Quote:
Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos
It says that 48% of Americans believe that God created humans pretty much in their present form within the last 10 000 years.
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48% of Americans is a pretty high number... my guess is that if you surveyed 10000 people in the SE United States, you might find that... if not more... but stats can say a lot, depending on who they asked.
Plus, I bet one could produce a statistic in which at least 48% of "Canadians" think the capital of Australia is Sydney. Its a meaningless stat, but if someone with an agenda of boosting education was able to get that result, they might try to run with it to prove their point.
FYI, Burninator... even if that stat is accurate (which I highly doubt) 48% of the US population is 145 million, not 175 million. 30 million is a big difference. (US est. pop: 301.4m)
Also, if you notice, most non-evangelicals were a lot more open about science... Most Catholics and Non-Evangelical Protestants believed that evolution explains the "how" in God's plan, as well, a majority of Catholics and N.E. Protestants believed that the science of evolution was sound.
Anyway, my points are as follows...
I think these evangelicals are whackjobs... and nothing more. I think they give moderate christianity a bad name, and fuel to the fire of some "atheist zealots" who seem obsessed on disproving any and all forms of religion, despite their inherent upside to society... (this isn't a shot at all atheists, but some, who like the lunatic fringe of Christianity, seem hellbent on disproving any belief but their own). I also find it funny that many of these "atheist zealots" are those who defend other lifestyle choices like homosexuality... which seems a little hypocritical, since attacking another person's choice of lifestyle, in this case religion, seems to be their modus operandi. (Note: I am not opposed to homosexuality)
To me, a "liberal atheist" would be akin to a true libertarian... they really don't care what anyone else believes, they believe there is no deity or deities, and that is their right. They'd expect their right respected, but would NOT actively oppose other beliefs, since they do not concern them, and since their individual right is protected.
I'm fairly agnostic, though I admittedly have a soft spot for liberal, contextual Christianity. I believe in people's right to practice whatever religion they want, including loony evangelicalism, voodoo, or even atheism, I could care less... I draw the line when they attempt to influence society. Having separate schools is not an example of influencing society though. The radical christian right is getting perilously close to this, and this is not a good thing. If I was an American voter today, despite my centre-right leaning, I would vote Democrat for that reason.
However, the argument the extreme christian right can successfully make is that secularism and atheism have attempted to root out christianity from the history books and almost make it taboo, forcing a more hardcore stand from those who refuse to adapt.
I'm more in the middle... I believe in total religious freedom, but at the same time, recognize that Canada (and the United States) were founded by Western Judeo-Christian culture and tradition, and that, whether one approves or disapproves, must recognize their positive (and negative) contributions to the nation(s) and allow them their traditional place in the lives of those who choose it. Even if Jesus never existed, the New Testament has value in its contextual teachings, just like how Santa Claus has meaning, despite his obvious non-existence.
Sadly, there are a lot of these evangelicals in the US, and a concerning amount up here too.
Phew, rant over.