Here is a video of a liberal Muslim speaking at an American Humanist Association conference in May complaining about non-Muslim liberals undercutting the efforts of liberal Muslims by opting to side with Muslim groups that are illiberal: https://youtu.be/mWLNnysldjs

On Nov 26, 2015, at 6:30 AM, Jimmy G <[address removed]> wrote:

I have numerous friends from the various cultures in the middle east who are former muslims and now secularists or atheists.  One thing we share in common is our  view that logic/reason/science offer the best way to understand and address issues in life.   

Maybe this common thread will help some people to overcome the trivial cultural differences that divide us in the world.

Jim

On Nov 26, 2015, at 1:24 AM, Don Wharton wrote:

I love the title of the report, US Public Becoming Less Religious.  Another stat is that those who attend a religious service at least monthly has now declined to 50%.  It is somewhat likely that the next report will have this figure below half.  The PDF is 266 pages.  It is highly likely that I will read all of it and still be a bit frustrated with analysis that is not included.  We will see.

 

Obviously our nation would be much better off if magical thinking ceased.  Unfortunately this type of thinking is often increased in times of societal stress and conflict.  There is much reason to think that needless societal stress and conflict will be a much greater factor in our future and the current trend could actually be reversed.  Religiosity spiked during the Civil War and the peak of the Cold War.  Global warming is certain to substantially increase in coming years.  2015 is certain to have a new yearly average high global temperature once again.  The war in Syria is arguably a direct result of the global warming caused drought in that country.  The Department of Defense is quite correct when they say climate change is major threat to national security.  Then there is the systemic rise in inequality which has resulted in only 61% of millenials having a full time job.  If people cannot make enough for a decent life that will certainly be causing them a lot of stress.  I question whether they will have the political wisdom to vote for people who will reduce this inequality.

 

Then there is the rise of end times theology in Islam.  An interesting Politico article by a Brookings Institution expert:

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/08/isis-jihad-121525

 

I frankly do not see how it will be possible to avoid a future in which major parts of Christianity, Judaism and Islam all view the world through a lens that sees a major clash of civilizations in which their future is at risk.  If that is sold widely people will be joining sides and doubling down on their religiosity. 

 

William McCants directs the Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World at the Brookings Institution. This article has been adapted from his book, The ISIS Apocalypse: The History, Strategy, and Doomsday Vision of the Islamic State.

 

Don

 

 

 

From: Martin

Sent: Tuesday, November 03,[masked]:10 PM

To: [address removed]

Subject: [atheists-27] Latest Pew Religious Landscape Study released today

 

Today the Pew Research Center released a report on their latest 2014 Religious Landscape Study of the USA. The last (and first) such study was done in 2007, and the comparisons are enlightening, with an overall drop in religious belief, and younger people increasingly nonreligious:

Topic	2007	2014
US Adults who believe in God	92%	89%
"Absolutely certain" God exists	71%	63%
Religiously Unaffiliated	16%	23%
Belief in God among Religiously Unaffiliated	70%	61%
Belief in God among young Millennials (born [masked])	-	80%
Belief in God among older Millennials (born [masked])	-	84%

Article: http://www.pewforum.org/2015/11/03/u-s-public-becoming-less-religious/
Full Report: http://www.pewforum.org/files/2015/11/201.11.03_RLS_II_full_report.pdf






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