Thursday, March 23, 2006

Atheists The Most Distrusted Minority

Research shows that Atheists are the most distrusted minority in American society.

I think that is a pretty accurate conclusion. It would make sense because the majority of people in America have a religion. Atheists would be opposing the majority of Americans, whether it be Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, or etc. On the other hand, a lot of religions can agree on some basic concepts such as the belief that there is a greater being. I would think that theoretically Atheists wouldn't be able to agree with any religion on anything.

Here is an excerpt from the research article referred to above:

"Edgell also argues that today’s atheists play the role that Catholics, Jews and communists have played in the past—they offer a symbolic moral boundary to membership in American society. “It seems most Americans believe that diversity is fine, as long as every one shares a common ‘core’ of values that make them trustworthy—and in America, that ‘core’ has historically been religious,” says Edgell. Many of the study’s respondents associated atheism with an array of moral indiscretions ranging from criminal behavior to rampant materialism and cultural elitism."