Types of Atheists (Psychology of Atheism Part 1)

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Psychology of Atheism Series:
Part 1: • Types of Atheists (Psy...
Part 2: • Is There An Atheist Pe...
Part 3: • Are Atheists Immoral, ...
Full PhD thesis:
wrap.warwick.ac...
(Book version has sold out)
Peer-Reviewed Journal Article:
Baker, Matthew J. (2015) Psychological type differences between churchgoers and church-leavers, Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 18:7, 622-634
www.tandfonlin...
International Personality Item Pool:
ipip.ori.org/
CREDITS:
Charts & Narration by Matt Baker
Animation by Syawish Rehman
Audio editing by Ali Shahwaiz
Theme music: "Lord of the Land" by Kevin MacLeod and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution license 4.0. Available from incompetech.com

[@UsefulCharts]

Thank you to Wondrium for sponsoring today's video! Signup for your FREE trial to Wondrium here: ow.ly/xbS450L1iCq

[@eyeofthepyramid2596]

15 hrs ago, this confirms super natural force is real.

[@boymeetsdrake6438]

id like to add that most believers are true negative believers and have no clue if what they believe actaully makes sense. this is because most religions use blind faith and non of them actaully make sense if you delve into them unlike something like math where you delve into it and it all makes sense it is all real religions though contradict themselves time and time again, they also change and sure math changes but the religions fundamently change and the religion is always preaching about how it currently is all knowing while math doesnt state its complete that it is all knowing maybe eventually but theres still things to discover about math or physics or other sciences and religion has only new made up stuff to add nothing real nothing tested just a bunch of small changes that people think is right when the original could be taken in many different ways and we are only left with a bunch of different interpertations no religions are the original of even themselves they have all changed way past what they started as and to believe in them would be insane. thank you. if you actaully study something like the bible or you study a religion you will end up lieing to yourself or end up being an athiest just saying but true athiests the ones that are negative and have thought about religion for real are in a lot of ways smarter then everyone in religion who still lies to themselves that god is real :|

[@WeMayBeFarApart]

You wrote a PhD thesis based on a "personality theory" that is widely regarded by professional psychologists as 1920s quackery?

[@UsefulCharts]

@@WeMayBeFarApart I will address that concern in part 2.

[@RickDelmonico]

I don't believe in atheists. I don't think they exist. I am neither realist nor idealist, I am a real enoughist.

[@scottbutler5]

Speaking as an atheist, this is one of the most correct descriptions of what atheism is and what it isn't that I've seen. Thank you for that.

[@theresurrection33]

Haha burn in hell

[@josephguillerey4391]

Amazing what we can achieve when we're not at each other's throat, which is unfortunately often the case, for both theists and atheists. I think a theology discution between Matt and someone like genetically modified skeptic would be amazing. we'd all get a lot of knowledge we didn't have before.

[@Reichsritter]

Being Godforsaken is not good

[@josephguillerey4391]

@@Reichsritter how is it godforsaken when you don't believe in it? are you Jupiterforsaken? what about Odinforsaken?

[@Reichsritter]

@@josephguillerey4391 no

[@mxlexrd]

I'm sure you have already considered this, but a potential problem I notice is the issue of how representative your survey is. If your survey went viral on atheism discussion forums, responses will overrepresent the kind of atheist who is really interested in the atheism/theism debate, whereas the vast majority of atheists (even if they have considered the issue in the past), go about their day without giving the subject a second thought.

[@roidrannoc1691]

Yes, and most atheists are not humanists (atleast I don't think so), many atheists still believe in things like life after death, spiritual energies, the power of rocks, astology... AS you said the sample he got is not representative

[@Andjac2010]

I'm almost certain this is something he and his supervisors would have been aware of and would have discussed in the chapter about methodology.

[@Catfive1975]

Plus, he stated that he was interested in Explicit Atheists - which are those that have considered their position. This is likely true of most of those participating in Atheist discussion/debate forums so that would be capturing the exact people being sought. It's also worthwhile stopping for a moment and remembering that these conclusions are about Explicit Atheists and would not necessarily hold true of Implicit Atheists.

[@roidrannoc1691]

@@Catfive1975 Most explicit atheists won't talk about their lack of faith in public. Those who will are militant explicit atheists, often humanists and skeptics.

[@bryanjackson8917]

What Matt Baker conducted was known as a convenience survey, as opposed to a probability survey typically used in opinion surveys. Note that in the brief display of his survey results (toward the end of the video) he did not report any margin of errors or plus/minus numbers, which must always be reported for probability surveys but cannot be reported in convenience surveys. Note: I did notice that he had some "p" numbers at the bottom (e.g., p < .05, p < .01, etc.) but I'm not quite sure what those numbers were were in relation to but they definitely weren't margin of errors. What this means is that, while of some interest and value, the results and findings of his survey cannot be applied to the atheist community at large. IOW, one can only say that such-and-such percentage of the survey respondents held such-and-such belief, not that any certain percentage of all atheists (or theists) in the general population hold that belief. However, that being said, a most interesting and informative presentation.

[@oremfrien]

As a Dualist Atheist, it's really nice to see someone who acknowledges (1) that Atheism is not a Worldview, BUT most Atheists share a worldview and (2) that this worldview can and should be critiqued.

[@MrI3inford]

What an awesome and sober disambiguation. This is a difficult topic which rarely receives this level of unbiased analysis. Great job. This is a video I will save and show many times in the future just to make sure people understand the underlying concept when using a particular term. Thanks

[@mullac1992]

As an atheist, I'm very interested in this series! Many "theories of Atheism" are either by people trying to "disprove" Atheism, or Atheists themselves who are just self-important. I trust you to be able to explore this subject with respect and empiricism!

[@philipeflop9943]

I love the term ‘disprove atheism’ which I’ve heard a lot, if you think about it, it makes no sense. How can you disprove that someone doesn’t believe in a god(s)

[@mullac1992]

​@@philipeflop9943 Well you could say that's just a modern version of the word "apologism". Few people in history were literally atheists, so what apologists were trying to do was justify their own beliefs *about* God - this could be the Christians arguing with Muslims, Muslims with Buddhists, Jews with whoever etc. The thing about apologism was that everyone in the argument tended to assume that god(s) really *did* exist - they were arguing over *how* god existed. Only recently that actual Atheism has become an actual identity that people actually hold, has apologism shifted from justifying one's own beliefs, to trying to "disprove" others' non-belief. None-the-less, such "atheism disprovers" still use the same arguments as apologists. The problem is that the frame of the argument has changed - now all their arguments about "how" god exists are useless in the face of "whether" god exists. And they're often very angry about it.

[@joyfulgirl91]

@@philipeflop9943 mostly bad faith arguments about how atheists are too rebellious, bitter, or ashamed to admit they believe in a god

[@philipeflop9943]

@@mullac1992 a good point, in my experience theists tend to get angry because you can’t argue with logic and reason, so it’s borne out of frustration. Personally I have no qualms with anybody believing in whatever they like as long as it doesn’t cause harm to anyone else ✌️

[@mullac1992]

@@philipeflop9943 Oh yeah I'm not saying believing in God is bad at all - it's a very good way to give comfort, meaning, and direction to life. However, for those who are so invested in their beliefs that they feel the need to shut others down, I'm just explaining where their arguments come from.

[@enzoaraya4796]

It just makes me so happy to see a religious person such as yourself actually attempt to understand us, nowadays it feels like no one wants to.

[@farpointgamingdirect]

We will happily discuss the topic with those of you who choose to be atheist without bashing religion. While no longer belonging to any particular faith, I still believe in God, but at the same time I can respect your beliefs (or disbelief as the case may be)

[@altitudeiseverything3163]

@@farpointgamingdirectWhile I have no particular desire to get into a heated debate with a theist over religion, I do object to the idea that any criticism of religion, or religious ideology is taboo. Someone else may criticize my political ideology, even my rejection of religion, but, oooh…. if I utter the slightest criticism of religion, *that* is beyond the pale. *Why?* Humanity progresses through an honest exchange of ideas and viewpoints, and by subjecting long-held beliefs -political, scientific, sociological, philosophical- *to scrutiny.* If those ideas fail to hold up to scrutiny, then perhaps they *need* to be reconsidered. And a thoughtful, compassionate person can present such an argument without condescension or ridicule of those holding the belief that they’re challenging. I can respect *you* and still think that your beliefs are unfounded, illogical, even silly. And FYI: many people don’t *choose* to be atheists, they simply *are.* I didn’t *choose* to not believe in forest elves, either, I simply never saw any reason *to* believe in them. If at some point in the future I see compelling evidence of the existence of god(s), or forest elves, then I’ll change my mind. If I really *tried* to believe [in fact, I *have* tried], I would still be unable to. Belief without evidence is something I simply can’t understand.

[@alandavies55]

@@altitudeiseverything3163 The debate has been messed up by militants on both sides of the divide. As a non stipendiary Priest, open to debate, I can assure you that I find Christian bigots every bit as irritating as Atheist ones.

[@landsgevaer]

I'm from (NW) Europe, and the OPs comment feels so alien to me. Here atheism is more or less the norm. (Well, not in a normative way necessarily, but it is the most common position, I mean).

[@major7thsharp11]

@@farpointgamingdirect I'm not interested in demeaning or bashing anyone's religious beliefs. But "religion" is not so much a self-contained social concept as it is an interconnected machinery of social dependencies, e.g. religious doctrine, religious organizations, laypeople, religious culture, etc. For this reason, I the idea of "bashing religion" is a bit of linguistic confusion. People who criticize religion are in most cases criticizing one of those things, so a precondition for a productive conversation would be that the interlocutor is also aware of this. Unfortunately, many are not.

[@anthonyburke5656]

I was staying in a hotel in Istanbul (love that city). I’m an elderly Caucasian male. At breakfast I met these 2 little boys and their sister, they were nice kids, polite and well mannered. I later met their Mother who explained her Husband had passed and They lived in the US, but the Mother was originally Syrian and was in Istanbul trying to get into contact with her family in the middle of the war in Syria. After meeting at breakfast for some days, bumping into each other at the pool and meeting at the roof top restaurant, the Mother and I drifted into talking about religion after I visited the Blue Mosque, she was a Moslem, she assumed I was a Christian, I told her I wasn’t, she then inquired what my religion was, I told her I had no religion and no belief in any Supreme Being or God. The Mother was nonplussed, she couldn’t comprehend a person without religion. I remained in the hotel for another 10 days, I was visiting museums and sites as well as shopping, the Mother was trying to contact family. Each day the Mother would approach me to discuss the question of the existence of God, she literally could not comprehend a world without a God. The good thing is I taught the children to swim and gained a bit of fitness, while the Mother seemed almost intrigued (she didn’t swim and didn’t even paddle her feet) in the ongoing discussion and kept coming up with “proofs” of the existence of God and “demanded” I refute (which I did). We exchanged contact details, but as she never contacted me I never contacted her after I left. I sometimes wonder how those children are going.

[@YogiMcCaw]

Fabulous story!

[@marioluigi9599]

Well she was probably shy because it isn't usual for a Muslim woman to talk to strange men, especially atheists. So why don't you stop being wimpy and ASK HER how the kids are. "Hey, I wonder if you remember me. I'm the atheist guy from Istanbul. I taught your kids how to swim. We had a lot of enjoyable arguments about God together. I was just thinking about that time and honestly, I'm sorry we never spoke again. I was wondering how are you guys? Is everything going okay? How are the kids? I hope they didn't forget their swimming skills 😀😁"

[@wanderingrandomer]

I am an atheist, and have been basically most of my life. I went to a methodist church for years as a kid, as well as Sunday school, but religion never sat right with me. An interesting moment I'll never forget was when I implied to a friend that I thought there was nothing after death. The response I got was of shock and disbelief, something I didn't expect at all. I was not aware they were religious, so it wasn't like I was smugly pressing the matter or anything, it just happened to come up in conversation. I generally greatly dislike confrontation, and I hate debates, so I don't go around announcing my atheism. In fact, my aunt and uncle are born again Christians who are rather adamant about their beliefs, and I get quite uncomfortable when the topic comes up. I reckon I'm more on the side of "I've thought a lot about the topic, and have concluded that there's no god"

[@MrAaaaazzzzz00009999]

Too bad

[@wanderingrandomer]

@@MrAaaaazzzzz00009999 Well, ok then

[@MrAaaaazzzzz00009999]

@@wanderingrandomer 🤓

[@zacharygregson5883]

I really relate to that. My whole extended family is Old Apostolic Lutheran. Growing up I was never able to play sports or watch TV since it is a "sin". I totally agree and understand with you how prideful, religious family members can be.

[@reecelongden3500]

I can relate too. I'm also an Atheist of the "I've thought a lot about the topic, and have concluded that there is no god" type, though I do take it one step further in that I'm also the "I've studied every religion I can find, and no god I've learned about is worthy of worship even were they to be real" type. My aunt, with whom I get along very well, is an Anglican minister. There have been some very interesting discussions over dinner, but there have also been some rather heated arguments after a few drinks.

[@invictus99]

Atheism is a default state of mind. Religion as the author of the video correctly noted is a product of upbringing. So the right question is why people believe in supernatural phenomena rather than why they don't.

[@save_sudan_and_palestine]

Tell me, Where's the mind in your body?

[@hecticfunentertainment9373]

Your statement is contradictory. People don't automatically need to know how the world works or needs to know ho w to talk. so what is the point of education?

[@mjc8281]

As an Atheist, thank you... one of that frustrates me is as a "Negative Atheist" having to defend my position against people that assume I am a "Positive Atheist" and when I say I'm not think that they have won some kind of victory. The way I see it is I am as far from being a positive atheist as I am from being a fundamentalist believer.... And while I think you can pretty easily discount most religions, something everyone of us does to reach the one most people follow(if they follow one at all). proving there is no higher being suffers from the same issues as proving there is to me with the added problem that every single religion could be wrong and there could still be a higher being.

[@solido888]

Fortunately, the burden of proof is not on the atheist, as proving a negative is not how reason and logic works.

[@skp8748]

​@@solido888yea it is.

[@solido888]

@@skp8748 no. The theist claims god exists. The burden of proof is on the theist.

[@zinja0830]

I’m glad that you are putting your dissertation in good use by breaking it down for a broader audience! I have an unrelated degree, but always knew I wanted to use what I learned to share it with folks who may not have a similar educational background.

[@MythVisionPodcast]

This was a fantastic video! I look forward to the follow up ones.

[@PokrRat777]

As a lifelong atheist, I really have to commend your work. It is clear that you are genuinely trying to understand the position, rather than slapping on a generic label as many theists do. I really admire your objectivity and I will be sharing this video with my theist friends. Thank you for your research. The one qualm I have is that you mentioned that in debates, atheists usually adopt the negative position, while theists are forced to defend their belief, and that perhaps atheists should have to defend their positive worldview. I don't agree with this stance. As an atheist, when I challenge the existence of God, I am never implying that someone should adopt my worldview. I am simply arguing that a belief in a God or Gods is not justified or convincing. I do this because theists are making a very powerful claim about our existence and the way people should live their lives. They often try to shape public policy and restrict our freedoms to conform to a religious worldview. For this reasons, I think the burden belongs squarely on their shoulders to prove their claim about the existence of God(s).

[@VerifyTheTruth]

One Of The Main Problems With Placing The Entire Burden Of Proof Upon A Theist To Defend Their Observational And Evidential Interpretations Of Reality, As Concerns The Supernatural Existence Of A Creator, Is That Most Of The Matterial Methodologies And Expositional Frameworks Which Are Generally Presented As Modern Scientific Standards Are Themselves, In Practical Operations And Applications, Intrinsically Biased Towards A Particularly Matterialistic Philosophy; And Though Truly Finding Themselves Immersed In A Similar Logical Paradox, Unable To Meet At The Same Bar That They Themselves Have Set For Science, Athiests Often Cite These Fallacious Falsifications As Foundational To Their Presumedly Scientific Philosophies. Most Atheists That I Have Spoken With Either Already Know This Or Disregard It As Irrelevant To A Scholarly Discussion. By All Reasonable Definitions And Logical Accounts, This Universe Is Of Supernatural Origins; By All Observable And Testable Matterialistic Standards, This Miraculous Reality Should Not Even Exist.

[@Turtledove2009]

I don't care if they want to believe or if they want to prove their claim. I just want them to leave religion out of politics.

[@VerifyTheTruth]

@@Turtledove2009 Having A Legitimate Seperation Of Church And State Is Not The Same As Removing Any Mention Of Religion Or Deity From Politics And Civil Society. *Though I Can Agree That There Are And Should Be Basic Rights, Respects, And Honors Afforded To And Requisite Of Each In Their Public Practice, Whether Secular Or Religious.

[@VerifyTheTruth]

@@Turtledove2009 What Is Your Opinion About The Names Of Calendar Months And The Days Of The Week? Periodic Table Of Elements? Solar System? Birth Names? Holidays?

[@Turtledove2009]

@@VerifyTheTruth No opinion at all Some of the names are beautiful and honour our history and and traditions and the measure of the progress of knowledge. Some of the names are very creative. Celebrating religious traditions is also very beautiful as is the architecture of churches and mosques. Science is also very beautiful. I just draw the line at politics.

[@atbing2425]

Great video. As an atheist myself, I was worried that you might misrepresent us. But your analysis seems to match my understanding. Good job, very respectful. These things seem basic to me, but it's stuff we sometimes have to keep on repeating in debates. I really like what Dawkins said (it's not an actual good definition of course, it's for you to get the picture): in the western world, an "atheist" is someone who sees Yahwe the same way everyone sees Zeus or Odin.

[@thunderwolfaz]

I once had a roommate/friend who was an explicit atheist who was quite in your face about it. She sat myself, and another friend down to watch a documentary about the Bible Belt (she told us that she just wanted to show us 10 minutes of it, but that turned into the whole 90mins), and would say that she doesn't understand how her mom could be religious, as her mom was very sensible. She said this to me while she knew that I was working on getting confirmed in the Catholic Church. So, thanks for the backhanded insult. I never once tried to argue against her, as I did understand that each person had their own faith. However, she spent a lot of time trying to subtly get me to "question" my faith. Eventually, I told her that she was the most religious person I've ever met. She looked very surprised and confused, no doubt wondering what drugs I took. I further explained that I'm defining religious as any type of belief in any type of God/higher being. Her explicit atheism was a belief in a God, specifically that one does not exist. Thus, she is religious. She didn't have a rebuttal. Not sure why. Could be that she just didn't have anything to argue against me, or she was pissed. Either way, she continued to bring up religion for the rest of our time together. This caused me to appreciate any friend who doesn't beat any topic to death like a dead horse.

[@religiologEng]

Thank you Matt, I start reading your PhD thesis over a week ago. I really enjoy it, as I work on a similar topic for my PhD dissertation

[@ModerateHipster]

Fascinating topic! I am personally one who was raised with a strong Christian belief but, after long consideration and reasoning, realized I was an Atheist. My position is that I don't have any solid reason to think a god does exist, however, I do recognize that many people do derive great comfort and strength from their spiritual views and religious practices. It's a complex and satisfying field of thinking. I've just ordered your book and look forward to reading it!

[@alejandroceppi3707]

I tend to say I am in principle an agnostic who at least provisionally arrives to being an atheist through reasoning using the information at my disposal for the time being. And that if acquiring in the future new and/or different information I might have to reassess my current reasoning and might therefore end arriving to different conclusions than as for now. (sorry if not being clear, as English is not my native language).

[@1mol831]

Are Buddhists considered negative Atheists? After all, there are no gods in Buddhism, but there is something to believe in....

[@EDPDBZ89]

Nice!!!! Definitely eager for Part 2 and 3.

[@tamatebako_yt]

This is a fantastic video! It summarizes everything so nicely and with the right nuance. I even learned some new terms to describe my position. As someone who labels themselves both an atheist and a humanist, thank you. Edit: Just one thing though. I do not hold a positive belief that the universe is self-existing, meaning "without cause and existing independently". I believe that it had a cause, just not a causer. I also believe in the possibilty that there might be some sort of "outside" to our universe. While I do believe in these things I also consider myself agnostic on the issue. As it stands we haven't found any evidence for or against the universe being without cause or existing independently. Even big bang cosmology only gets us so far and anything beyond is pure speculation. It's likely we will never find a way to test this and as such, the claim that the universe is self-existing (or not) might be unfalsifiable.

[@coast2coast00]

The universe was around "before" time, it's pretty hard to imagine something causing something when before and after don't exist.

[@tamatebako_yt]

@@coast2coast00 People keep saying that but who's to say that time didn't exist before our universe? In whatever caused the universe to come into existence? And if we speak of cause and effect, isn't there necessarily a before and after involved? We don't know of a single instant where the causal principle is violated, it's easier to assume it always applies. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[@afiiik1]

I'm Czech, I'm an atheist, I was born an atheist and I've only ever been to church to perform (sing/play). I feel like American atheists have to defend their position a lot more than Czech atheists who mostly just don't care about religion very much. Most Czech atheists that I know aren't naturalists and think that there is more to the world than the physical but they are unsure or don't care about what it is.

[@adamc1694]

You were born without a proposition on the subject whether the world has a creator or creators. Without a proposition is not the same as having a proposition of NO. And having a proposition of YES is not necessary related to religion/church/sing/pray.

[@LastBastian]

@@adamc1694 Nobody claimed they were born with a "proposition of no" ...they were born with no proposition. As you already admitted. No proposition of god, no belief in god.

[@afiiik1]

@@LastBastian exactly. My parents said it was up to me to make up my mind about this and they didn't really talk about their believes but I've never seen them pray or attend church... Although I would say they were somewhat spiritual at times...

[@Turtledove2009]

@Iva Kaderková Same here. I don't understand why people get their backs up just because they have different religious beliefs. It truly seems to be an American thing.

[@holger_p]

@@adamc1694 You can call it proposition, you can also call it a brainwash. If nobody comes up with the idea, you don't even start to think about it. The question is not coming up by itself, only other humans can provide you with their fantasy.

[@usdibad6292]

Huh, this is a new direction.

[@MrAndywear]

As an atheist from somewhere in the global South, I would have loved to be a part of your survey.

[@muchanadziko6378]

Thank you for this video. It basically has no value to an atheist, because (for the most part) they (we) understand these distinctions. But I do really hope that many theists (or apologists...who are the worst at debating or even understanding the terminology) will see it, and get to know something new.

[@Itgetsbetterofficial]

I've found very frequently that it's other atheists who are quick to misunderstand terminology and religion when it comes to debate. What frustrates me to no end is atheists who refuse to even understand religion and it's many points of nuance.

[@muchanadziko6378]

@@Itgetsbetterofficial My original comment wasn't about "nuances in atheism" (whatever that even means), or even nuances in religion. It was only about nuances in language use.

[@Itgetsbetterofficial]

@@muchanadziko6378 I'm not sure why you've quoted me as saying "nuances in atheism" as I didn't say that. Though if you're having trouble figuring out what that phrase WOULD mean, you are in the comments of a video that would straighten things out for you. (Even a part 2 if you're still struggling!)

[@muchanadziko6378]

@@Itgetsbetterofficial ​ I just summed up what you where saying and anticipated the wrong interpretations by future people reading this That wasn't the most important part of what I said, and you didn't reply to anything else. But you didn't reply to the part that referred to you, so I guess you didn't have anything to say?

[@Itgetsbetterofficial]

@@muchanadziko6378 I already said what I had to say? The failure to understand is on you. I don't think theists are universally bad at debate, I've seen many other Atheists who are horrible at it. I'm not sure what dreaded "wrong intepretations" you think you're protecting people from haha

[@alestane2]

0:37 "Lack" has connotations of "insufficient". An *absence* of religion may be a better definition.

[@annettemeyer1393]

I admire the way you present information in all your posts. I have been introduced to so much history I previously knew nothing about. As a non-believer, I found your analysis in this video pleasingly non-judgemental. I find the psychology of believers more interesting than their actual beliefs. Perhaps you would consider a presentation on that subject as well.

[@Marconius6]

Regarding the weak/strong distinction, it's interesting to note that one can be in different categories based on the gods in question: For example, you could be a weak atheist in general ("I don't think there is enough evidence for the supernatural, but I can't disprove it either/it's unfalsifiable in the first place"), but you could be a strong atheist specifically against the Christian God ("I believe the God of the Bible is internally inconsistent, and thus cannot be real").

[@nHans]

You don't have to be an atheist to shit on a particular religion. You can do it as a follower of any of the other religions! In _theism v. atheism_ debates, all the religions get grouped together on the side of _theism._ This unfortunately gives the false impression that those religions are somehow unified and living together in harmony. But that's far from true. Different religions have had more conflicts between each other than between atheists and any particular religion. Inter-religious animosity is old and deep! So yeah, the Christian 3-in-1 God is incompatible with every other religion, whether monotheistic, polytheistic, or non-theistic. Even monotheistic Judaism and Islam-which otherwise share many common prophets and stories with Christianity-don't accept that particular description of God. You wouldn't be the first person-let alone atheist-to reject it. In fact, every religion is incompatible with every other religion. That's why there are so many different religions still extant. Despite several millennia of intellectual and cultural exchanges, they haven't merged or unified. Rather, more schisms, sects, and cults keep emerging as people reinterpret their ancient, limited, cryptic canons differently. (The only exception I'm aware of is Hinduism, which is a broad amalgamation-not a true unification-of what used to be separate, internecine religions.)

[@charlespentrose7834]

@@nHans It's not true that every religion is incompatible with every other religion. Several religions have openness to allow one to practice several to worship deities from multiple cultural sources. This does generally require one to understand that Myths (which includes the ones in the Bible) are not literally true.

[@nHans]

​@@charlespentrose7834 Sure, religions that are similar share several common elements. Yet, they have _other_ beliefs that are mutually contradictory-that's why they're _different_ religions. In a free, secular society, you can certainly pick-and-choose your favorite subset of beliefs from different religions. Thereby rejecting-explicitly or implicitly-other beliefs that you don't like or are mutually contradictory. (Incidentally, that's how new religions, sects, and cults are formed-but that's an essay for another day.) However, if that's your basis for claiming that one can belong to multiple religions at the same time-then thank you! You just reaffirmed what I said-that every religion is incompatible with every other religion! Now, I know of many religions, but by no means all of them. Consequently, I'm open to changing my mind. Give me some examples-two or more _contemporary_ religions that a person can belong to at the same time, without compromising on beliefs from any of them. And I'll rethink what I said. (Exclude extinct religions like ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian-in those, you could certainly worship as many gods and goddesses as you wished. You incurred their wraths if you did not make the appropriate sacrifices to them. But as long as you did, they were rather nonchalant about you worshiping other divinities. Contemporary religions, however, explicitly prohibit you from worshiping 'false gods.')

[@charlespentrose7834]

@@nHans I, and many other neopagans, incorporate elements of various religions into my personal practice. Most religions are more about right action than right belief, and any religion worth considering allows room for people to fugue out the specifics for themself. Neither Athena nor Thor care if I worship the other, they're not jealous jerk gods.

[@nHans]

​@@charlespentrose7834 Excellent! You and I seem to be in perfect agreement, insofar as you pretty much summed up my earlier comment in your latest one! 👍 Just a couple more questions, if you don't mind. 1. I'm guessing, you did not find any of the existing religions satisfactory to adopt and practice _in toto._ Each, taken by itself, had limitations or objectionable elements that made it unsuitable for you. Consequently, you had to pick-and-choose from several different religions for your personal practice. Am I right? 2. When you incorporate elements of various religions-say, religions A, B, and C-into your personal practice, do you consider yourself as a follower of religions A, B, and C? As an example, suppose you believe that you should not commit murder. Now most religions teach that, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism etc. (And, I'm pretty sure, neopagan religions as well, though I don't know them well enough to presume so.) So, would you then consider yourself a Jew, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain-all at the same time? If yes, that would clear up the misunderstanding I have about your very first comment. 3. Bonus question: You said, _"any religion worth considering allows room for people to figure out the specifics for themselves."_ Are you implying that contemporary mainstream religions-such as the six that I mentioned earlier-are _not_ worth considering? 😜

[@washinthewind]

This was a fun romp through stuff I hadn't interacted with much since before I finished my philosophy bachelor's! Consider me an explicitly agnostic atheistic who is excited for the next videos!

[@RuRu2041]

Atheism is not a positive statement, same way that there is no A-Santaclausism

[@anonnymousperson]

This was fascinating, thank you!

[@fristi61]

Interesting. Am glad at least to see the difference between atheism/theism, agnosticism/gnosticism and religiousness/irreligiousness well represented. Is there any particular reason why the thesis seems to focus on people who abandoned theism as opposed to those simply not brought up with it, or was it just to keep the scope manageable? Personally I've always been interested in the differences between atheism and irreligiousness, i.e. exploring irreligious theists (people who hold a private belief in gods but do not believe any of the established gospels) and religious atheists (such as in certain types of Buddhism or other spiritualism without gods), but I guess in a western context irreligiousness and atheism nearly always go together so it's probably difficult to study.

[@timothyrussell4445]

There's an old joke about a young man walking down the Falls road in Belfast in the 1970s. He's accosted by 2 rough looking types and asked a simple question. "Hey, are you a protestant or a catholic?" Thinking quickly he replies, "I'm an atheist." "Aye, but are you a catholic atheist or a protestant atheist?"

[@timbohp]

As a secular humanist, I truly appreciate your discussion on Atheism!

[@zachhecita]

@@forbidden-cyrillic-handle I think that's an honest position. I've always wondered how atheists could deny God exists yet be humanists, that is believe in the inherent goodness people despite the lack of evidence.

[@defnotnaruto222]

@@forbidden-cyrillic-handle I believe that goodness is really defined by media for atheists, if you can relate to the issue where police were considered a waste of money and time because of George Floyd dying while under complete subduction under a police, a atheist can believe that it was fine because that was only one incident, or have a firm belief that the officer deserves torture, which is usually what religious people would believe.

[@christiancarsh5615]

As an agnostic theist, you are the first person to acknowledge the existence of my beliefs.

[@Heowa]

I'm a Christian, and both my boyfriend and my brother's girlfriend are atheists - although their concrete opinion on the belief in God/gods differs quite a lot. In terms of world view, however, they pretty much align, just like in your findings. So this video has been really interesting, I've never seen the topic handled in such a systematic way, and I'm looking forward to hearing more. :)

[@shahidabdoullakhanzorovr1564]

A Christian dating (presumably "living in sin") with an atheist? Curious, but where do you think your bf will end up on account of his atheism?

[@Heowa]

@@shahidabdoullakhanzorovr1564 He's one of the best persons I know - obviously I'm biased, but as far as the values christianity is supposed to represent go, he is a better example than many people who call themselves Christians. So if there are different places we go according to our behaviour in life, I think he'd end up in the "good" one. But I've never really believed in the "Only people of a certain religion go to heaven" thing in general. Of course, this is all my entirely personal view, and as with everything concerning religion, I'm not looking to persuade anyone...

[@zecchansilverlake366]

This video is very nice and easy to understand.

[@guthrie_the_wizard]

As an atheist, thank you so much for taking the time to cover this so well. The Bible strongly implies calls for our deaths (2 Chronicles‬ ‭15:12-13, etc.) and that we’re corrupt (Psalm‬ ‭14:1-3, etc.) which kinda hurts my feelings, yah know. 😂 😢 In reality, many of us care deeply about others and just simply don’t believe in magic.

[@SmoovManChild]

I don't mean to start a comment war or offend anyone. (though if anyone reads this it might happen anyway) In 2 Chronicles 15 it means more so that those who vow to follow and pursue understanding of the Lord and then renounce him or fail in this duty would be put to death, the best example of this would be Judas. I don't claim to know everything about the Bible and I understand why you might think that I just thought that I should share what I found. I also believe that anyone can follow what they believe and that no matter what everyone will end up together in harmony at the end of time.

[@tinknal6449]

Do you believe in evidence?

[@SmoovManChild]

@@tinknal6449 Yes I do believe in evidence but I'm not sure what you meant here?

[@tinknal6449]

@@SmoovManChild The question was directed to the OP but I'll respond anyway. I consider fulfilled prophesy to be evidence. All of the early times prophesies have been fulfilled and the latter day prophesies are unfolding before before our eyes. No other religion can make that claim.

[@SmoovManChild]

@@tinknal6449 Ok then. It's somewhat difficult for me to understand internet "meanings", my friends know this all too well.

[@avaraportti1873]

I love that Americans are such unbearable hysterics on this issue that you have to make a long disclaimer video before being able to move on to the actual subject.

[@danltiger]

Hiya Matt, I've really been enjoying your channel for the last couple years. Keep up the great work! That said, I'm not sold on calling myself an "agnostic atheist". Most people know exactly what folks mean when they say, "agnostic". And for many, "atheist" is a confrontational term. I see no need to add more complexity to our already complex identities.

[@nameforcomments4092]

16:58--If the debate is atheism vs theism, atheists are under no obligation to defend a worldview as there is no inherent shared worldview. Maybe the majority are humanists, but that's a different thing than their atheism. For all this person's objectivity, it sounds like it frustrates him that theists can't possibly 'win' this aspect of debates, but the fact is, if you want humanistic worldview debated, that would be a theism vs humanism debate, and that theism runs counter to humanism itself is something theists aren't often willing to admit. Now, if he's saying that THAT'S what should be noted more or something along those lines, then sure.

[@blankspace0000]

While "agnostic" may be technically be defined this way, I would argue that colloquially the term is used to describe someone who is open to many different perspectives including those of "theists". In my opinion, someone who is agnostic is willing to see the positives religion has to offer (societal cohesion, easy-to-follow morality, comfort around the subject of death, etc.) while not subscribing to any religion due to their skepticism in regards to the metaphysical aspects. An agnostic might leave room for the possibility that "God" did in fact create the heavens and the earth but disagree with religion insofar as no religion has ever presented any proof that their particular definition of "God" is accurate.

[@normzemke7824]

Strange as it sounds, I’m an atheist who really wishes there was a god of some sort. I’m not picky. Any sort of god would be better than nothing. I started out Christian, but the logical inconsistencies were too much for me. Don’t tell me that “God is Love”, but will throw you in hell for all eternity if you pick the wrong Christian denomination. After leaving Christianity I studied/practiced many different religions (Sufism, Baha’I, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism). None of them worked out for me. After ten years of intense searching I finally concluded that if there is a god, he doesn’t want me to find him. Theoretically, a god could exist, but that is a mote point. If god is inaccessible, then he/she/it is totally irrelevant to us. That said, I wish there was a god. The world is so screwed up these days, it would be nice to have someone to lean on. But, no. If we destroy ourselves, nobody is going to come to our rescue.

[@ReSunDestin]

Good video but extremely US-centric as one could expect (not blaming you on this), to me there is a clear difference between "american" atheism and "european" atheism, in the US most atheists came from very religious households, by teenagers who had to confront their parents and sometimes lost everything because of their lack of belief in god, and because of that, atheism, just like any religion, have become a huge part of many american identities, it kind of feels like a community Meanwhile in Europe, kids are, for the vast majority of them, not indoctrinated towards religion and naturally become atheists as they grow up without any confrontation with their parents, atheism isn't the big deal it is for american atheists, it's just a small part of your identity, you don't get close to people solely because of your lack of belief in god, thus the world view you're talking about is very specific to the US

[@wielkacytryna]

Good point. I'm from Poland, which is still pretty religious for European standards. My parents are Catholics and so was I until I kind of grew out of it. I'm still catholic in a cultural sense because my entire family is and I don't want to exclude myself on Christmas. When I told them I'm an atheist, it wasn't a big deal. Their response was basically "well, you're a good person, that's what's really important." Now it's a non-issue. The only difference is that they don't expect me to go to church every Sunday.

[@PH0EN1XD]

I have grown up in a Christian familly. Became atheist, but I did not know how do call myself, so I thought I am just some radical Atheist. Then i saw Kurzgesagt video on POSITIVE NIHILISM and i cannot express how much I feel like exactly the concept they described. So I am Positive Nihilist.

[@alanaschreier9115]

As an atheist and a biologist, I must mention one worldview you have not considered: the socio-biological worldview. This worldview describes human activities and philosophies from the belief that humans are social animals. Human survival, both as individuals and as a social group, has depended on group solidarity and cooperation. Cooperation must be promoted among individuals and conflicts reduced or eliminated to increase survival. Both religion and atheism ( more precisely, the humanistic worldview of most atheists) are mental constructs that aid the social group in its goal of survival. They provide rationales and guidelines for actions that serve the needs of the group (or sectors within the group) for the cooperation needed for survival. They also promote the psychological wellbeing of individuals. This is beneficial for the social group because minimizing the psychological pain of individuals in stressful situations promotes the effectiveness of these individuals when they are working for the benefit/survival of the group. In this regard, I believe that religion has been more successful for most people. The humanistic worldview of most atheists lacks strong beliefs and rituals that can provide solid comfort for people in times of psychological stress, e.g., death of loved ones.

[@jeremygant3242]

Great breakdown. The only disagreement I had was the statement that atheists believe science is the ONLY way to obtain knowledge. Atheists believe that science is the BEST and MOST CONSISTENTLY PRODUCTIVE way to obtain knowledge, but I can't believe that any atheist would say it is the ONLY way to obtain knowledge. On the contrary, I think it would be a DENIAL of science to make that narrow claim and it would be a very un-subtle philosophical blunder.

[@SecularMentat]

I'd say I flicker back and forth between explicit weak/strong atheist depending on the claim made. Some are clearly false, others are unanswerable and require a logical conclusion that leads to that middle area.

[@amandadewet4022]

J Warner Wallace, Lee Stroebel and Josh Mc Dowell have some interesting research and conclusions reached. Their studies are very interesting all coming from different backgrounds.

[@HalooTheEpokGaemer]

Where I live in the UK, most atheists including me refer to themselves as non-religious

[@billvolk4236]

I like the term "None," as in the box you check under "religion" in a census. It doesn't perfectly overlap with atheism, since some religions have no gods in them and since you can believe in divinity without belonging to any religion, but the term "Nones" is used in the news so much that it's developed a bit of an intimidating air to it. Counting only those who use the word "atheist" to self-identify makes them seem tiny, but counting all the Nones makes you see the true size of irreligion in a population.

[@kaasai6398]

Amazing video that gives a really good representation of Atheism, and that is quite refreshing. The conclusion begs for some questions thought, isn't it somewhat a paradox that most Atheists believe that only the physical material world exist, the universe is self-existing and that science and reason are the only ways to obtain knowledge ? Believing that only a physical material world exist implies the belief that the non-physical world doesn't exist, which is not atheism by the weak definition but on the strong definition, where only a minority should be in. As an Atheist myself here is my take on what I believe, and only talking about my beliefs: - The physical world definetly exist, I do believe the world is immaterial. I have no proof for that, so I am agnostic on that topic. But the existence of a non physical world is something I both don't know and don't believe in, but it may exist. - The universe origin of existence have no definitive answer and an answer from the physical world or the non-physical world is possible. I do have preferences for some theory and answers but none gave me a definitive answer. That include the self-existing universe. - I believe that so far humanity only have science and reason as a mean to obtain knowledge. But this may be because we do not know, or know how to use different means of obtaining knowledge. I don't believe those are fondamentally the only way to obtain knowledge, just the ones we can rely on, for now, and maybe ever.

[@gibbogle9486]

For me, gods are just one category of the many that some people believe in but I don't. Example categories: ghosts, demons, spirits, ESP, telekinesis, levitation, Loch Ness monster, Big Foot, life after death, heaven, hell...

[@84updown]

One thing I think is important is that those who identify as "agnostic" are in practice just atheists that don't wanna call themselves atheists due to the stigma they may feel surrounding the term

[@alsosa2869]

Thank you Mr. Baker for this presentation. I'm not an atheist myself. However, I've noticed that everyone on the planet has a belief system. They believe in something or nothing. But no one has a null brain...

[@bksrmt]

How did I miss your survey!?! I am desoleé. I’m a brand spanking new atheist- as of March 2019, anyway. Working on it for a while though, for what that’s worth. Always appreciate your work, sir, as well as your systematic, impartial concatenation of facts. Bravo! Thx. Now, where be dat link for your book? Hope I’m not too late!

[@helenagreenpine1496]

You should have a show on the history channel or something :)

[@glennshrom5801]

Yes, I really like this video! Helpful to see all the varieties, combinations, nuances!

[@FINXainarskrastins]

I'm an atheist, but I do follow the knowledge and what most religions teach, as in what is needed to know to understand someone who conveys an idea through referencing religion. And so I also tend to align my morals in some situations where it is deemed socially correct by the religious majority (not talking about religion-influenced laws), but even if I follow these norms, I still don't believe it. example 1, marriage is officially conducted by a priest, so if I would marry someday, I will do so, but mentally I would have no strings attached to the church, it's only for ceremonial/legal reasons. example 2, I'm in a church event with my choir, and we have to sing hymns, I will sing, but in my heart not mean any word. My hatred for it all, all the wrongdoings, all the manipulation, all the bad choices trough out history, I keep it all private. And if someone is being pushy about asking what my opinion is about it, I say "I ain't goin to hell nor heaven, screw gods plans, I'm making my own... and no, the most popular fantasy book isn't the Bible nor Quran, its the harry potter series."

[@sonhouseisking]

I’m really looking forward to a part 2!

[@outandabout-]

It's interesting that the results of the survey show that while different groups may differ greatly on the ontology and epistemology, there is a general consensus on axiology. In which case does it really matter what you believe or how you think you know something, if in the end we all share the same values.

[@pog519]

Good job! These description of atheism, naturalism and humanism are spot on. Half of the world agrees with that :D

[@joeldavis1693]

This is a good breakdown of then position of atheism and its subcategories. The big issue that I have with it is the statements made about most atheists being ontologically Naturalists or Materialists, according to the definition "a person who believes that everything that exists is Natural/Material. While I'm happy to take the positive position on the existence of the physical world or the reliability of reason, I'm not going to accept a burden to disprove the claims of those who believe in something other than the physical or some other reliable path to knowledge.

[@GabZaf]

My atheism is a thing I do not think of and the more the time passes the less I think it matters. Our problems are mostly non-religious nowadays and religions adapt a lot to the new times.

[@GabZaf]

Specially coming from Brazil where afro-sinctetidt religions are very open and 0 conservative. They do not promote anti abortion or anything.

[@drmatt1984]

As an agnostic theist, I have no idea how any other theists can intellectually honesty claim they arent also agnostic.

[@anthonyjackson280]

A couple of points from my own thoughts: I would find it hard to reconcile being an atheist but accepting some type of spiritual belief. For me one of the cornerstones of my atheism is a firm rejection of the supernatural . The laws of physics are inviolable - if something is truly inexplicable and, apparently supernatural, then it means we don't know and understand all the laws of physics. Secondly I have come to the conclusion, after much discussion with theist friends of mine, that a very fundamental divide separates theists (particularly those of Abrahamic cults) and true atheists - the belief/disbelief in 'Purpose for Existance'.

[@tree3971]

Thank you, Matt, for your work. It resonates wonderfully within me. :) A question: Have you already defined what you mean by the word "god" somewhere? It seems to me, this word is used both by theists and atheists; assuming everybody is talking about the same thing. I think, I would benefit a lot from a clarification of this term, or pointers to common meanings of this term.

[@adamc1694]

You asked the wrong guy. Those definitions he posted are very wrong from the very beginning. I did not even brother to continue. There are a few (Standford, Cambridge ) academic philosophy dictionaries/encyclopedias online. Most words have multiple definitions. Without being specific, 'god' could just mean someone with great power, or tribal gods, or usually with a capital G the omnipotent mind that create the universe.

[@jonasfermefors]

That was a good foundation - and I am an atheist. Two minor points of contention: 1) The research might have come to a different conclusion if countries were separated into more or less religious. In religious countries most atheists have considered their atheism very carefully and probably fit the study but in mostly atheistic societies - like Sweden where I live - it's a different story. The majority of Swedes will call themselves atheists but a lot of them still believe in immaterial things (e.g. ghosts) and a lot of them haven't really thought very much about Gods. 2) Regarding debates. I understand where you come from but the problem from an Atheist point of view is that no positive claims for atheism covers all religions. Either the debate has to be narrowed down to a specific God claim (not just, say, Christianity, but a particular version of Christianity) or else it becomes to broad to make a hard atheistic argument practical. Which is why atheists will typically want to pin down the religion and definitions before the debate. Otherwise any argument could be called a strawman argument by the proponent of religion because it doesn't represent them even if it represents 99% of believers of his/her religion (and that is pretty common if you look at debates).

[@YeshuaGod22]

Much like John, Atheists believe in what the Greeks called "Logos", thus they have accepted the blessing of the Logos in a manner that most Abrahamic monotheists fail to recognise. They have their hearts set on their accuser, according to the one who spoke as Logos.

[@jellentjaeckx62]

Do you also have a link to your published papers? I would love to read them.

[@UsefulCharts]

Yup. They are in the description.

[@YogiMcCaw]

Interesting...I find myself fitting in between the categories you have here. Let's start with the graphic at 17:20. 1) I do not believe that the physical world is all that exists. Astrophysicists now know that what we call "normal matter" (i.e. subatomic particles) makes up about 5% of our universe. That should give even the most devoted materialist a pause for thought. 2) I believe the universe is self-existing; you do not need an anthropomorphized super being to create the cosmos. It exists on its own. I believe "emptiness" contains the potential for "everything" and again, due to modern physics, we now know that the quantum vacuum gives rise to creations (virtual particles) which have real, measurable energy interactions. We also know that objects can be connected over vast distances with no material link, due to entanglement. Entanglement is not proof of God, but it is strong evidence for the idea that we still don't understand significant aspects of our universe. 3. I do not believe that science and reason are the only ways to obtain knowledge. Whatever happened to "personal experience"? Or intuition? Or dreaming? Or deep meditation? Einstein, so the story goes, awoke from a nap in which he had certain dreams which helped him formulate his ideas about relativity. Personally, I think sleep is an important factor in integrating newly learned concepts, and the science strongly supports me in this. Lab experiments and math are extremely important and useful, to be sure - but they aren't the ONLY paths to knowledge. In general, I'm highly suspicious of any claims to be the ONLY path to certain kinds of knowledge or wisdom. I have thought of myself as agnostic, but after watching your video, I am not sure where I fit into your categories. Maybe Soft Athiest? Not sure.

[@rheiagreenland4714]

I will nitpick that the 5% of our universe that is 'normal matter' - normal matter here just means what scientists have directly observed and defined. Dark matter and dark energy are in no way scientific evidence of the spiritual. 'Dark Matter' is just an observation of something which results in the galaxy formation we see rather than our current models of gravity suggest should happen. It is simply a phenomenon which does not interact with light or matter insofar as we have been able to directly detect it so far, and we do not know exactly what it is, but there being a thing that we don't know what it is yet does not equal spiritualism. Dark Energy I suppose is something people might be justified in speculating upon the spirituality of at the moment, though far from any evidence of it. It's just an observation too - we see the universe's expansion accelerating. Now I don't understand how it works, but the 'energy' here is just something that drives the expansion, and the acceleration implies that empty space itself has 'energy' (I don't know if 'energy' and energy are related or not), and we don't know why or what it is yet. At least that's how I understand it. I could be wrong about that of course, but the people who do genuinely understand this certainly aren't saying it's evidence for the spiritual. I'm not attacking your belief in a non-material existence, I'm just calling out that justifying it scientifically with dark matter and dark energy does not make sense. I don't even have a problem with you speculating on non-material things based on those things.

[@MrConverse]

Biblical God is fictional!

[@glennshrom5801]

I love the chart that is developing, showing the different things that "atheist" can refer to! Very helpful. I don't agree that some people are born atheists, unless we are speaking of severe mental disability; I say this because of the nature to inquire why, that must be present from a very young age. The quest for prior causes leads one's thinking to the idea of a prime mover, which is one concept of god, but there are also god senses when we speak of beauty and the belief in a moral standard, the delights that when we are hungry that that hunger can be satisfied by something that actually exists, then there is the sense of awe and the sense of fear. the sense of love and gratitude, etc. Not only that, but if someone never heard of God, but then actually hears God, they would believe in God for that reason, like Abram apparently did when he was called to go to another land. Abram may have heard of God prior to God speaking to him, same could be said of Noah or Adam, but hearing about God was not the main thing; hearing from God was.

[@adamc1694]

That is why I have been saying this same thing again and again. Some people mostly atheists mistake theism the belief of the existence of a creator God or gods is the same as the belief of a theistic religion. Hence these people think theists are all being indoctrinated to become theists. Therefore they think atheism is the 'default' proposition and babies, young children are atheists by default. These people cannot comprehend "never thought of a question" and "thought of a question then decided the answer is no" are two totally different propositions.

[@kzkc3356]

Thank you for sharing this treasure!

[@AMANDEEP-xc7jo]

It's nice to hear that I am listening to someone with a PhD, not any random dude with a KZbin channel who just started speaking after reading some Wikipedia page.

[@deryckchan]

This might be the most viewed PhD dissertation lecture on the internet

[@scott4787]

How exactly do we define 'God' or 'a god' in this context? If we stretch the definition of 'god' far enough than it is basically equivalent to 'supernatural entity', and considering every way that word gets used nowadays from Abrahamic religions to new age guru movements this is more or less what I understand 'a god' to mean - a supernatural being. So 'atheist' would essentially mean 'naturalist' while theist would mean 'dualist or immaterialist'. By this understanding then atheists must inevitably share the ontology and epistemology of humanists to be consistent. And considering most people don't go around proclaiming their love of murder and theft I'm not surprised they also profess the same axiology at least in the broadest sense 'we shouldn't hurt people for no reason', 'we should make the world better', etc. It seems to me that 'atheist'='humanist' is less of a statistical fact than a logical inevitability

[@rodjori]

Explicit atheist: Antitheist. Agnostic: Ignorant about afterlife. Believer: Believes knowing answers about afterlife.

[@LastBastian]

Hmm... I've always viewed "antitheist" as someone who actively opposes theism. Not just someone who's thought about it, and consciously realizes they don't believe it.

[@rodjori]

@@LastBastian If there is a need to make your atheism explicit...

[@missopinionatedpenny8461]

BBBRRROOOOOOO first vid I’ve seen of yours and I’m hooked, where have you been 😂 ❤❤ 🎉

[@Peacewind152]

I've LONG called myself an agnostic theist. I believe there is some kind of higher power, but I will never know what it is or how it affects me. I guess according to this video I'm an implicit agnostic, but I'm glad you broke down the difference inside of agnosticism as well. I can still call myself an agnostic theist.

[@clickrick]

If someone asks me whether I believe in God, I note that the question has to be unpicked: 1) What do you mean by "God"? 2) What do you mean by "believe in"? "Believe the existence of" is not sufficient here, as I believe that air exists but would not say that I "believe in" air in any meaningful way, for any (of multiple) meaning of "air".

[@Tiglath-Pileser3]

I cannot overstate how refreshing this is. I applaud you for taking the time to actually understand atheists, without any negativity. The points you make here seem so basic to me, but they are things I've had to repeat and explain countless times when having discussions with, or more often defending myself from, theists. I hope that another worldview of mine is shared among atheists, and comes out in the second or third section: I do not hate your deity or any other. I am not angry. I have no desire to prevent anyone from believing as they choose, or practicing their religions. My objections only arise when the theist claims moral superiority, or when they attempt to impose their beliefs or practices on me. As for the point you raise around minute 17, I will state: Any scripture or belief based worldview that is good, must also be good in absence of the supernatural. "Thou shalt not kill" is no more or less moral than "The LORD sayeth Thou shalt not kill." I cannot accept "The Bible says so" as the sole justification for law, policy, or practice that I will be required to follow, but the fact that the proposed item exists in scripture does not immediately negate its potential worth. Oh, and thank you for not marching out the tired, old, and immensely insulting idea that an atheist cannot be moral. I worry for those who insist that morality is impossible without faith.

[@bradleyilagan3939]

This video also made me think about where I stand as well. I grew up Christian, but I've become more distant simply because of things I don't agree with, particularly since I've come to identify as queer. People tend to make this decision out of a man's free will a moral question. I still remember when my mom was listening to this homily, and the priest basically said "to not agree or believe is just an excuse to sin."

[@GeneralYen]

I remember being immensely shocked when I learnt that some people from a Western country, like the US, could think that not believing in a god was linked to not being moral. As a French agnostic atheist who grew up without any religious or anti-religious pressure, but with strong moral values, it was a hard awakening.

[@praddumnvats6759]

@@GeneralYen as an Indian i agree

[@Turtledove2009]

Well said, James!!

[@The_InfantMalePollockFrancis]

What's more insulting is the reductive approach to the role religion (and in particular organized) has had in creating a framework for societal order, international cooperation, law, philanthropy and including the disenfranchised. Warts and all, and there are LOTS, Organized Religion has done more good than bad especially because of the institutions it has put in place. I'm a thorough atheist but I don't have the philosophically vapid takes of a rebellious high schooler smoking some schwagg from a soda can.

[@kc7159]

Being able to say “the book version of my phd thesis is sold out” is incredible

[@scambammer6102]

unless there was only one copy

[@annmeacham5643]

@@scambammer6102 Now that’s just petty.

[@alechorn1109]

Even my mother wouldn’t read let alone buy my thesis.

[@annmeacham5643]

@@alechorn1109 Just curious, what was your topic?

[@nael1722]

Watch Dr Haitham Talaat videos,for your own good.

[@philippebrehier7386]

MORALITY is doing what is right regardless of what you are told. OBEDIENCE is doing what you are told regardless of what is right!

[@thehungarywaffleinc.7775]

Obedience to God is doing what is right by doing what you are told

[@MrAaaaazzzzz00009999]

I dont think either of those are verbs mate

[@reecelongden3500]

@@thehungarywaffleinc.7775 Only if he exists...

[@thehungarywaffleinc.7775]

@@reecelongden3500 I Believe The Holy Trinity does exist

[@sirmeowthelibrarycat]

@@thehungarywaffleinc.7775 😠 Really? What evidence do you have for such belief? Evidence that other people can observe through their senses. Not what you were told by some authority figure. Not what you read in a text. Real, tangible evidence.

[@talcono4476]

This analysis aligns pretty closely with my own experiences being an atheist during my adult life and my interactions with other atheists online and in real life. Really refreshing and clarifying, especially from someone who (as I understand it) identifies as a theist! Yet another great video

[@yenyehski_698]

Same. I've sort of shifted around most of these categories one time or another going from a more hard atheism when I gave up religionor explicit to soft one now years later. Seen all sorts pf people everywhere on the chart here as well.

[@scintillam_dei]

Atheism is shit. There's nothing good about it. To turn from evil Islam to atheism is just going from Satan's right hand to his left.

[@jenniferhunter4074]

@@yenyehski_698 Strange. I've gone harder. It really doesn't make sense. I'm very precise. If a religious person wants to make their case, they better replicate a miracle or two for my personal delight. I don't ask their Yahweh to do something that it hasn't been credited with before. None of this "look at the trees" bs because Muslims have told me this, Hindus have told me this and of course, Christians have told me this. They can't all be right, but they can all be wrong. With the Trump era, it's shifted to extreme concern. Now, I'm of the position that religion - all religions - should be classified as an "adult only activity" and that children must be protected from these nonsense beliefs. Look, if their religion is true, as they claim it is, than an adult would easily believe. It wouldn't take much time at all to believe something such as existence. Why indoctrinate on an immature brain with few defenses against lies and fewer life experiences so they can't recognize the lie? I mean.. talking snakes? What are we? In Harry Potter land? The reason for this is... magical thinking. These believers have been taught a very bad technique to assess reality. It's based on belief rather than some form of evidence + reasoning. It's like improper lifting techniques where you don't "bend from the knees" but rather "bend from your poor little spine". You're going to get hurt eventually. You can't just perform magic spells and claim that our god will fix things like climate change or protect oneself from a global airborne respiratory disease that turns lungs into well...something not breathable.

[@yenyehski_698]

@@jenniferhunter4074 Yeah I get what you mean. I've read a lot of the bible, bit of the quran, and attended six year of scripture and I still go to Christian groups if they present themselves (like I said I'm not religious, I just go when friends want to go and I find it mildly interesting). On top of this my background is full of religious fanatics so I'm pretty well accustomed to religion. Must say I agree about how I don't believe in the creation and history stuff in religion, it just doesn't make sense (to me) in a contemporary context. However saying this I find on a personal level the spiritual stuff speaks to me about the human condition. I also like the charity and acceptance in religion, though I believe many 'religious people' ignore this as they don't read the their own scripture. Instead they focus on one line of the Leviticus about two men sleeping with eachother instead of the ten commandments about loving thy neighbour. They preach hate out of a book of love, mind you not all scripture is so friendly. In the end whatever religious stance people take I'll leave them to it so long as they don't hurt others or force it. As it says in the quran to say to nonbelievers I do not believe what you believe, and you do not believe what I believe. I know my beliefs sound weird to others but personally I take no offense to it. I respect anyone's beliefs so long as they are good about it.

[@jenniferhunter4074]

@@yenyehski_698 For me, I'm far more materialist. I distrust the wanting because it can be so easy to manipulate someone by their desires. What I want does not mean that it is real or that it is good. I value the real. I'm not sure I accept the "spiritual connection" via religion. It's something that is often said much like they claim that the US is the greatest country in the world. I have doubts about such grandiose claims. I think what is implied is that you can have a " human connection" with another. Well, I've formed that "human connection" in a crowded bus full of strangers and it's a situation where, if you don't laugh, you're going to cry. We'll naturally form these connections if we participate and we're not weird. I find real historical figures to be more inspiring than the fictional ones. Even in the muck of their lives, I see something worthy of emulation. Sure. They are products of their time and they weren't that nice in every way. But then, are any of us that saint-like? There's a realness to their struggle. They're human or they were human. I'm human. I may not be able to fly but I can strive to emulate the best of humanity. Even if I fail, at least I tried. For religion, it's difficult to separate the good from the bad. I have seen nice people transform into monsters and their religion was still the same religion. They just chose to emphasize the darkest parts of their religion. And that is the most dangerous aspect of religion. With religion, there is no limiting factor to how far you will go. There will always be an interpretation for what you want. Love can be twisted into acts of hatred. You'll say "It's for their own good" ... but is it? At it's worst, religion fosters a sense of narcissism. At it's mildest, it's still present like this little evil cancerous cell. It just needs the right environment and then, it will consume the believer. So for me, religion should be treated like radioactive material. Even if it feels nice, there are loads of things that feel nice but are ultimately very bad for us. It's an inherently flawed system. It's radioactive. I think religion should be treated as an " adult activity" . It's no different from people who cosplay or act in plays or clean up highways or whatever else they do. Adults have more mature brains and we have life experiences that can help us mitigate the worst attributes of religion. For children, it's toxic. It's like giving your child cocaine and expecting there to be no ramifications. That child is young. Very few life experiences. Very immature brain. Not enough practice thinking. They're extremely vulnerable to being damaged by religious culture. (Think of the boys and girls who lived with purity culture. Some of them can't enjoy sex because their religion traumatized them to pathologize sex. So now, they're married and it's a problem. They need therapy to fix what religion broke.) If people could be sensible around religion, I'd have less of a problem. People who argue about whether Hulk is stronger or Captain Marvel is stronger.. they understand that it's just a game. Religious people don't understand that their faith is a game. This is why they'll chop people's heads off or burn them alive. There are no brakes. (Side note - I really despise this idea that you can't be " spiritual" without religion. I have been moved to tears by listening to a pianist play their heart out. I have been struck with awe at seeing a sunset. I have felt the world move when I learned something new that opened my eyes to yet another part of reality. What on earth does religion give me that can mimic those authentic moments where I just existed and felt being in that moment? I'm spiritual. I just don't need ghosts or gods or some religious ceremony to get that high.)

[@margottago]

Me, doing a PhD, currently writing the ethics application for my first survey study: "We are aiming for 100 - 300 respondents" Matt, PhD chad: "I received 23,697 responses" 😂 My internal crying aside, I always love hearing other PhD students and recipients talk passionately about their own research, this was a fantastic video Matt! Such an interesting research question to base your thesis on. I look forward to the next videos in this series!

[@ornil]

He is definitely very lucky, although I am afraid his sample is not random (which does not invalidate his conclusions per se). For many surveys you would not want the survey shared in an uncontrolled fashion, and in such a case you really can't get a lot of responses.

[@UsefulCharts]

The method I used is called snowball sampling and is often used in cases like this where it is quite difficult to find your target group tied up nice and neat in a bow.

[@DSCH4]

Matt: (strolls the department hallways to the tune of "Why Not" by Ghostface Playa.)

[@bellewether4534]

Right?! I got like 100 but that was actually a pretty good size considering I was surveying a very specific group in one region. I think a lot of this depends of how big the group is and the parameters of the study so it's probably best not to compare with others (or so I tell myself XD)

[@mooeminou]

Link yours, maybe we can help

[@direct.skc.2]

I come from a Hindu Brahmin family. For the uninitiated, Brahmins are the group of people within Hindus, who perform worships and religious rituals. They are the authority on religious guidance. I became a priest (not a professional one, but know my hymns and prayers and stuffs) at an early age of 13 years and did my fair share of rituals for a good 10-12 years. During this period I also happen to study science and graduate as a Mechanical Engineer. When I started my career in Data Science 10-12 years back from now, I had to get on internet to figure out things required for my work. The internet access was a game changer. I started getting drawn into studying other cultures, histories, religion, art, science, technology, etc. Since this topic is on Atheism, I will focus my comment only on the "religion" aspect of my internet usage. I started to study other religions, their philosophy, their goals, their creation story, their take on Eschatology, the evolution of faith system, animism etc etc. Then I figured, all the Abrahamic religions doesn't make any sense. Why would someone get away after committing a sin just because they surrendered to God, doesn't he need to pay for the sins? Anyway, when I started believing that Abrahamic religions doesn't work, I looked into other Non-Abrahamic religions, and gradually into my own religion Hinduism. I started comparing, why would one religion make no sense and other would? They all come from the same idea of having a supernatural entity in the first place. Then I concluded, may be all of them got it wrong, there 'is' a supernatural entity that governs the universe but we are not even capable to imagine the magnitude of that power. We all imagined our own versions of divinity and created a religion out of those, so there are a variety of religions but the theme remains same, almost. So, at this point, I started calling myself non-religious but "spiritual". It stayed for some couple of years. The major shift happened when I started watching discussions and debates by Richard Dawkins, Bill Nye, Sam Harris and likes. It started dawning on me that all the evidences that we have so far, doesn't add up to support the theory of existence of any "Supernatural Entity" anymore. It became more clear to me. The world we live in, the universe and everything, just happen to be there, 'not for us' but just there, it's a cosmic phenomenon, that's all, there's no need to make anything out of it. That is the point, when I gave up my idea of existence of any supernatural entity or God and experience the world as it comes by. Now, I am pretty convinced that there's no one out there, watching over us, (like a God, aliens may exist though) judging us on our lame acts and we are not going anywhere after we are done here, we came from star dust and that is where we shall return. I don't care if someone believes in some form of faith or not, I don't judge them, I don't preach my lack of faith to them, I don't follow anything that they say I should, just because it's a practice, I do things when I feel like, even if it is to observe a certain religious festival or gathering. I now focus more on just the well being part, to live life to my best abilities, to help others to my best abilities and to die with minimum resentment. Feels so peaceful! 😇 🙏

[@dunklerKurfurstDesDeepstat]

This reminds me so much of my own journey but I started on the Abrahamic side (roman catholic) and I had a "spiritual dream" , after which i had to look in some eastern religions just to "proof" to myself that thinks like reincarnations are not real, because they where not a part of my religion. In the end I just noticed the lack of proof I had for so much stuff I firmly believed in.

[@direct.skc.2]

@@dunklerKurfurstDesDeepstat comparative analysis and retrospection, that's the key! 😊 Thank you for sharing.

[@notreally2406]

👎🏻😒

[@nHans]

​@@direct.skc.2 UNESCO recognizes the tradition of Vedic chanting as an *_Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity._* It's a tradition that has survived for over 3,500 years. But today, sadly - to quote from UNESCO - _"only thirteen of the over one thousand Vedic recitation branches have survived. Moreover, four noted schools - in Maharashtra (central India), Kerala and Karnataka (southern India) and Orissa (eastern India) - are considered under imminent threat."_ To be clear, I'm not criticizing your personal spiritual journey. Your path is your choice, and yours alone; I have no say in it. I was just pointing out the tragedy that whenever we invent something new-like computers and the Internet-we inevitably end up killing off earlier traditions-like memorizing and handwriting. And then we lament the dying traditions. But, I suppose, that's progress.

[@direct.skc.2]

@@nHans Yes, change is the only constant! The whole Universe changes every moment and doesn't remain the same even for 2 consecutive seconds!

[@buzkill691]

The way I remember it, the worldview preceded the atheism and led me to atheism. I can still remember driving home one night after listening to others discussing their beliefs in a higher power, and I thought to myself "Maybe there is no God" and I accepted in my heart, for lack of a better phase, that I had no reason to believe any of that. It's been over 20 years and I haven't had to reconsider it, it was quite a relief actually.

[@sarysa]

A shame I missed out on this survey. I just assumed I was a "strong atheist" in my 20s because there was nothing that could sway me -- I just lack the personality qualities for faith. Turns out I'm a "negative atheist", and TBH that part of me has been getting farther and farther from the front of my mind every year. I'm only posting about it here because this place seems appropriate, but I'm leaning more toward "don't care" because it's just not something I've actively thought about since maybe 2001. To make things weirder, I do enjoy channels like yours and Religion For Breakfast, even though I don't partake. It's kind of how I like learning about the lore of Star Wars even though I still haven't seen the 9th movie or any of the recent streaming series. [edit: copyedit since people are actually reading this lol]

[@BLenz-114]

I don't think that's weird at all. I'm a "positive atheist" and I find religion fascinating, esp. non Christian. Being 'murican, I have plenty of contact/experience with Christianity, so there's less to discover, and, American Christians are often VERY difficult to talk to about religion.

[@jcortese3300]

Yes -- someone else who sees religious myths as interesting fiction that has had a strong effect on society! I've often thought that for example, Star Trek is similar to religion in that people watch and rewatch episodes cyclically (like a Daf Yomi sort of thing), dress in funny clothes, form supportive communities, and take life lessons from their canon ... but the whole time, they acknowledge it as fictional and embedded in a social context. But in the end, it scratches much the same itch as religion.

[@Tiglath-Pileser3]

Doesn't seem weird. An interest in religion, beyond what is spoon fed in Sunday School, birthed many an atheist. We don't become less interested in religion, we simply move religion into the mythology category. We can find equal fascination in the Greek, Norse, Mesopotamian, or Hindu tales. In fact, when we're not obsessed with veracity, we can dismiss a few inconsistencies and more easily enjoy the stories.

[@moonshoes11]

The new Andor show has been really good. 👍

[@Weebusaurus]

not wasting time watching Rise of Skywalker just makes you a smarter Star Wars fan, not a lesser one lol

[@ethans9379]

As a Christian, I find this data and terminology very interesting. Thanks for shedding some light on the subject

[@eyeofthepyramid2596]

Yes indeed a very interesting species.

[@swedish-monarchist2457]

Completely agree great video and very informative, though I do find issue with him calling all young children and babies atheist

[@Peef_Spogdar]

@@swedish-monarchist2457 maybe you skipped the part where he defines what it is

[@johnmcphee3136]

@@swedish-monarchist2457 We'll, they can't have belief in a higher power if they haven't been taught the concept yet.

[@Bixmy]

​@@swedish-monarchist2457 i feel like it make sense thou as a child being a thiest doesnt make sense a believe should be volenteerly and a considered thing. which is the same as other implicit type which either didnt considered it or dont care that much.

[@mamaieshaspeaks]

Another Christian here. Thank you so much for this Matt! I hope a lot of Theist folks will take the time to watch this series as well! Just because one may not hold or understand a belief set, I think it's so important to learn about it and have healthy dialog, instead of being defensive, angry, judgemental. etc etc. This video is so helpful already~ 🤗

[@commemorative]

Matt practices Judaism but was raised in a cult of Christianity.

[@gaborraski354]

Actually I fall into the negative atheist category and I similarly don't belive that only the phisical world exists: I'm just not convinced that anything else exists apart from that, the same way I'm not convinced that any god exists. The burden of proof is still yours, belivers. Sorry ;)

[@chrish7336]

@@gaborraski354 Unfortunately that's where alot of folks have it backwards. Christians don't have to prove anything to anyone. Christians are only required to give you information to help direct you. Once you are provided the Gospel of Christ as evidenced and foretold (historic verification) it is on you. A Christian cannot force you to believe what they say, God cannot force you to believe either. It becomes a decision to be judged in the afterlife. Science is proving more and more alignment with Biblical History. Remember the Bible as it is today was not written as a complete book, it is a library of Historic Documents written in standard history/letter/law documents of the time. But I digress. As I heard it years ago, here is a way to think of it as far as proving to anyone..... If a Christian is right, what to you have to loose. If the Christian is wrong what do they have to loose.

[@VindensSaga]

​@@gaborraski354 You're wrong about the burden being on me though. The reason? I don't care what you believe in nor do I have a mission to make you believe in anything, as I see it You will either burn in hell for your sins or you won't. Where you end up is up to yourself.

[@rogerstone3068]

@@VindensSaga Does your faith not require you to do what you can to help others become enlightened and gain salvation?

[@MichaelJohnson-vi6eh]

This is a great study. My earlier life as an agnostic has definitely colored my desire for a separation of church and state. If I choose to have a religious belief it does not give me a right to enforce that belief on someone who does not share it. In fact, if it is my ultimate goal to inspire and convert, being a tyrant and shaming people into making empty statements or hiding their private lives from view is not going to win converts unless they too want to manipulate.

[@iluvtacos1231]

The fact that you acknowledge that atheism, in and of itself, is not a worldview has earned this video a like. I have had to explain that to several people before and it is always painful.

[@dinamosflams]

there are a lot of people who are so used to being able to define people in groups or that people belong themselfs in groups that they can't even fathom the idea of not belonging to one. For example here in brazil, where futball is basicly a second religion, since I was a kind and even recetly people have asked me "what is your team?" or "which team up will you cheer up to?". I allways said none, and usually that got followed up by those people thinking that I must be a partypooper or that I will cheer "against futball". No, I just like online games more

[@alandavies55]

@@dinamosflams I have never liked foot ball, I prefer individual sports, in my youth I was a good cross country runner and I also raced motorcycles. I get slightly annoyed when people, usually women, assume I will go crazy over football, I don`t.

[@FacuA0]

@@dinamosflams I agree as an argentinian. Every once in a while I get asked that same question, or "Are you of River or Boca?" (the biggest teams here), to which I avoid replying. Generally I'm only interested in football during World Cups.

[@Williamatics]

How is it not? Believing that God doesn't exist is still a belief about God, and is therefore a religion.

[@iluvtacos1231]

@@Williamatics You obviously didn't watch the video super closely since he detailed why atheism isn't a worldview. But it also isn't a religion because we don't worship a god or gods. So it's kind of hard to be a religion when you don't have something that, by definition, a religion has.

[@elleeeish407]

As an atheist, this is great to see. One of the biggest issues I run up against as an atheist is theists arguing that atheist's have no moral code (as they derive their own from their religion or religious texts). Secular humanist is where I derive my moral code from. Thank you for introducing the concept of worldview here, hopefully it will reach some people who struggle with understanding us "heathens".

[@nealjroberts4050]

I'm an agnostic pantheist and I run up against the same issue with "scriptural" theists when it comes to morality. Mine also comes from humanist secularism.

[@eefaaf]

I don't understand the claim of theists that they get their moral code from the bible (or any other holy text). What part or parts of scripture, and why those? What is the moral lesson you take from it, and why is that not the same as some other theist's, of even from the same flavour of theism? Doesn't that mean you (or the (religious) community you're part of) do in fact have your own source of morals, and you just pick those parts parts of scripture that seems to affirm that?

[@elleeeish407]

@@eefaaf if you've ever been to a church service you'll see that they literally do this. They'll cherry pick down from line to line and then even have the audacity to tell you at the beginning exactly which lines they're specifically cherry picking

[@saadalazmi9965]

if I am an atheist then I will live only for my pleasure, even though it is far from moral and endangers people and the environment around me,I don't care, the important thing is that my life is peaceful, because this is my life and I have the right to my pleasure, maybe that's the picture if I'm an atheist,,then you can imagine if people have such understanding,,and if you think of a world without religion from god,,that is a very dark thing,,religion in my opinion is the love of god for humans so that they live in peace,, but many people stay away from their religion, and if I do that, I will definitely be a fool and insolent

[@saadalazmi9965]

"He sends down the angels with revelations with His command to whom He wills among His servants, (by saying) namely, "Warn (My servants), that there is no god but Me, so you should fear Me."" (Surat an-Nahl 16: Verse 2) "He created the heavens and the earth with truth. Most exalted is Allah from what they associate." (Surat an-Nahl 16: Verse 3) "He has created man from semen, he turned out to be a real dissident." (Surat an-Nahl 16: Verse 4) "And He has created livestock for you, in them there is (hair) that warms and various benefits, and some of it you eat." (Surat an-Nahl 16: Verse 5)

[@blacktemplar2323]

I have a couple of questions regarding the group you surveyed: 1) Do you have any knowledge where they originate from (which country), sice the level of religiosity of their surroundings might influence their worldview? 2) Were there measurable differences between people who started out as theists and became atheists and lifelong atheists?

[@TheHomerowKeys]

I'm thinking a lot of the responses are likely from "Western" countries considering where the surveys got responses on the internet. Having come from a religious (Catholic) upbringing and having had friends from youth that have either become more more religious or up to full-blown forceful Athiests, I can say a few of the Athiests have a resentment toward Theism in general. I don't fault them because their religious upbringing was very oppressive. I consider myself an Athiest, but I'm more of a relaxed Atheist. Just be a good person, don't hurt people, mind your own business kind of person LOL.

[@praddumnvats6759]

Ya i was thinking the same...Americans use reddit the most.

[@blacktemplar2323]

@@TheHomerowKeys "Western countries" includes a group of wildly different states regarding the influence of religion on everyday life, a good contrast would be the USA vs sweden. I personally started out as a theist and became an atheist, but since i didn't have to deal with theists for a long time i didn't think about the topic for many years. This only changed when i moved and had to deal with religious people on a somewhat regular basis (including a roommate who wanted to convert me)

[@TheHomerowKeys]

Sorry you had to deal with a roommate like that. That's not fun. His research wasn't about upbringing or how vocally religious a region was to people who describe themselves as Atheists. I would be interested in what you're talking about though. I grew up Catholic and a number of my peers grew up to be very vocal Atheists because of how oppressive their upbringings were. As an Atheist who grew up with in a very heavy-handed faith-based community in the American Northeast. I'm not as resentful to religious people as some of the now-Atheists I grew up with, but I would definitely say environment in youth definitely plays a part in how you view (a)theism later in life.

[@blacktemplar2323]

@@TheHomerowKeys What i was trying to express is, that if basically everyone around you is an atheist, it becomes less important in regards to your worldview, at least from my experience. I have interacted with both communists and radical nationalists who are atheists and they wouldn't necessarily align with the humanist worldview. +people can have various supernatural beliefs while still being atheists. What i am curious about is wether people from these regions are represented in the study or bot and if yes if they are the exception or the rule. My current impression based on where the survey was spread is that it is probably representative of american atheists and not atheists in general.

[@vilena5308]

"I don't object to the concept of a deity, but I'm baffled by the notion of one that takes attendance." (Amy Farrah Fowler, TBBT) Or cares what we do in our bedrooms, stresses about what we wear, has a need to be worshiped... Yeah, that one resonated with me.

[@hillaryandmichaelcrymes3702]

I agree. It's nearly impossible to disprove that a god could possible exist when the universe is so large and unknown, I simply don't believe in any of the "mainstream" ones. my interest in the bible and biblical figures is similar to my interest in Greek mythology. I like the lore, history, and storytelling but that's about it

[@vilena5308]

@@hillaryandmichaelcrymes3702 I think that the current estimate is that there are around 200 billion galaxies. Galaxies! And that there might be around 40 billion planets that might support life in the Milky Way alone. Our galaxy is an insignificant speck in the universe, our planet even more so. It seems incredibly egoistic that a creator of all that cares about judging our daily lives. Greek mythology is a good example what essentially we are doing, creating stories we want or need to hear. And that's fine, that's part of our nature. Just don't imprison or kill me because I don't agree with your personal headcanon.

[@saadalazmi9965]

I wonder why most humans over time are more inclined to do mischief and bloodshed, if you pay attention to history, and if You think that God needs to be worshiped, God is the creator of this universe, he is omnipotent over everything, he only sent down his teachings so that humans stop doing bad things. If God is indifferent to humans, more damage will occur, but why do you think that God's teachings are what he needs, I think that is one of his affections for humans

[@VaughanMcCue]

@@saadalazmi9965 ..., he only sent down his teachings so that humans stop doing bad things. ... 1 Sam 15; 2-3. Scriptural hopscotch is a little bit naughty.

[@Funkopedia]

Well, the old gods gained "power" through popularity, or in realistic terms, their cults became more influential because they had more members. Attendance-taking is just a way of keeping score.

[@imfirinmilazar]

Ok I'm an atheist and you are the first theist to explain our position with any accuracy.

[@Eimrine]

You are not an atheist if you do not believe in god.

[@imfirinmilazar]

@@Eimrine what?

[@Eimrine]

@@imfirinmilazar if you accept the fact that a "god" word means something defined then you aren't atheist.

[@gloriagarcia8984]

@@Eimrine what is that supposed to mean?

[@imfirinmilazar]

@@Eimrine an atheist is someone who doesn't believe in a god. That's it that's the whole definition. But i understand what you are trying to say... I think.

[@RickJaeger]

Oh interesting! I can't believe this is the first time I heard of "Axiology." Normally, all the other theories of value are subsumed under Ethics and Meta-Ethics. This is definitely better, with Ethics, Meta-Ethics, Aesthetics, etc. categorized under something with no preconceptions attached to the name. Plus it completes the "-ology" trilogy with Ontology and Epistemology.

[@ReadtoRise]

Great job on this video, and congratulations on finishing your PhD thesis! I hope this helps bridge the gap between those who believe and those who don't. We're all on the same team people!

[@MakoWoman]

Dang, I’m an atheist and I just learned a bunch!! Your videos are the height of quality 😊

[@tiggigrob8113]

invest ur eternal life

[@LastBastian]

@@tiggigrob8113 in what? ...Bit coin?