Britons are world's "most atheist"

[Hamish]

From the BBC:

UK among most secular nations (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/wtwtgod/3518375.stm)

Ten thousand people were questioned in the poll by research company ICM for the BBC programme What The World Thinks Of God.

More than a quarter of Britons thought the world would be more peaceful with nobody believing in God, but very few people in other countries agreed.

The survey found the highest levels of belief in some of the world's poorer countries, but also in the world's richest, America.

The countries polled were the US, UK, Israel, India, South Korea, Indonesia, Nigeria, Russia, Mexico and Lebanon. The interviews were carried out in January 2004.


Of course, only 10,000 people across only 10 countries does not necessarily give a complete picture. In fact, I suspect this picture to be somewhat skewed, judging by the countries that were included. Still, the program that comissioned the poll will be airing tonight in the UK and might be worth a watch.

[EdipisReks]

i would move to britain, except i value my teeth. ;)

[shemp]

why do you think they eat spotted dick?

[Giz]

"But across the entire sample, almost 30% of all atheists surveyed said they sometimes prayed"

Is this some new form of atheism I was not aware of?

[Marquis de Carabas]

That would be the 30% who thought the question said "preyed."

[iain]

At last, something we Brits can be proud of.

Originally posted by EdipisReks
i would move to britain, except i value my teeth. ;) I wonder how many Americans think that Austin Powers was a documentary? ;) (My teeth are just fine, thank you).

[Humphreys]

Originally posted by Hamish
UK among most secular nations

Ha! In your face America!

[Chanileslie]

Originally posted by Humphreys


Ha! In your face America!

Yeah, like we had any chance!! Pfeh!

[geni]

This is what happens when you don't have seperation of church and state.

[Johnny Pneumatic]

Originally posted by EdipisReks
i would move to britain, except i value my teeth. ;)





And their irritating accent:p

[Abdul Alhazred]

Originally posted by iain
At last, something we Brits can be proud of.

I wonder how many Americans think that Austin Powers was a documentary? ;) (My teeth are just fine, thank you).

Do the Brits have something equivalent to American state lotteries? These are supposed to support public education.

A tax on stupidity to support public education. Yup. :p

[iain]

Originally posted by Abdul Alhazred


Do the Brits have something equivalent to American state lotteries? These are supposed to support public education.

A tax on stupidity to support public education. Yup. :p Yup. We have a national lottery (odds of winning the jackport : 14,000,000 to 1). I'm the lone member of my office who doesn't participate; so if they beat the odds, win the jackpot and all leave, I can pretty much name my salary as the only experienced person left. That's the plan anyway :D

[Tony]

Interesting. The only thing I thought was dumb was the "If less people believed in god the world would be more peaceful" aspect. It matters not, "God" is just another ideology certain people take to the extreme, that's all.

[Humphreys]

Originally posted by Chanileslie
Yeah, like we had any chance!! Pfeh!

Pffft! Why don't you go pray to your magic sky daddy. He'll make you feel better.

[Hexxenhammer]

Originally posted by Humphreys


Pffft! Why don't you go pray to your magic sky daddy. He'll make you feel better. No need. Americans love being underdogs. American atheists love being in the minority. Christians in America have to pretend to be oppressed so they can get this feeling artificially.

[Lothian]

I stopped watching shortly after Jeremy Vine was asking. So why is the UK lagging behind other countries when it comes to belief and No one corrected him to point out that we were pulling ahead.

The points being made were fairly lame. The polls were fairly predictable. All the third world and poorly educated counties, Indonesia, Nigeria and America, had high levels of gullibility while the more sophisticated advanced counties showed less need to rely on fantasy figures.

I did however like the American atheist’s quote. “God didn’t make man, man made God”. Now where is that make you own T shirt kit.

[triadboy]

Originally posted by Humphreys


Ha! In your face America!

Jesus will get you for that comment!

[Yahweh]

Originally posted by Lothian
I did however like the American atheist’s quote. “God didn’t make man, man made God”. Now where is that make you own T shirt kit.
Here (http://www.boffensive.com/offensive_tshirts/make_your_own_tee.htm)

And

here (http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/sell/) ( I recommend this link).

[Darat]

Originally posted by geni
This is what happens when you don't have seperation of church and state.

I agree - the best way to make someone an atheist, let the government provide the religion. :D

[EdipisReks]

Originally posted by iain
I wonder how many Americans think that Austin Powers was a documentary? ;)

it's roughly the same amount as those who believe in a god.

[MLynn]

England has the Church of England (COE), but we have the Episcopal Church (son of COE). Many unusual people in the Episcopal denomination, glad it's not the "state religion!"

[Underemployed]

Thank god I live in England.

[Darat]

Originally posted by Underemployed
Thank god I live in England.

Well everyone knows God is English. ;)

[Renfield]

Originally posted by iain
At last, something we Brits can be proud of.

I wonder how many Americans think that Austin Powers was a documentary? ;) (My teeth are just fine, thank you).

Actually, didn't AP end up getting his teeth fixed? His were so bad because he came from the Britain of the sixties.

[Abdul Alhazred]

Originally posted by Renfield
Actually, didn't AP end up getting his teeth fixed? His were so bad because he came from the Britain of the sixties.

Interesting. Over here, bad teeth are an ethnic stereotype for the British. And there's something to it.

When I was around 10 years old, my parents hired a middle aged British woman to babysit me and my younger brother a few times while they went to the theater.

She had really bad looking teeth.

One of those times her husband came over. Their teeth were formed well before the 60s, because this was during the 60s.

His tooth decay was so bad that the smell of it knocked you out across the room.

Much later, I worked with a woman of Nigerian extraction who was born and raised in England. She was very English. She had the same teeth, so it's not racial. African Americans tend to have excellent teeth.

Are you claiming that Brits have good teeth now? Or just better reconstructive dentistry? Has the national diet improved due to the prevalence of curry? :p

[iain]

Originally posted by Abdul Alhazred
Are you claiming that Brits have good teeth now? Or just better reconstructive dentistry? Has the national diet improved due to the prevalence of curry? :p Oh, all of those I should think. Certainly of all the people I know, I can think of very very few who have bad teeth or poor oral hygiene. Maybe it still varies geographically or with economic status, but I think that stereotype is out of date now, if it was ever in date.

[Renfield]

Originally posted by Abdul Alhazred


Interesting. Over here, bad teeth are an ethnic stereotype for the British. And there's something to it.

When I was around 10 years old, my parents hired a middle aged British woman to babysit me and my younger brother a few times while they went to the theater.

She had really bad looking teeth.

One of those times her husband came over. Their teeth were formed well before the 60s, because this was during the 60s.

His tooth decay was so bad that the smell of it knocked you out across the room.

Much later, I worked with a woman of Nigerian extraction who was born and raised in England. She was very English. She had the same teeth, so it's not racial. African Americans tend to have excellent teeth.

Are you claiming that Brits have good teeth now? Or just better reconstructive dentistry? Has the national diet improved due to the prevalence of curry? :p

No, I really don't know what the hell I'm talking about on the subject really. :) Other than what I got out of Austin Powers, anyway.

I just remember Ms. Kensington telling Austin that dentistry in England had come a long way since the 60's, and Austin getting his teeth fixed at the end of the movie.

[Darat]

Originally posted by Abdul Alhazred
...snip...

Are you claiming that Brits have good teeth now? Or just better reconstructive dentistry? Has the national diet improved due to the prevalence of curry? :p

Well after seeing programmes like "Jerry Springer" I don't think the USA is any place to sneer at the state of another countries dental condition...

Plus the USA gentleperson perhaps should remember that most of the "great" teeth we see on USA TV etc. are artificial to at least some extent.

Not all healthy teeth are brilliantly white and you can have a perfectly fine and healthy mouth of teeth and they not be totally straight, have gaps and so on.

[Abdul Alhazred]

Originally posted by Darat


I agree - the best way to make someone an atheist, let the government provide the religion. :D

You may think you are kidding around, but I think this is precisely the case.

My country is screwbally religious because no one is telling us what to do.

I prefer our way on the matter of general liberty, despite how it works out.

We can disagree, but let's not kid ourselves on the general, sometimes negative effects.

[Filippo Lippi]

Lazy prejudice from sceptics?

Bad form

[Nikk]

Originally posted by Abdul Alhazred


You may think you are kidding around, but I think this is precisely the case.

My country is screwbally religious because no one is telling us what to do.

I prefer our way on the matter of general liberty, despite how it works out.

We can disagree, but let's not kid ourselves on the general, sometimes negative effects.

I don't think anyone in Britain has been told what to do in matters of religion by the state since the 16th century and the immediate post reformation period. We found the american colonies very useful as a dumping ground for religious loonies like the pilgrims mind you ;) .

My guess is that your screwball religiosity has a lot to do with the need for immigrants in a strange land to create some common social structure with foreigners from different cultures with whom they have little in common except christianity. Monocultural european societies don't have this problem to the same extent.

Mind you, I'm surprised that you haven't got over this need by now.

[MLynn]

Originally posted by Nikk


I don't think anyone in Britain has been told what to do in matters of religion by the state since the 16th century and the immediate post reformation period. We found the american colonies very useful as a dumping ground for religious loonies like the pilgrims mind you ;)

Is it true that not many people in the UK go to COE services anymore - just the royal family?

[iain]

Originally posted by MLynn


Is it true that not many people in the UK go to COE services anymore - just the royal family? I think about 7% of the UK population are regular churchgoers; though a lot more believe in God and might go at Easter and Christmas or something like that.

[mummymonkey]

Originally posted by MLynn


Is it true that not many people in the UK go to COE services anymore - just the royal family? Very few round here that's for sure.

[max]

Ah, but the C of E churches are crowded when the service is being televised :D

[iain]

Originally posted by max
Ah, but the C of E churches are crowded when the service is being televised :D I might even be tempted to watch one of the Sunday Worship programmes if it was a realistic view of church life : a put-upon vicar preaching to a few old ladies and an otherwise empty church.

[MLynn]

Originally posted by mummymonkey
Very few round here that's for sure.

What about attendance at Church of Scotland services? Low too? I miss the Queen Mum, she was the spicey one of the royal family as far as I can tell.

[mummymonkey]

Originally posted by MLynn
What about attendance at Church of Scotland services? Low too? I miss the Queen Mum, she was the spicey one of the royal family as far as I can tell. I'm happy to report we appear to be equally godless.
http://www.scottishchristian.com/features/0305census01.shtml

[Abdul Alhazred]

Originally posted by iain
I might even be tempted to watch one of the Sunday Worship programmes if it was a realistic view of church life : a put-upon vicar preaching to a few old ladies and an otherwise empty church.

Britons might be the most atheist in the formal sense of not going to church.

The established church that is. If you went to any of the churches that actually live on voluntary contributions (as all do in the USA), the picture might be different.

The free market decides which churches live or die.

Are there any Southern Baptist churches in the UK? Are they counted as atheists because they are not C of E?

But who can deny the prevalence of woo-woo-ism in Britain?

Haunted houses, crystal-gazing, astrology, Uri Geller, aroma therapy, the lot.

And all the royals since Victoria are 'into' homey-opathy, right? :p

[iain]

Originally posted by Abdul Alhazred


Britons might be the most atheist in the formal sense of not going to church.

The established church that is. If you went to any of the churches that actually live on voluntary contributions (as all do in the USA), the picture might be different.

The free market decides which churches live or die.

Are there any Southern Baptist churches in the UK? Are they counted as atheists because they are not C of E?

But who can deny the prevalence of woo-woo-ism in Britain?

Haunted houses, crystal-gazing, astrology, Uri Geller, aroma therapy, the lot.

And all the royals since Victoria are 'into' homey-opathy, right? :p Established does not mean state-funded (at least not very much). The Anglican church does largely get by on donations (it lost a hideous amount of money in ill-advised property deals in the '90s). Remember as well that many of the church buildings themselves date back to the 14th century (in the village that I grew up, there was certainly a church there at the time of the Norman invasion in 1066, though the current church is 15th century I think) - I'm sure some funding is to do with maintaining the buildings rather than the religion.

No one is counted as an atheist just because they are not CofE. The UK has many religious communities from Catholics to Christian Scientists, Hindus to Methodists.

Sadly, no one here would deny the growth of woo-wooism in the UK which is as great as anywhere else. Our royal family, with hundreds of years of inbreeding behind them , are not massively in touch with reality. The wife of our illustrious prime minister believes in healing crystals and who knows what other nonsense. And, yes, we are the proud adopted nation of Uri Gellar.

You can't have everything.