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The northeast has always been the most progressive & intellectual region of the country and has more than other regions taken its cultural cues from western europe.
The south has more of an outback hillbilly culture. Also the corrupting institution of slavery required that the minds of the vast majority of the disinfranchised white population be controlled. This required that liberal intellectualism be hindered and created a subculture in which critical and independent thinking was not cultivated over time.
The Northeast and north west of the country is just as secular as much of Europe. Only in the South and Midwest Athiesm and Agnosticism is not as common.
The Europeans have seen what religion can do, especially when mixed with political power (kings who ruled by "divine right", for example), so are more skeptical of the whole business.
I live within the "outback hillbilly culture" (yee-haw!) and can attest to its effects, being in the state where Rick Perry is Governor. It seems that his loutish pastor and his own remarks concerning Mormonism have gotten him into trouble in the polls recently. I am certainly not defending the LDS Church, but a bit more discretion is required in the leader of a country. Or so one would hope.
How bizarre, then, that a few decades ago [...]we were also reported to have the world's best educational system. Go figure. Interesting to note that American universities are still ranked highest in the world and many more Europeans come to the US for grad school than vice versa.
Totally irrelevant!
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Originally Posted by aries63
atheist China has superior schools.
It's quite possible in the case of primary schools and high schools. The biggest weakness in the US educational system is homeschooling. The second biggest weakness is the fact that religious and political indoctrination is not only allowed but encouraged in both public and private schools.
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Originally Posted by aries63
Everything regimented, enforced conformity. Have you been to a school in China? If you fold your arms the wrong way on your desk or your head faced the wrong way at nap time, you'll be punished. Great system devised by atheists.
I have no idea if that is true (verifiable evidence would be appreciated), but let's just assume it is... what's the connection between atheism and that supposed "enforced conformity?" You probably "forgot" that there are many other atheist countries which don't enforce any conformity. A lack of belief in a superior being without verifiable evidence is just that: a lack of belief... as for "enforcing" conformity or who knows what else, on the contrary, the vast majority of atheists, being rational and intelligent people, believe that people should be free in the most literal sense to behave however they want and to do whatever they want, as long as their acts don't cause physical harm or monetary losses...
On the other hand, Christians in the US (along with Muslims in the Middle East and possibly others - in general most religious fanatics) are the ones who want to enforce conformity among children/teens, to indoctrinate them, to punish them physically whenever they see fit (like corporal punishment in schools and at home, things forbidden in advanced predominantly atheist countries like Sweden and many others in Europe, Japan, etc,) to deprive them of lots and lots of liberties (for example the freedom to have a relationship regardless of what their parents believe, the freedom to have sex at an age closer to the scientific reality of puberty instead of 17-18, the freedom to buy alcohol at earlier ages and to consume it at about any age... additionally, in the said advanced atheist countries, they're protected from arrest and prosecution up to a certain age, they can't be sent to "boot camps" or who knows else because their retarded parents want so etc.
Religious fanatics are pretty much like Nazis, Fascists, Communists and the like... they try to force everyone to live according to their "values," have a constant obsession with restrictions, punishments invoking "morality" whenever something or someone doesn't conform to their idiotic indoctrination..
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Originally Posted by aries63
I'm still waiting to see how the US education system is benefitting from higher numbers of atheists. Anyone?
You don't have to wait at all... you just have to ask yourself, for example, why almost all the members the National Academy of Sciences are atheists..
How bizarre, then, that a few decades ago when the US was more religious and had fewer atheists, we were also reported to have the world's best educational system. Go figure. Interesting to note that American universities are still ranked highest in the world and many more Europeans come to the US for grad school than vice versa.
So I guess according to MoniHer, atheist China has superior schools. Everything regimented, enforced conformity. Have you been to a school in China? If you fold your arms the wrong way on your desk or your head faced the wrong way at nap time, you'll be punished. Great system devised by atheists.
I'm still waiting to see how the US education system is benefitting from higher numbers of atheists. Anyone?
China is now looking to the US because it's educational system does not produce enough innovative thinkers. The education system was not devised by atheists, btw. China has generally encouraged conformity from ancient times. China did try to educate even the poorest and humblest of its children in ancient times, but mainly to produce civil servants.
In contrast to western education, particularly in regard to the model of higher education in Medieval and Renaissance universities where students were encouraged to engage in disputation, traditional Chinese education consisted primarily of rote learning and memorization of the Classics. This formula became standardized by the seventh century CE. Candidates for the Civil Service Imperial Exams were required to memorize a vast amount of classical material and were never required to demonstrate the ability to either theorize or challenge a particular premise. The purpose of the scholar class after all was: the creation of bureaucratic generalists familiar with an accepted ethical outlook and body of knowledge, not with the growth of knowledge or with academic specialization.
Today, China recognizes the need for innovation and thus it looks to the West. Interestingly, some scientists have begun to study the genetics of the social systems and to conclude that some of the differences may lie in the genes. I don't think this is likely, but it is an interesting proposition to investigate.
Probably has something to do with the relatively low national IQ as compared to Europe. People in Europe perform better in math, science and history. They usually speak multiple languages, have a better understanding of anthropology and culture.
People in the U.S. draft Shawn Merriman for their fantasy team, wakeboard, and love Jesus.
I had to laugh at this. There is certainly truth in the last sentence, at the least.
I have always wondered why Christianity has so much more influence in the former European colonies (USA, South America, etc.) than in Europe itself. Compare for example the UK, where 35% of the population do not believe in God (source) to the US, where only 6% of the population do not believe in God or a higher power (source). Similarly, 18% of the people in Spain are atheist (source) compared to less than 2% in countries like Paraguay, Colombia and Peru (source). The European countries with the least amount of theists are the Scandinavian countries, the Baltic States, the NL, Czech Rep., France, Slovenia and the UK. In all of these countries, less than 40% claim to believe in God.
Why do you think Europe developed in such a different way than North & South America? It seems that in the Americas, Christianity has only become more evangelical and fundamentalist in the last decades whereas in Europe, the influence of religion on society has greatly declined.
The rson why I hate atheis is simple: The are overwhelmed so much by feeling as a minority that they just go around posting some demographics saying they are 50 50 atheiest and christians in their country.
When really the Polls and Demographics study places agnostics with atheiests together.
The difference is agnostics do not belive in what the church says but belives in a "God" or "Life Forse".
Atheiest belive in nothing.
If you carefully read the demographics atheiest are In the minority.
In Europe 52 % are religious 27% Bilive in a "Force" or "God" and 18% Do not belive in a God.
Sad that atheiest Fail to understand the meaning of life. If people just die and their legacy just dissapears when they die then what is the sense of life.
Life is meant to test us before we go to the afterlife there is no wrong religion only wrong interpretations made by man. The right religion is in your own thoughts.
P.S. No belief is a better belief so please do not think of yourselves as superior just because of your beliefs.
Non Belivers are not superiors nor smarter than belivers.
Probably has something to do with the relatively low national IQ as compared to Europe. People in Europe perform better in math, science and history. They usually speak multiple languages, have a better understanding of anthropology and culture.
People in the U.S. draft Shawn Merriman for their fantasy team, wakeboard, and love Jesus.
Your knowledge has nothing to do with your personal religious beliefs.
Some of the greatest thinkers and scientist in the world Belive in a God or Life Force.
Just look them up if you have the time.
My best friend is a Phycisist and he thinks Physics are God's thoughts.
Look, it seems to me that comparing healthcare or education or numbers of Nobel prizes is a red herring in regard to religious belief. The amount of religious belief, influence or authority is probably due to historical/social causes and doesn't make a country or its people better educated or worse.
The only thing that matters, it seems to me, is the validity of the belief in religion or the disbelief. trying to buy credit for either by academic or technical achievements is not perhaps the most relevant factor.
Sad that atheiest Fail to understand the meaning of life. If people just die and their legacy just dissapears when they die then what is the sense of life.
Life is meant to test us before we go to the afterlife there is no wrong religion only wrong interpretations made by man. The right religion is in your own thoughts.
On the contrary. If this life is nothing more than preparation for the next one (ignoring, for a moment, the millions of babies who have died in this life), THEN there is nothing to this life. If all of life is this life, then it has much more value.
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