Official Launch: Atheistcensus.com -- Have Closet Atheists & Agnostics Reached the Tipping Point?

[rug]

(PRWEB) May 10, 2012

AtheistCensus has announced their official release of http://www.atheistcensus.com - May 10, 2012.

AtheistCensus has released an online census aimed at capturing the global demographic of atheist & agnostic communities.

Lucas Matheson, the founder of Atheist Census believes that "we live in a world where many don't believe in God, yet atheists and agnostics lack a platform to represent themselves, and lack a fundamental connection with other non-believers. The time has come for atheists and agnostics to get on the same page, and start feeling better about what we believe about the world we live in."

With many atheists & agnostics disinterested in joining a group or club to validate their views, Matheson shares that "generally we are pretty comfortable not believing in God. We have something significant in common, yet we have no way to capture it. I started this as a social experiment, and feel like this community needs to come together in a respectful way."

http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/704860

http://atheistcensus.com/

[dmallind]

1. Could be genuinely useful, could be email reselling. I have spam filters

So it's worth taking a chance on the former.

Their formatting and interface is not the best but woth the 2 minutes it took.

[LTX]

2. Regarding the statement:

"The time has come for atheists and agnostics to get on the same page, and start feeling better about what we believe about the world we live in." Other than a mutual disbelief in god (and setting aside politics), what other "beliefs about the world we live in" do atheists share? A sincere response would be appreciated.

[rug]

3. I don't think there is a common defintion beyond what you've stated.

But I'm not the one to ask.

[dmallind]

4. What else does there need to be?

With godbothery abounding in politics, culture, art, entertainment and mores worldwide, I think being willing to say "ermmm... I don't buy it" is a pretty clear and unifying example of "what we believe about the world we live in". What beliefs do Christians all share except Christianity?

[LTX]

6. Mr. Matheson seemed to suggesting that there was something more.

Some shared, affirmative belief about the nature of the world we live in. Sharing a singular disbelief seems a tenuous thread for assembling a cohesive group.

As for christians, they actually share beliefs in relatively discrete groupings, which themselves have an apparently ingrained tendency to subdivide. Perhaps a lesson in the difficulty of actually establishing a group dynamic.

[dmallind]

7. how so?

The cohesive group of atheists should, to me, be cohesive only in re atheism. Despite rug's usual attempts to stir shit, I could not care less if every single atheist but myself on earth were a Republican country music fan who thought The Three Stooges were the height of wit and that all liberals should be imprisoned. Highly improbable of course and atheists cetainly lean more away from those characteristics rather than toward them, but wouldn't bother me either way. Atheism, taken only as itself, is entirely apolitical. Its only unifying theme should be, and is, the disbelief in gods.

This is enough. The very nature of almost everything we share in society is permeated with made up ideas about gods. Standing against that is not tenuous or limiting as a group identity.

I don't see where this fellow (who, needless to say, speaks no more for all atheists than I do) is suggesting anything else as a belief, and no hint of a need for a shared affirmative one. What we believe is simply that we have not been persuaded of gods, no more. No need to divide atheism or unify atheism around anything else. We already have our own version of that subdivision with Secular Humanism. They have a manifesto - a Manifesto actually - which members affirm. Secular Humanism has an affirmative shared belief; atheism does not. I'm an atheist, not a Secular Humanist (although I happen to agree with the vast majority of that Manifesto personally).

[LTX]

8. I suppose.

It just seems like there's not much to talk about, or do, after you shake hands and say "I don't believe in any god(s)." I suspect you'll not want to have much to do with the "Republican country music fan who (thinks) The Three Stooges (are) the height of wit and that all liberals should be imprisoned" after that.

[dmallind]

10. Well it depends really

Much like any large enough group with one connection, there are always plenty of subgroups that can coalesce around other connections.

And as far as in-person organized groups of atheists go, there is plenty to do without needing or looking for any other connection, at least in the US (less so perhaps in, say, Estonia or Sweden). For every illegal preference or establishment for religion in government is certainly a unifying thing to talk about and do in opposing it.

The less intrusive religiosity is, the less need for organized atheism there is. I've belonged to several atheist groups in the US. In England, I never bothered even seeing if there was one. It really would have been like joining a non-stamp collecting club. But had the government tried to establish laws based on philately, paid for stamp-collector monuments and symbols, or forced kids to swear loyalty to the Penny Black, that might have become necessary too.

[NC_Nurse]

5. Reddit has a HUGE atheism forum/community. It's chock full of people who are at every stage

of losing their religion. And those of us who have never bought into organized religion at all. They support each other, post videos of debates with Hitchens, Dawkins, etc. It's a great place for the isolated non-believer to go!

edited for typo

[laconicsax]

18. It's also chock full of misogynists. n/t

[cbayer]

9. I am really glad to see that they are allowing the option of agnostic.

OTOH, I think it's quite unfortunate that they are requiring email addresses.

The results should be interesting, but certainly won't be scientifically valid.

[rug]

11. As far as internet surveys go, that seems par for the course.

Assuming it's not simply a scam to harvest emails, an email address at least will limit one response per address, not that someone so motivated could not make dozens of free, unique email addresses.

[dmallind]

13. they SAY the emails will not be sold etc. Probably true, no biggy if not.

[dmallind]

12. And showing that that option is not about belief, and does not contradict atheism

Hence the option for agnostic atheist which I, correctly given my philosophical opinions, selected.

I don't think scientific validity is the goal. Which numbering of adherents IS scientifically valid?

[rug]

14. That's true. And it can give a rough snapshot which is a good starting point.

[Ron Obvious]

15. Atheist email addresses

But how interesting would the email addresses of atheists be? We're not exactly known as an easy group to market to considering our outlook on life and general scepticism. Are we?

[cbayer]

16. It just leads to spam in the inbox, imo.

And this survey is clearly both a fundraising effort and an attempt to organize non-theists.

I don't have a problem with that, I just think there are ways to gather this information without a requirement that will cause many people to not participate.

[abolugi]

17. I am a closet agnostic of sorts..

My family is quite religious although very tolerant. My sister is a Christian and although I have told her she seems to not hear it. She still asks me to pray for things. I tell her I will to make her feel better but I do not pray.
My brother is a Buddhist and he knows but does not mention it.
Even my dear husband doesn't seem to get it. He thinks I am just "angry" with god because of deaths of many family in a short amount of time. ( literally half of my immediate family has died) He thinks I'll "get over it" and forgive god later.

Its kind of hard to come out when people ignore or choose not to believe you....

I think there are more of us then they think.

I am an agnostic instead of an atheist because I am always open to proof that god exists but I have heard or seen nothing to change my mind.