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I can come up with a number of hypotheses on this one. Certainly the growth of the internet, and access to information has to play a large role. The growing acceptance of science and that it shows the fantastic imagery that "holy books" describe just can't be. The growing awareness that we have only one life to live, and that there is no evidence of a god, gods, or an afterlife.
It will be interesting to see what they come up with.
Nice find. I have bookmarked their site, https://www.explainingatheism.org, so when I have a little time I can get a bead on how they define atheism. Hopefully their findings will not be not another one of these "x% of atheists pray" or "x% of atheists believe in god" nonsense that is definitionally incoherent. So long as the basic definition is followed, I can have more confidence in their findings.
Nice find. I have bookmarked their site, https://www.explainingatheism.org, so when I have a little time I can get a bead on how they define atheism. Hopefully their findings will not be not another one of these "x% of atheists pray" or "x% of atheists believe in god" nonsense that is definitionally incoherent. So long as the basic definition is followed, I can have more confidence in their findings.
I notice that the John Tempelton Foundation is involved. Although they are very Christian orientated, some of their other funding has not shown prejudice or influence. I also notice they have Hemant Mehta (The Friendly Atheist) as a consultant, which shows good balance.
Incredibly it seems that the drop-dead simple term "atheist" is getting bowdlerized as much as "agnostic". I don't know why they don't simply put people who take the label "atheist" yet believe in some god, into a separate category or special case where it belongs. But whatevs. It is just one more manifestation of the growing incoherence in the world I suppose. I should probably be grateful that they at least understand that these different "kinds of atheism" represent different beliefs popularly tossed together, so that they will maintain some nuance. Nuance which, doubtless, will go right over the head of a lot of readers.
Incredibly it seems that the drop-dead simple term "atheist" is getting bowdlerized as much as "agnostic". I don't know why they don't simply put people who take the label "atheist" yet believe in some god, into a separate category or special case where it belongs. But whatevs. It is just one more manifestation of the growing incoherence in the world I suppose. I should probably be grateful that they at least understand that these different "kinds of atheism" represent different beliefs popularly tossed together, so that they will maintain some nuance. Nuance which, doubtless, will go right over the head of a lot of readers.
Re; Nuances: Why should it be any different among unbelievers than among believers? The diversity and nuance are as widespread among believers as anything likely to be found among atheists!
Incredibly it seems that the drop-dead simple term "atheist" is getting bowdlerized as much as "agnostic". I don't know why they don't simply put people who take the label "atheist" yet believe in some god, into a separate category or special case where it belongs. But whatevs. It is just one more manifestation of the growing incoherence in the world I suppose. I should probably be grateful that they at least understand that these different "kinds of atheism" represent different beliefs popularly tossed together, so that they will maintain some nuance. Nuance which, doubtless, will go right over the head of a lot of readers.
yes there is nuance.
yes there are differences.
yes there are "different kinds of atheism."
just like there are different kids of religious and spiritual beliefs. with nuance.
which is why it is not logical and not rational to say "if they can't even agree on what it is (atheism, agnostic, theism, religion, spirituality), then why should anyone believe any of it. it is nonsense. it is incoherent." Because no that is not the case. There are just, well, differences and nuance and "different kinds of _______" (atheism, theism, variety and diversity along the spectrum of paths of religion and spirituality)
yes there is nuance.
yes there are differences.
yes there are "different kinds of atheism."
just like there are different kids of religious and spiritual beliefs. with nuance.
which is why it is not logical and not rational to say "if they can't even agree on what it is (atheism, agnostic, theism, religion, spirituality), then why should anyone believe any of it. it is nonsense. it is incoherent." Because no that is not the case. There are just, well, differences and nuance and "different kinds of _______" (atheism, theism, variety and diversity along the spectrum of paths of religion and spirituality)
Nuances? You consider the differences in these pictures to be nuances?
Re; Nuances: Why should it be any different among unbelievers than among believers? The diversity and nuance are as widespread among believers as anything likely to be found among atheists!
I would expect there to be less diversity in atheism because it is a single question about a very narrow up-or-down topic. Do you or do you not believe in the existence of at least one deity? There is no dogma or deity to argue about. There might be some debate about your reasons for unbelief, but there should be zero confusion about what it means to BE an atheist.
In a sense I guess there is less diversity, it is more about what brings you to atheism -- whether you feel the need to crusade against, say, Christianity or not, or whether you have perhaps not entirely consistent beliefs in other forms of woo, are separate matters. But what kind of blows IMO is that there are people who identity as atheists who have even a provisional belief in a god of some kind. To me that is like saying you're a stamp collector without even a single stamp to your name.
I would expect there to be less diversity in atheism because it is a single question about a very narrow up-or-down topic. Do you or do you not believe in the existence of at least one deity? There is no dogma or deity to argue about. There might be some debate about your reasons for unbelief, but there should be zero confusion about what it means to BE an atheist.
In a sense I guess there is less diversity, it is more about what brings you to atheism -- whether you feel the need to crusade against, say, Christianity or not, or whether you have perhaps not entirely consistent beliefs in other forms of woo, are separate matters. But what kind of blows IMO is that there are people who identity as atheists who have even a provisional belief in a god of some kind. To me that is like saying you're a stamp collector without even a single stamp to your name.
but of course a person can be a stamp collector without any stamps. they may have been robbed. They may have sold their collection to pay for a family member's medical care or nursing home. Their house may have burned down. That does not change that they are still a stamp collector.
we had that discussion at length during the decades I danced. Many of us were regulars who danced several nights a week. (I danced 4 nights a week for ten years, but i knew people who danced 6 or 7 nights a week. And took one night off per month to do laundry.) Occasionally someone would go through a period when they could not dance, perhaps because of an injury. One lady i knew became progressively more crippled from a neurodegenerative disease to where she could not dance or walk at all. Is a person still a dancer even though they never dance again in their life? Yes, of course they are.
Thank you for the link.
Nice to see one of my old stomping grounds The University of Kent playing a role.
Funny how people feel the need to research this kind of thing, or why the question even needs to be asked really?
I'm not exactly sure what purpose it serves? * Blue Skies research I suppose.
Anyway perhaps it will be interesting to follow along.
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