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Weekender:Youth
Atheists are out of luck
Date published: 5/23/2006
In last week's issue of MyLine, columnist Stephen Dause talked about how we are still not in the "golden age of atheism." He couldn't be more right. However, there are some extremely unsettling facts that correspond with his statement. As has probably been noted, I am not one to sit idly by and watch my First Amendment rights be stripped from me. The one I hold most dear is the freedom of Freedom of religion does not just mean the freedom to worship any god (or goddess) that you chose, but also the freedom not to worship at all. In a recent, disturbing study done by the Sociology Department at the University of Minnesota, researchers found that though Americans may have come to accept most religions, the majority of people still can't accept atheism. The study was conducted by telephoning more than 2,000 households. The telephoners would ask if participants would let their children marry certain minority groups, and the researchers would record the answers. Out of Muslims, gays and lesbians, recent immigrants and other minority groups, atheists were ranked lowest. And why is this? Because the majority of Americans feel far more comfortable with someone who has a set of beliefs based in a higher being than with someone who doesn't. As one student, quoted in a Minnesotan newspaper, said, "It's a sad state of affairs." Not believing in a higher being has nothing to do with one's moral standards. From a personal standpoint, I know my "nonreligious" morals are just as strong as the most devout Christian or Muslim. The only difference is that I judge what's right and wrong based on my own universal truths, rather than ones that are written down for me. To paraphrase Immanuel Kant, morality is not logically connected to religion. This can easily be proven by the religious man who is not moral (he lies, cheats, steals, murders, etc.) or, in my case, the moral woman who does not lie, cheat, steal, murder, etc., yet is not religious.
Date published: 5/23/2006
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