Friday, July 17, 2009

Understanding Atheism May Break Down Prejudices

Studies have shown atheists are less likely to be criminals and less likely to get divorced than theists. Countries with lots of atheists are strongly correlated with low murder rates, low poverty rates, low infant mortality rates, low illiteracy rates, high per capita income and high levels of gender equality. The more educated you are, the more likely you are to be an atheist. Atheists contribute more to charity than theists do.

Despite all of these positive qualities, atheists are more distrusted than virtually any other minority. Roughly three-quarters of the population wouldn't vote for an atheist, half views us unfavourably and one-quarter of the population believes that we are inherently immoral. As I've demonstrated briefly above, there doesn't appear to be any evidence to support this dim view, so I have to hope this is caused by a simple lack of understanding as to what atheism is.

More...

See also:

The comfort of your convictions

The folly of pretence

Ranks Of Atheists Grow, Get Organized