Actually... it didn't take very much to show that the article was wrong. According to their source, 70% of Atheists change denominations. That's where the 30% number comes from. However, another 20% change to other types of non-religious, which would put the retention rate up to 50%.
Atheists: Lowest Retention Rate Next to JWs
by breakfast of champions 173 Replies latest jw friends
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EntirelyPossible
What is your IQ and how much total time in your life have you spent learning science?
It's very high and all of it. Of course, I didn't know what any of those questions were about, they require very specific knowledge of very specific disciplines that I have never studied. I used the fact that I know what words mean and contextual clues to get them right.
The less driven or ones with inferior intellect are left to have faith in other people often shrouded in fame.
They could always observe the results of their work and determine for themselves if the onces shrouded in fame know what they are talking about and doing.
Just because educational books and shows exist doesn't mean that everyone is capable of accepting the lines of reasoning just as you are. What you call proof is not what everyone calls proof. What about people who have learning disabilities? Tough titty said the kitty?
What about people with learning disabilities? You mean people like my son with ADHD that has a 130 IQ that plays three instruments, has excellent grades and loves science?
Most people can learn if they WANT to put in the effort. I can't make people learn.
What you end up with is an officialized opinion which holds weight over an opinion which is not.
Utterly wrong. You end up with generally accepted results backed up by tests, results and with predictive powers, NOT an officialized opinion.
Essentially the scientific community is an authority of science.
There is no central science authority, essentially or otherwise.
They also love to ridicule anyone who decides to stray from the community and try to remain unstained from the corruption of absolute power.
You don't know how science works. It ONLY works if people stray and have new ideas that are different from the old. There is no absolute power. You have no idea what you are talking about.
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cofty
Sab - I scored 8/8. It wasn't difficult. Your anti-science stance is very hypocrtical. I hope you don't use modern medicine or the internet or ....oh hang on!
A good atheist rejects the idea of any ultimate good, which implies a rejection of these related, and charmingly capitalized, terms: Truth, Beauty, Justice, Love, etc. - Sully
So because I reject Platonic Perfect Forms I somehow "reject life" and "live at odds with humanity" do I?
What a load of pretentious waffle.
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Qcmbr
8/8 - close call on a couple though :S
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Sulla
I know this idea pisses you off, cofty, but it isn't clear why it should. Look, atheists reject the concept of any ultimate meaning, right? Of course right, that's the whole point of atheism, as you know.
Now, you can reject the idea that there is such a thing as meaning to, well, to anything in the universe. But my view is that the comprehensive rejection of meaning is very much against the human experience. And, returning to the quaint idea that this thread had a theme, it is precisely this extremely grim and anti-human(!) worldview that, I suggest, is not very robust across generations.
Sufering, love, injustice... none of that has any meaning, good or bad. Turns out, lots of people find it impossible to have a life that matters when nothing matters, and so they reject the atheist faith of their parents. Converts to atheism have a different set of motivations -- in a way quite similar to other low-retention religions, I suppose.
And that, cofty, is my hypothesis for why the retention rates for atheists are so low. Your single-sentence grunt of a reply is eagerly awaited.
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Qcmbr
Sulla - would you consider that atheists merely reject evidenceless assumptions of God. This is nothing to do with meaning but assuming that meaning is a human construct then surely an atheist can enjoy more meanings and have less guilt issues with changing their mind about meanings than someone who has metaphorically put all their mental eggs in the basket of a god. The ulimate meaning of life was different for an ancient Egyptian Ra worshiper than it is for a modern day Southern Baptist and either would struggle to derive additional meaning outside of the confines of their respective dogma.
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Sulla
The ulimate meaning of life was different for an ancient Egyptian Ra worshiper than it is for a modern day Southern Baptist and either would struggle to derive additional meaning outside of the confines of their respective dogma.
Perhaps they would struggle for this meaning and you are right that the ultimate meaning for these groups would be different. But would you agree that the central atheist assertion is that the attempt to find meaning is pointless? There is no connection with the rest of the universe, with the past, with being itself, with Beauty, etc., etc., so attempts to find it are wasted?
I think you agree, since you suggest that meaning is a human construct. Lots of people think that way, but lots of other people cringe at the idea of a personal truth: "My truth is _____." Indeed; your truth, my truth, his meaning, her meaning, whatever. We can talk this way, but atheists know it is all a false conversation: there ain't no truth or meaning, yours or mine.
I suspect that is why more people claim something like "no afiliation" or "agnostic" than "atheist." Plenty of people don't feel a connection with God or dislike religion or don't care much one way or the other. But atheism has a lot of grim implications that strike people as conflicting with what they take to be the human experience.
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Momma-Tossed-Me
JW's feed the atheists and libral progressive movements.
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NewChapter
I used the fact that I know what words mean and contextual clues to get them right
That's how I did it! I broke the words down. I actually got several points on a science test because of my literary knowledge. I was asked about the Red Queen effect. I guess I must have missed that section (HOW does that happen?) because I had never heard of it. But I knew about the Red Queen and was able to deduce two answers, which I got right.
The less driven or ones with inferior intellect are left to have faith in other people often shrouded in fame.
There is always Google to fact check. Everyone can't know everthing, but the important thing is knowing how to find the information.
What you end up with is an officialized opinion which holds weight over an opinion which is not.
You act like this is all loose weave and willy nilly. There is a process. Understand the process and you will understand much. It is not haphazard or based on feeling.
