Pious paranoia: In a sign that the Bible thumpers are getting frustrated at their inability to impose theocratic doctrines throughout American government and society, our favorite Christian statistician, George Barna, has conducted a study to examine the similarities and differences between atheists and agnostics and those who believe in Santa Claus, virgin birth and transubstantiation. Barna notes that increasingly, atheists and agnostics are “critiquing” people of faith and — gasp! — publishing best-selling books that question the existence of God.
Two-thirds of Christians (63 percent) perceive that the nation is becoming more hostile and negative toward Christianity.
Beyond the bestseller lists, however, a new survey shows there is indeed a significant gap between Christians and those Americans who are in the “no-faith” camp. For instance, most atheists and agnostics (56 percent) agree with the idea that radical Christianity is just as threatening in America as is radical Islam. At the same time, two-thirds of Christians (63 percent) who have an active faith perceive that the nation is becoming more hostile and negative toward Christianity. (“Active faith” was defined as simply having gone to church, read the Bible and prayed during the week preceding the survey.)
Instead of using simple descriptive terms like “believer” and “nonbeliever” to describe the two groups, Barna frames believers as “active faith,” which sounds really positive and happening, versus “no-faith,” which is negative and sounds kind of hopeless. It’s the familiar old “pro-life” trick. I would argue that staunch atheists maintain a fervent belief in the nonexistence of God and hold as an article of faith that all religion is hokum.
According to Barna, about one out of 11 Americans, or 20 million, is an atheist or agnostic. That’s about 9 percent of the U.S. population, which means Satan’s recruitment program is working extremely well, and our ranks of the Godless are swelling.
Barna notes that only about 5 million no-faithers actually call themselves atheists and “staunchly reject” the notion that there is a God. He takes that to mean that the 15 million harbor doubts about the nonexistence of God. However, I cite Pascal’s wager as a likely reason for the seeming disparity. Blaise Pascal said that if one believed in God and God didn’t exist, then nothing was lost, but if one did not believe in God and God existed, then one was in for a world of hurt for eternity. Therefore, the safest bet would be to behave as if one believed in God — just in case.
The no-faith audience is younger, and more likely to be male and unmarried. They also earn more and are more likely to be college graduates.
Perhaps partly due to the younger nature of the audience, atheists and agnostics are more likely than are active-faith adults to say they are into new technology (64 percent among no-faith individuals versus 52 percent among active-faith adults) and to assert that they adapt easily to change (81 percent versus 66 percent). Atheists and agnostics are also significantly less likely to say they are convinced they are right about things in life (38 percent versus 55 percent).
One of the most fascinating insights from the research is the increasing size of the no-faith segment with each successive generation. The proportion of atheists and agnostics increases from 6 percent of Elders (ages 61+) and 9 percent of Boomers (ages 42-60), to 14 percent of Busters (23-41) and 19 percent of adult Mosaics (18-22). When adjusted for age and compared to 15 years ago, each generation has changed surprisingly little over the past decade and a half.
Cool. Atheists and agnostics are richer and smarter than believers. But then Barna gets down to the nitty-gritty as regards us unbelievers: We are less likely than active-faith Americans to register to vote, but more likely to register as an independent or with a non-mainstream political party. We are less likely to volunteer for a not-church-related nonprofit, to describe ourselves as “active in the community” or to “personally help or serve a homeless or poor person.” But worse yet, atheists and agnostics donate a paltry $200 per year to charitable causes, whereas the typical active-faith American donated $1,500 in 2006.
Ouch! But at least my $200 isn’t going to support some big-haired shiny-suited slick-talking preacher. It’s going to support National Public Radio and the Sierra Club.
Barna noted that both believers and nonbelievers experience personal difficulties with similar frequency, including being in serious debt, dealing with a personal addiction and trying to find good friends. Christians are fatter though, while atheists and agnostics are more likely to feel stressed out — probably from fighting attempts to teach creationism in their kid’s school or display the Ten Commandments at the local courthouse.
There is one thing the 20 million nonbelievers and the 58 million true believers agree on, however, according to David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group:
“Ironically, however, both atheists and committed Christians share one unusual area of common ground: concern about superficial, inert forms of Christianity in America. There are nearly 130 million American adults who describe themselves as Christians, but who are Christian in name only; their behavior includes little related to experiencing and expressing their alleged faith in Christ.”
Sounds like a bunch of Pascal’s gambling buddies to me.
