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PATH: BS | Edumakashun
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Sam Harris' Top Ten Myths About Atheism
Posted by Pile
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[Edumakashun] |
 Several polls indicate that the term "atheism" has acquired such an extraordinary stigma in the United States that being an atheist is now a perfect impediment to a career in politics (in a way that being black, Muslim or homosexual is not). According to a recent Newsweek poll, only 37% of Americans would vote for an otherwise qualified atheist for president.
Atheists are often imagined to be intolerant, immoral, depressed, blind to the beauty of nature and dogmatically closed to evidence of the supernatural.
Even John Locke, one of the great patriarchs of the Enlightenment, believed that atheism was "not at all to be tolerated" because, he said, "promises, covenants and oaths, which are the bonds of human societies, can have no hold upon an atheist."
That was more than 300 years ago. But in the United States today, little seems to have changed. A remarkable 87% of the population claims "never to doubt" the existence of God; fewer than 10% identify themselves as atheists — and their reputation appears to be deteriorating.
Given that we know that atheists are often among the most intelligent and scientifically literate people in any society, it seems important to deflate the myths that prevent them from playing a larger role in our national discourse. |
READ MORE | 2 comments since 2007-05-21 11:44:41 | Comment on this Article |
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It would seem that the National Park Service (NPS) isn't really SURE how old the Grand Canyon is. Despite vigorous protests from both Park Service scientists and leading geological societies, a book approved in 2003 for sale in National Park bookstores--which takes the somewhat unscientific view that the Grand Canyon was created by Noah's Flood--is still available despite an official promise to perform a high-level policy review of the issue. Apparently three years was not long enough to accomplish such a review, or even to begin one or make a formal internal request for one. (Hmm, sounds a bit like those "studies" of global warming that always need a follow-up study, except that those studies at least actually take place.)
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