...and I'll bet their parents as SO dissapointed in them.

I found this interesting article that says that, of people who are raised to not believe in a God, only about 30% maintain their "religion" (or should that be un-religion) into adulthood.

Did you know that Atheists have the lowest retention rate of any “religious” group? Some interesting Data from CARA

But take a special look at that number at the bottom of the pile, yes the very bottom. Atheists “retain” only thirty percent of their “flock.” To quote the CARA blog: And if you think it is challenging to be a Catholic parent, try being an Atheist parent! Some 70% of Americans raised to believe God does not exist end up being a member of a religion as an adult (about one in five former Atheists drift off to become an open-minded agnostic or None).

N.B this number reflects only those raised as Atheists. A large number of Atheists in this Country are “made” in the sense that they were raised to believe but now are Atheists. It remains to study how many of them remain atheists and for how long.

Why? I remember the venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen observing many years ago that “Atheism is acquired.” In other words, no one is born an atheist, and atheism is not natural to the human person. Even the most casual observer of the human scene must accept that belief in God, is a natural and ubiquitous human trait. It therefore makes sense that Atheism, while a phase many pass through, it not usually an enduring state. We are spiritual by nature and “wired” to see beyond the merely physical, to the metaphysical, beyond the merely material to the mystical.

I believe that all people possess a spiritual side that connects them to a part of this world that cannot be quantified by science.

To shift back into less technical terminology: you might say that we were “designed” by natural selection to feel love and awe and joy and fear. (So long as you understand that “designed” is a metaphor; natural selection isn’t like a human designer who consciously envisions the end product and then realizes it, but is rather a blind, dumb process of trial and error.)

But to say that these emotions are a product of “design” isn’t to say that when they’re activated by religion they’re working as “designed.”

Similarly, humans were “designed” by natural selection to be able to run and were also “designed” to feel competitive spirit, but that doesn’t mean they were “designed” to participate in track meets. Religion, like track, doesn’t seem to be an “adaptation.”

Both seem to be what the paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould called a “spandrel”—a phenomenon supported by genes that had become part of the species by doing something other than supporting that phenomenon. A spandrel is an incidental by-product of the organic “design” process, whereas an adaptation is a direct product. Religion seems to be a spandrel.

Originally posted by FortAnthem

...and I'll bet their parents as SO dissapointed in them.

I found this interesting article that says that, of people who are raised to not believe in a God, only about 30% maintain their "religion" (or should that be un-religion) into adulthood.

Did you know that Atheists have the lowest retention rate of any “religious” group? Some interesting Data from CARA

But take a special look at that number at the bottom of the pile, yes the very bottom. Atheists “retain” only thirty percent of their “flock.” To quote the CARA blog: And if you think it is challenging to be a Catholic parent, try being an Atheist parent! Some 70% of Americans raised to believe God does not exist end up being a member of a religion as an adult (about one in five former Atheists drift off to become an open-minded agnostic or None).

N.B this number reflects only those raised as Atheists. A large number of Atheists in this Country are “made” in the sense that they were raised to believe but now are Atheists. It remains to study how many of them remain atheists and for how long.

Arc hdiocese of Washington

The article claims that religion is the natural state of mankind and that it is unnatural for people to grow up not believing in a higher power.

Why? I remember the venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen observing many years ago that “Atheism is acquired.” In other words, no one is born an atheist, and atheism is not natural to the human person. Even the most casual observer of the human scene must accept that belief in God, is a natural and ubiquitous human trait. It therefore makes sense that Atheism, while a phase many pass through, it not usually an enduring state. We are spiritual by nature and “wired” to see beyond the merely physical, to the metaphysical, beyond the merely material to the mystical.

Here is a link to the original study.

I believe that all people possess a spiritual side that connects them to a part of this world that cannot be quantified by science. Whether this means there is a God or not, may be up to interpretation but, I believe it is unnatural for people to go about believing that only purely natural, mechanistic forces shaped the world around us while dismissing evidence for another, spititual plane.

Originally posted by FortAnthem

...and I'll bet their parents as SO dissapointed in them.

I found this interesting article that says that, of people who are raised to not believe in a God, only about 30% maintain their "religion" (or should that be un-religion) into adulthood.

Did you know that Atheists have the lowest retention rate of any “religious” group? Some interesting Data from CARA

But take a special look at that number at the bottom of the pile, yes the very bottom. Atheists “retain” only thirty percent of their “flock.” To quote the CARA blog: And if you think it is challenging to be a Catholic parent, try being an Atheist parent! Some 70% of Americans raised to believe God does not exist end up being a member of a religion as an adult (about one in five former Atheists drift off to become an open-minded agnostic or None).

N.B this number reflects only those raised as Atheists. A large number of Atheists in this Country are “made” in the sense that they were raised to believe but now are Atheists. It remains to study how many of them remain atheists and for how long.

Arc hdiocese of Washington

The article claims that religion is the natural state of mankind and that it is unnatural for people to grow up not believing in a higher power.

Why? I remember the venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen observing many years ago that “Atheism is acquired.” In other words, no one is born an atheist, and atheism is not natural to the human person. Even the most casual observer of the human scene must accept that belief in God, is a natural and ubiquitous human trait. It therefore makes sense that Atheism, while a phase many pass through, it not usually an enduring state. We are spiritual by nature and “wired” to see beyond the merely physical, to the metaphysical, beyond the merely material to the mystical.

Here is a link to the original study.

I believe that all people possess a spiritual side that connects them to a part of this world that cannot be quantified by science. Whether this means there is a God or not, may be up to interpretation but, I believe it is unnatural for people to go about believing that only purely natural, mechanistic forces shaped the world around us while dismissing evidence for another, spititual plane.

Originally posted by NOTurTypical
reply to post by FortAnthem

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You should see what happens on the battlefield when death is rapidly approaching.

Originally posted by NOTurTypical

Originally posted by BrianDamage
The fact that the survey was done by a religious organisation spaeks volumes.

Circumstantial Ad Hominem fallacy.

Here.

Originally posted by FortAnthem

...and I'll bet their parents as SO dissapointed in them.

I found this interesting article that says that, of people who are raised to not believe in a God, only about 30% maintain their "religion" (or should that be un-religion) into adulthood.

Did you know that Atheists have the lowest retention rate of any “religious” group? Some interesting Data from CARA

But take a special look at that number at the bottom of the pile, yes the very bottom. Atheists “retain” only thirty percent of their “flock.” To quote the CARA blog: And if you think it is challenging to be a Catholic parent, try being an Atheist parent! Some 70% of Americans raised to believe God does not exist end up being a member of a religion as an adult (about one in five former Atheists drift off to become an open-minded agnostic or None).

N.B this number reflects only those raised as Atheists. A large number of Atheists in this Country are “made” in the sense that they were raised to believe but now are Atheists. It remains to study how many of them remain atheists and for how long.

Arc hdiocese of Washington

The article claims that religion is the natural state of mankind and that it is unnatural for people to grow up not believing in a higher power.

Why? I remember the venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen observing many years ago that “Atheism is acquired.” In other words, no one is born an atheist, and atheism is not natural to the human person. Even the most casual observer of the human scene must accept that belief in God, is a natural and ubiquitous human trait. It therefore makes sense that Atheism, while a phase many pass through, it not usually an enduring state. We are spiritual by nature and “wired” to see beyond the merely physical, to the metaphysical, beyond the merely material to the mystical.

Here is a link to the original study.

I believe that all people possess a spiritual side that connects them to a part of this world that cannot be quantified by science. Whether this means there is a God or not, may be up to interpretation but, I believe it is unnatural for people to go about believing that only purely natural, mechanistic forces shaped the world around us while dismissing evidence for another, spititual plane.

Originally posted by BrianDamage

Originally posted by NOTurTypical

Originally posted by BrianDamage
The fact that the survey was done by a religious organisation spaeks volumes.

Circumstantial Ad Hominem fallacy.

Here.

Yeah, because they couldn't possibly have their own agenda.

Originally posted by BrianDamage

Originally posted by NOTurTypical

Originally posted by BrianDamage
The fact that the survey was done by a religious organisation spaeks volumes.

Circumstantial Ad Hominem fallacy.

Here.

Yeah, because they couldn't possibly have their own agenda.

Originally posted by TheSubversiveOne

Originally posted by NOTurTypical
reply to post by FortAnthem

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You should see what happens on the battlefield when death is rapidly approaching.

How have you made this conclusion?