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not many. interesting point. you could be right. but i just dont see it as a huge movement.
black churches are very traditional in their teachings and vehement.
they just dont water down like the white churches do they?
Since he's black himself, the odds that his remarks are a product of racism against black people are fairly small.
24/7 a.k.a InsaneInDaMembrane thanks you for pointing this out and yes, K-Rich, I would say that about Mexico too. I read somewhere that 24% (give and take) of Spaniards either are atheists, agnostics or just spiritual (no specific belief in the biblical god or even a deity) while less than 1% of Mexicans are either of those and are either Catholic or of some other Christian faith. Spain colonized Mexico. Spain (like much of western Europe) drifts AWAY from traditional Christianity but the peoples of the Americas they colonized can't seem to or care to shake the faith of their former colonizers. See a parallel in what I am talking about now?
EDITED to add: I did not even realize I made that Spain-Mexico comparison back on page 1 before I just posted this last post. lol
Since he's black himself, the odds that his remarks are a product of racism against black people are fairly small.
I didn't know that.
In any event, I really struggled with whether or not to even post it--I didn't want to sound like I was trying to know what his motives were...but the topic just struck me as something that could be offensive.
OP, American black atheists/agnostics are hard to come by. I know two, including myself.
Christianity is so pervasive in the black community. Truly, some people live any kind of lifestyle, haven't been to church in X amount of years, but consider themselves Christian. It's nearly a birthright.
The Civil Rights Movement was rooted in the black Christian chruch. People are not just going to throw that away because now someone says they have something better. I am not saying Christianity has been totally good for black people. But I can understand why many people hold on to their religous faith. Historically, most blacks in America have never had anything else.
We Americans sometimes forget the freedoms we enjoy allows us to adopt many worldviews (rejection of God being one of them). However, many people in other parts of the world (ex: Middle East) do not enjoy the freedoms we do. Many of our own American brothers and sisters have not always enjoyed the freedoms we have now. Religous faith and marginalized groups often go hand in hand.
Instead of wondering why the religious are so "duped" to hold on to "archaic" beilefs and concern themselves with the pie in the sky. We should be asking what can we do as a collective to give people more hope for the present, material world. As long as there is oppression and inequality there will always be some kind of religous belief systems held by the people.
I am from the Caribbean and Christianity is even more entrenched there amongst my black folk. I mean, even big time, heartless gunmen in Jamaica who will empty a 9mm on you AND reload will claim belief in god and have a strong opinion about despising gays "because the bible says so." lol
That's the amazing thing. European countries are relieving themselves of fundamentalist attitudes in regards to Christianity. Christianity for them is seen as some old relic of the past. Folks pay lip service and attend church on religious holidays or for special ceremonies and that is about it. The irony here is, the countries/peoples European nations once colonized/enslaved and held in check in great pat with Christianity's teachings are still locked in the grip of their former "master's" religion. An example would be that of Spain and Mexico. A sizable portion of Spain's population are either atheists, agnostics or simply people who do NOT believe in the biblical god yet in Mexico, a country Spain once owned and ruled with strong Catholic elements, less than 1% of the population considers themselves atheists or bible unbelievers. Go figure.
Well, it's because the cultures are more primitive and primitive people believe in religion because they're not smart enough to understand anything else. Religion is for the stupid and the primitive, once civilized and modernized, a society has no need for such hogwash.
That's why poor people are much more religious than those with money. The black atheists I know are all ones who have been well-educated and who no longer live in poverty.
Well, it's because the cultures are more primitive and primitive people believe in religion because they're not smart enough to understand anything else. Religion is for the stupid and the primitive, once civilized and modernized, a society has no need for such hogwash.
That's why poor people are much more religious than those with money. The black atheists I know are all ones who have been well-educated and who no longer live in poverty.
"Primitive" is a relative term. From my perspective, there are none among us (human beings) who have evolved so much they can call others primitive. People shake off religion because they get education AND money. With the resources and the freedom to better control ones destiny the need for something to believe in decreases. It has nothing to do with people being primitive.
As long as there is inequality and oppression in our world there will always be religion in some form. You are misjudging the needs religion fills.
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