in their local crowds. I'm curious as to what you guys think about it: is it a weird feeling for you? General thoughts. Not looking for anything too deep here, just interested.

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11-13-2009 , 11:39 PM

bigpooch

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Arouet

I know that here on RGT the atheists outnumber the theists pretty handsomely. It occurs to me that this must be a strange situation for theists, who must be used to being in the majority in their local crowds. I'm curious as to what you guys think about it: is it a weird feeling for you? General thoughts. Not looking for anything too deep here, just interested.

I speak for myself: it is a familiar situation to be in ( to be in the minority ), even when I find myself among theists. I don't think it's merely a perception, but the reality is that many of my beliefs are quite different from many of the theists on this forum.

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11-13-2009 , 11:53 PM

Jibninjas

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Arouet

Not at all. I am not usually in a situation where I am the majority (theist belief wise anyway). When I am around a bunch of Christians I guess that I feel less at home, but I my beliefs conflict usually more with them than atheists.

I really like being in the minority. But if you stick around long enough you will notice that quite a few theists show up here, just not many have the ability to stick around. Like in the car business, many people get into it but only a few have thick enough skin to stick around.

Out of curiosity, why do you feel that we would be uncomfortable? Or that it would be a weird feeling?

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11-14-2009 , 12:54 AM

Praxising

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nope - seems normal to me

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11-14-2009 , 03:45 AM

luckyme

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seems normal to me. I'm the only atheist I know with an appendix scar....very rare.

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11-14-2009 , 03:50 AM

Aaron W.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Arouet

I know that here on RGT the atheists outnumber the theists pretty handsomely. It occurs to me that this must be a strange situation for theists, who must be used to being in the majority in their local crowds. I'm curious as to what you guys think about it: is it a weird feeling for you? General thoughts. Not looking for anything too deep here, just interested.

I'm curious as to why you believe that this must be the case.

It has never seemed weird to me. I can't even decide how it *might* feel weird. It's just an internet forum...

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11-14-2009 , 04:09 AM

Weatherhead03

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Originally Posted by Aaron W.

I'm curious as to why you believe that this must be the case.

It has never seemed weird to me. I can't even decide how it *might* feel weird. It's just an internet forum...

Not answering for Arouet but my answer would be that I figure this board to be filled with Americans by majority, and the majority of Americans are religious. 78% of Americans said they were Christian as of 2007.

Do you believe the majority of people to be non-believers, Aaron?

Even if you group the world as a whole, the majority are still religious.

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11-14-2009 , 06:00 AM

dragonystic

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christianity seems to create, in a fair % of its adherents, a persecution complex. perhaps it comes with trying hard to identify with the protagonist. in any case, most christians seem right at home when they feel like they are in the minority, whether real or imagined.

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11-14-2009 , 08:17 AM

Arouet

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Originally Posted by Weatherhead03

Something like this. But the reason that I wondered if the theists here found it weird is that I imagine for many of you, it is very rare to encounter people who question the whole idea of god, whatever your individual theistic beliefs are. For some I would assume that the first atheists they've ever met are through this board and before that they might not have met someone who thinks its "stupid" to believe, or if they did, that person would seem very out of place, being surrounded by theists. I just thought it would be an odd feeling. And yes, this is based solely on the stats.

Didn't mean anything deeper than that, thanks for the responses.

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11-14-2009 , 02:47 PM

#10

Aaron W.

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Originally Posted by Weatherhead03

It's not as if "theist" in a room full of "atheists" is anything like being "black" in a room full of "whites" or "male" in a room full of "females."

Furthermore, in the context of an internet forum, all it really is to me is a bunch of words on my screen. I don't know how reading something I disagree with would be strange.

*shrug*

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11-14-2009 , 05:10 PM

#11

RYANBLAN

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The internet is a natural place for atheists to gather since they don't go to church.

My atheist friends don't belong to any organized social groups. I don't know if not joining social organizations is true of most atheists but in my experience it seems that way.

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11-14-2009 , 09:51 PM

#12

Weatherhead03

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Originally Posted by Aaron W.

It's not as if "theist" in a room full of "atheists" is anything like being "black" in a room full of "whites" or "male" in a room full of "females"

I'm glad its not for you. For many it is.

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11-17-2009 , 05:12 AM

#13

Steve00007

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I see a lot of atheists on the internet, so this place doesn't seem weird at all. When I recently started posting on a similar message board with most of the posters being Christians, THAT felt weird to me.

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11-18-2009 , 01:41 PM

#14

Splendour

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Originally Posted by Steve00007

I can see that. There are more dichotomies to sift through.

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11-19-2009 , 01:04 AM

#15

Praxising

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Arouet

Huh. Well, my experience in a relatively long life is that many people question or just reject God and religion. "The first atheists we've met...?" Arouet, we aren't cloistered from birth or Amish or anything! I'm sure we've all known plenty of atheists before we came here.

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11-19-2009 , 08:45 AM

#16

Max H

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Originally Posted by dragonystic

christianity seems to create, in a fair % of its adherents, a persecution complex.

Christianity is not alone in this. All of the Abrahamic religions produce a number of adherents with a persecution complex.

Anyone who defines themselves as separate from others runs the risk of this happening. This is not to say, though, that all followers of these religions define themselves as separate from others.

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11-19-2009 , 10:17 AM

#17

Loss Tee

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i think it's standard to be in the minority -

sure; if you took a poll - many people would identify themselves as christian/catholic/etc/etc.

but if you instead took a poll (and got honest answers) about what % of people:
a) believe in God
b) are willing, happy and comfortable to talk about it / discuss it

you would find that christians - who are comfortable discussing their view points - are indeed a significant minority

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