Question:
Are atheists in general; trustworthy? A 2006 U of M study finds out! (source provided)?
Crazyworld
2011-09-08 04:29:13 UTC
A U of M study finds most people do not trust atheists
During the study, phone interviews found that, "The telephone sampling of 2,081 households nationwide also found that atheists are the minority group most Americans least want their children to marry."
The article also states that, followup interviews in 2004 found that many people "believe atheists have no sense of community and promote cultural elitism and the almighty dollar,"
To be clear, This is not a reflection of my beliefs. It is the result of the study performed by U of M and I am not making the claim that this applies to ALL atheists!

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/edgell/home/Strib%20Atheist%20Faith%20and%20Values.html
28 answers:
Mike B
2011-09-08 04:55:45 UTC
The study was conducted by the American Mosaic Project, a group attached to the sociology deptanrtment of the University of Minnesota, and funded by the David Edelstein Family Foundation.



There is very little I can find about this last oragnisation, strange in that most research organisations tend to heavily publicise there agendas, if only to raise their profiles for funding purposes, and even the most excessive christian fundie groups have web presense, so to find an organisation that does not seem to court web publicity is strange.



To quote any survey and to understand the results one should be aware of where and when the results were collected, it is easy to take the random element away from a survey, you simply have to know a little about the demographics of the population and target those areas here you are going to get the results you want.



For example, target the state of Utah, the chances are that you will hit upon a large number of Mormons, your survey is still random, but it is skewed by the population you have sought answers from.



Anotherway to put this, if I decide I want to do a survey on how trusted gays are in the UK, I could target Brighton on the south coast, this has a dispropotionately large gay population, so even from telephoning random numbers, I am going to get a deisproportionate amount of gays and therefore be able to claim a higher percentage, where as if I were to target the Yorkshire town of Barnsley, I could very well get a different result.



It is also about how the questions were asked and how they were answered and then how they were presented, this can really influence the answers to the point that it makes the survey pointless, a simple example, a survey was conducted into drug use at a UK school, one of the questions was on cocaine use, out of 500 pupils, one admitted cocaine use, when the survey was completed again a year later, two claimed cocaine use, one of our more vociferous tabloids ran with the headline, 'cocaine use doubles in secondary school in a year'. Technically correct but up from one to two is not a story.



What I am getting at here is simple, if someone claims a survey has said something, I want to read the survey, I want to know the funding of that survey, I want to know the questions, and I really want to know about the organisations involved, as much of this can tell me more about the results they have than the results themselves.



The analogy drawn about the KKK to my mind is correct, until you know all the facts oine can only asume that any survey is loaded in favour of the funders.



Edit:



The fact that you have chosen to go into a rant as soon as people challenge you shows that even you are not sure of the validity of both your own question and the development of the survey you claim results from, maybe you need to check the validity of your sources before you post in future, or take the chance that everyone theists and atheists alike will simply think your a bit of a d!ck!
Lighting the Way to Reality
2011-09-08 04:41:11 UTC
You did a bait and switch!



You asked if atheists ARE trustworthy. That is not the same as people not believing they are trustworthy.



Added



Most of the respondents to the survey were Christians and very likely did not even personally know any atheists. Their conclusions about atheists were based on their own religious prejudices and to repeated fulminations from the pulpit and their religious books that atheists are the spawn of Satan.



So how does that prove anything about the actual character and trustworthiness of atheists?



I could use your posting to prove that Christians are not trustworthy because they resort to misrepresentations when trying to prove something.



Added



"TO THE ATHEIST A LIE IS NOT MORALLY WRONG!"



You have just proved what I said! Opinions by prejudiced people prove only that they are prejudiced!



Added



"STOP THE AD HOMINEM"



Look who's talking! You are attacking a class of people solely because they do not believe as you do.
mike s
2011-09-08 04:44:29 UTC
1 - that's from 2006

2 - they polled people in one place and not countrywide.

3 - we don't know how they worded the question or even if they knew what an atheist was - or how they described it. for example, do you trust an atheist? or would you trust someone that doesn't believe in god??? then they reword it.



here is the facts - we are spreading out faster then any other religion on the planet. you can't recognize us until we tell you to your face. you have no idea what is our motive unless you actually trust the church to tell you. most things you love and buy, the planes that fly in the sky, the computer in your house, the inventions that you use every day - ATHEISTS made those things for you.
Random Panther
2011-09-08 04:37:01 UTC
There is a colossal difference between trustworthy and trusted by American Christians.(one of the most paranoid nations on the planet)



Your study reflects the prejudice of the religious community towards atheists and not the trustworthiness of atheists.



''The telephone sampling of 2,081 households nationwide'' in a nation of predominantly Christians is hardly an accurate representation ''of the views of all different heritages and beliefs''.



Listen shouty,you were shown to be wrong and as a result have resorted to screaming baseless assertions born of ignorance and prejudice. eg. ''TO THE ATHEIST A LIE IS NOT MORALLY WRONG...'',that's your fantasy and doesn't reflect reality.



The only one guilty of ad hominem here is your good self.
2011-09-08 05:29:12 UTC
I think you put up a Q about relativity? So according to their own guidelines,

immensely. And as long as they don't bother others, no one will get hurt...

usually. But it is a unique position...a position of 'one'. And it will be an

'I'm right, ***everyone else' at some level. Whether it is cognizant, won't

be clear, maybe not to them, either.

We all have fear. Christians learn to fear God, but atheists will have plenty

of fears. It will possibly be about money, a job, relationships, or getting

ahead in this economy. That fear will isolate them. Christians are taught

to learn how to love, but atheists are not under any of those teachings.

What teachings then? Me first. And, 'I do it unto me'. None of us has

all the answers, but many atheists will think they know enough that

they don't need anyone. And they may not...seem to, either.

Now, they may be trustworthy to a certain family member, so

very close group, not in the sense of caring(although that may be there)

but in the sense of exclusivity without the group.
charcinders
2011-09-08 04:59:51 UTC
The answer to the only question in your post is yes, generally they are.



A survey of 2,000 randomly chosen Americans is also going to throw up a significant proportion who:

- think the Earth is less than 10,000 years old

- think the Moon landings were faked

- think 9/11 was planned in the US or Israel



It proves nothing apart from the state of US public opinion. They should have asked "How many atheists do you personally know?"



Extract from the original study, which you did not provide a link to:

"We believe that in answering our questions about atheists, our survey respondents were not, on the whole, referring to actual atheists they had encountered, but were responding to “the atheist” as a boundary-marking cultural category."



Edit:

"TO THE ATHEIST A LIE IS NOT MORALLY WRONG!"



Actually that's a lie, so by your standards and mine, morally wrong.
2011-09-09 12:22:34 UTC
I notice they did not include this question : From where, what or whom do you base your perceptions of Atheists from?



A. Personal Experience

B. From Mommy and Daddy

C. From the Pastor at Church

D. From the Bible



If that had been asked I highly suspect that out of 2000 people less than 10 people would cite A. The other 1990 would have cited B-D.



If christians were not constantly lying like the devil about Atheists, constantly spreading false propaganda about Atheists, the perception cited for this study would not exist.
?
2011-09-08 07:42:38 UTC
"are atheists untrustworthy" "most people do not trust atheists" hmmmm if people don't trust atheists simply because they are atheists, then they must be untrustworthy right? you're making the wrong connections. i'm sure back in the 1800's a lot of blacks were "untrustworthy" as well. it's a matter of ignorance and the lack of understanding not that atheists are actually untrustworthy. i'm a pretty trustworthy person so is my atheist fiance. we always make promises to each other and always keep them.
2011-09-08 04:41:38 UTC
Most people can't even spell atheist and think that "Athiesm" is some type of religion that worships Satan. Statistic are statistically wrong. The whole study was probably flawed & biased.



One class above any other, you can always easily identify someone who has never taken a statistics course (or failed it).
Robin
2011-09-08 04:32:54 UTC
A sample of only 2000 isn't much of a sample to use to determine if ALL people feel that way.



You are making the claim that this means ALL people don't trust atheists. Which his complete hogwash. The funny thing about the "have no sense of community" - I see Christians all the time running people out of their communities because of differences. "promote cultural elitism" - um "this is a Christian Nation" isn't cultural elitism????? And the almight dollar "In God We Trust"..... hhhmmmm Yep, I can apply this to Christianity too. And I'm betting I can find 2000 people who will claim they don't trust Evangelicals...
2011-09-08 04:37:06 UTC
Being trustworthy and being trusted are two different things. The only thing that study demonstrates is that irrational bigotry is alive and well in 21st century America.



RESPONSE: I'm sorry I wasted my time on this question since it is clear to me now that you are completely full of **** and way, WAY too impressed with yourself.
anon
2011-09-09 13:04:14 UTC
im sure if you got a bunch of christians or something, the majority of them would lie. not everyone as a whole is trustworthy. 3/4 people would lie in certain situations. getting a bunch of people from a certain faith wont really change those statistics, its just putting a label on that certain religion.
?
2011-09-08 04:31:48 UTC
Put simply (which I think is necessary for you to understand) -

Atheists are more trustworthy than theists, theists routinely lie to children, and anyone else who'll listen.
2011-09-08 04:36:55 UTC
Do you really think that justifies the countless wars you've started over who has the best imaginary friend? Even if all of that was true, it only makes you look like an idiot. Good job on your part for revealing hypocrisy.
Slickterp
2011-09-09 13:09:19 UTC
They didn't first ask if those people even KNEW any atheists. It' sliek asking someone who doesn't know any French people who is most likely to surrender.
The Lord of Misrule
2011-09-08 04:31:07 UTC
Try taking the poll in my country.



The U of M poll, if I remember correctly, was made on behalf of a religious group and contained questions obviously loaded in favour of religious belief.



EDIT



OK, found it. The two questions asked were



"Now I want to read you a list of different groups of people who live in this country. For each one, please tell me how much you think people in this group agree with YOUR vision of American society –almost completely, mostly, somewhat or not at all?"



Atheist: 39.6%

Muslims: 26.3%

Homosexuals: 22.6%

Hispanics: 20%

Conservative Christians: 13.5%

Recent Immigrants: 12.5%

Jews: 7.6%



"People can feel differently about their children marrying people from various backgrounds. Suppose your son or daughter wanted to marry [a person in given category]. Would you approve of this choice, disapprove of it, or wouldn’t it make any difference at all one way or the other?”



Atheist: 47.6%

Muslim: 33.5%

African-American 27.2%

Asian-Americans: 18.5%

Hispanics: 18.5%

Jews: 11.8%

Conservative Christians: 6.9%

Whites: 2.3%



Sort of presupposes that the respondent would be your average American christian, doesn't it? And how it leads to the assumption that "atheists have no sense of community" I don't know.



EDIT 2



You provided a link to comments on the poll. The negative comments were made by Penny Edgell the leader of the study we no apparent evidence to back them up. She shares the same christian attitude as you.



The original results are here



http://www.soc.umn.edu/~hartmann/files/atheist%20as%20the%20other.pdf



EDIT 3



The survey was specifically worded to determine the attitude of white, christian Americans towards atheists in a rather limited way. Try surveying atheists on how they feel about religion.



EDIT 4



I'm glad to see you know what an Ad Hominem attack is



"NEEDS ADJUSTMENT IS YOUR REPRESENTATIVE THAT YOU SUPPORT BY GIVING THUMBS UP TO, WHEN YOU HAVE BEEN TOO LAZY TO NOTICE HE HAS BEEN PROVEN A LIAR IN HIS EFFORTS TO PROVE HE IS TRUSTWORTHY"
tentofield
2011-09-08 04:34:30 UTC
I can think of many atheists I would trust with my life. Unfortunately I can't say the same about religious people.
Squidmaster
2011-09-08 04:31:39 UTC
I personally find Atheists more trustworthy than the religious.

Saying people don't trust them is not the same as saying people shouldn't trust them.
Broton
2011-09-08 04:35:45 UTC
You didn't specify which nation, so I'm assuming it was some backward country that's still quite religious?
2011-09-08 04:39:16 UTC
Being trustworthy =/= being perceived as trustworthy by ignorant American Christian yokels
Nosher Clark
2011-09-08 04:31:10 UTC
I'd rather trust an atheist than some clown who sits in a church talking to his imaginary friend.
The Great Green Arkleseizure
2011-09-08 04:49:34 UTC
Yeah, because their Pastor told them so - after saying "trust me" with a wink as he took their savings into his collection plate and went out back to molest their offspring!
2011-09-08 04:30:39 UTC
That's not the same as saying that atheists are untrustworthy - it just shows that bigots think we are. It's like asking the KKK's opinion on black guys.
Dovahkiin
2011-09-08 04:33:05 UTC
Bullshit.

Just because we don't believe in any god means that we can't be trusted? That's petty.

Religion can't be trusted.
2011-09-08 04:31:51 UTC
Because "most people" believe in an invisible sky primate does not make it true
Donna
2011-09-08 04:31:46 UTC
They can believe what they want, like anything else, it does not make it true.
2011-09-08 04:47:02 UTC
what is the question?





and when a person resorts to SHOUTING....they have already lost the battle.
I'm Only ¾ Insane
2011-09-08 04:42:33 UTC
Atheism is a religion, not a judgment of character.


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