Atheists and Agnostics Also Frequently Believe in the Supernatural, Study Shows

http://www.openculture.com/2019/06/atheists-agnostics-also-frequently-believe-in-the-supernatural-a-new-study-shows.html

by rendall • 7 years ago

26 52 7 years ago

openculture.com

SketchySeaBeast10• 7 years ago

I wonder, given the rising popularity of atheism, how many of the people described in the study fall under the unthinking atheist, in the same way someone raised by Christians or in Christian peer-groups can easily become Christian without conscience thought? It stands to reason that as it gains in popularity, atheism would appear more like the general population. I feel like the ‘convinced, dogmatic atheists’ is a group that's become the minority.

DougN7• 7 years ago

I bet you’re right. I find a lot of people that take a position with just a cursory overview, and that never go deep to see what that position really implies. It’s hard work and takes time.

rootusrootus2• 7 years ago

"Dogmatic atheist"? I would laugh, but a Google search suggests that people do believe such a thing exists. Are they just talking about outspoken atheists who are openly critical of religion?

SketchySeaBeast10• 7 years ago

I would assume that to be the case - when I think of the term I think of "The Four Horsemen" - Hitchens, Dawkins, Dennet, & Harris.

Erik816• 7 years ago

There is certainly a brand of atheist who is really only the flipside of a fundamentalist. One reads scripture literally in order to find it infallible, the other reads scripture literally in order to find it impossible.

deogeo• 7 years ago

On the other hand, maybe they don't believe in any god, but do believe in the supernatural - they would still technically qualify as atheists.

BackBackBack5• 7 years ago

You are being downvoted because people have problems separating the two since they've been so tightly coupled for millennia at least in western civilization.

But you are right, nothing in "atheism" prohibits someone believe there is an afterlife, or ghosts, or reincarnation, etc. Atheism just means you don't believe in gods; with a little imagination an afterlife can still exist without any overlords.

SketchySeaBeast10• 7 years ago

Totally true - If someone felt the evidence wasn't strong enough for a creator, but there was for ghosts, that'd be totally logical. It seems unlikely, but totally possible.

User238• 7 years ago

There’s an argument to be made that court enforced public atheism violates the establishment clause.

darth_skywalker• 7 years ago

Perhaps, but it's impossible to judge the merit of said argument since you failed to make it.

I don't know what you mean by "court enforced public atheism." The right to express your religious views is protected in the United States by the 1st Amendment. And on the contrary, U.S. currency reads "In God we trust."

BackBackBack5• 7 years ago

Only if you redefine atheism to mean theism, as in "they believe in atheism! Can't you see?"

SketchySeaBeast10• 7 years ago

I believe you're mistaking opting to not show favoritism to a particular theology for repression.

satellitec4t4• 7 years ago

the rising popularity of atheism

How can not-a-thing have rising popularity...

SketchySeaBeast10• 7 years ago

Same way "What's your favourite beer?" can have an answer of "I don't drink beer."

CM30• 7 years ago

Not too surprising. Nothing necessarily says 'disbelieves in God/gods' means 'is a rationalist/sceptic'.

And nowadays, it seems like a growing number of people are simply not believing in the narratives provided by organised religions and churches, while still maintaining beliefs about other supernatural concepts like reincarnation, ghosts, an afterlife, etc.

In some sense, it feels like a bit of a pagan resurgence in some parts, with more people being open to the supernatural while still not believing in religion in the traditional sense.

ThinkingGuy• 7 years ago

You also have to take cultural and linguistic differences into account. In my experience, Japanese people tend use terms like "atheist" and "non-religious" less in the sense of a personal system of belief, and more in the sense of "not being a member of a formal, established religious institution."

I've had variations of the following conversation with several Japanese people:

  Q: Are you religious?
  A: No I don't have any religion.
  Q: Oh, I see. By the way, what did you do on New Year's Day this year?
  A: I went to the neighborhood shrine to pray, like I always do!

dkarl• 7 years ago

Even in among native English speakers the usage is not consistent. I know people who believe in a spirit world where their dead family members hear their prayers, and they do not describe themselves as religious, because they associate religion with a shared dogma and belief in one or more superhuman deities. I guess most people don't describe themselves "religious" unless there is some organized religion that they are able to identify as the source of their beliefs.

zachguo• 7 years ago

The original paper is better https://research.kent.ac.uk/understandingunbelief/wp-content...

Looking at the appendix, their sampling methodology has problems. The sample size for China is smaller than that of Japan, and for western countries 60%-75% of survey takers are male.

amanzi• 7 years ago

I find the blog posts discussing the report more interesting than the report itself. Atheists/agnostics don't believe in gods (i.e. the ones you pray to that control the world and universe), but that doesn't mean they dismiss outright any possible supernatural belief. There are some outspoken atheists that will certainly take this position, but that's not the definition of an atheist.

Personally, I'm a non-believer (along with almost half of my country) but I still like the ideas behind some form of an afterlife or reincarnation. It's soothing (and harmless) to think that a deceased loved one's spirit may live on in some other form.

mistermann• 7 years ago

I'm not sure if this qualifies as the supernatural (it exceeds natural capabilities, imho), but while lots of people no longer have a fundamentalist belief in religion, it seems a fair number of people have in some sense replaced that with a somewhat fundamentalist belief in the capabilities and comprehensiveness of knowledge (versus theories) of science, free markets, human nature, and other things like that. And on a personal basis, a possibly overly confident view of the correctness of their beliefs about the beliefs (and underlying motivations) of other people.

sprucely• 7 years ago

I'm not sure either, but I kind of agree. I think it's the whole us vs them thing. Most people like to feel like they're on the right (correct, superior) side of whatever issue they decide divides them from the others.

lostmsu• 7 years ago

Maybe we should call ourselves "occams" to be more specific.

karmakaze• 7 years ago

An interesting case is Buddhism which many would classify as a religion. It's main premise is that the universe works like a clock that runs on karma which isn't so much a judgment but rather a plain mechanism. There are gods but they basically have no interactions with life as we know it. So believes in the existence of gods that have no bearing, meaning no faith is placed in their doings.

IXxXI• 7 years ago

Years ago they redefined the atheist demographic to contain those believing in supernatural phenomena or a higher power, in order to push the false narrative which says the number of atheists is increasing worldwide. Those who believe in the supernatural, deities or a higher power are falsely considered "atheist" to exaggerate the size of their demographic.

Atheists and Agnostics Also Frequently Believe in the Supernatural, Study Shows

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