Atheist least trusted group in America?

[RangerGxi]

It seems that Atheists are less trustworthy than Jews and Muslims in America...

What do you guys think Atheists have done to earn this reputation?

[Dan the Man]

Any source or reason behind this statement? You know, something besides the usual "lol Americans are all crazy Bible-belt theists lol" stereotype.

[Moorish guy]

I dont know about that, If a well known atheist gets on a plane he is not bothered but if a Muslim imam boards one people start to get tense and ask to leave.

[XIII]

This seems to be anecdotal at best. Do you have any reason why you think that, OP?

[Don in the North]

if you trust the westboro church more than an atheist, you have a serious problem that needs to be looked at

[Dan the Man]

if you trust the westboro church more than an atheist, you have a serious problem that needs to be looked at

[cfmonkey45]

But who trusts the Westboro Baptist Church?

[SonOfOdin]

But who trusts the Westboro Baptist Church?

Westboro Baptist Church followers?

[basics]

" What do you guys think Atheists have done to earn this reputation? "

RangerGxi,

It takes all types inside all types where reputations are built so I would imagine that some might deserve to be mistrusted even among their own and that applies across the divide that separates the religious from the atheist. I have come across a few of the religious variety that I wouldn't trust for a second and a few atheists that the thought of trust never comes up.

[Old_Scratch]

A quick Yahoo! search turned up this article from 2006. It doesn't look like a good survey since they only used about 2000 people for it.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/sto...1786422&page=1

[Gaidin]

A quick Yahoo! search turned up this article from 2006. It doesn't look like a good survey since they only used about 2000 people for it.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/sto...1786422&page=1

2000 is standard. The question they never address is margin of error and methodology for the survey.

[Dan the Man]

I think it would also be dependent on where the people surveyed were from. The deep South, yes, I could definitely imagine it. But elsewhere...probably not.
I'm beginning to think that this is just a mere troll thread, to be honest...

[Himster]

I don't think it's true. Americans aren't all that stereotypical obese, red-neck, bigot, "moran", George bush, hate-filled types that much of the rest of the world likes to satirise the american people as. I know many americans.

But if this "poll" of yours is true, then perhaps there is some truth in this satire.

[(s)AINT]

I do not trust these opinion polls. I'd say the majority of those people cannot associate anything with atheists (so that is why they are least trusted). They associate muslims with terrorism, jews with big business and money, etc etc.

You'd think it'd be the other way around but in fact it is sadly not In their heads it is: "Atheism=rejection=nothing=no morals, ethics or humility"

[Jack04]

http://www.soc.umn.edu/~hartmann/fil...he%20other.pdf

That's the source. If those statistics genuinely represent American views (I suspect it depends massively on the demographic of your chosen 2000) I do feel glad I reside on the other side of the pond.

[Tuor]

http://www.soc.umn.edu/~hartmann/files/atheist%20as%20the%20other.pdf

That's the source. If those statistics genuinely represent American views (I suspect it depends massively on the demographic of your chosen 2000) I do feel glad I reside on the other side of the pond.

That pdf is a little depressing.

[Border Patrol]

In neither California nor the South does anyone ever have a problem with me being an atheist. /failthread

[Orko]

I like how you all here just dismiss this.

[Lord Rahl]

What do you mean "trust"? I mean, what would an atheist do to make a religious person not trust them? Cut them off on the highway? Not hold open the elevator door to let them in? Help balance their budget? Play a pick-up game of basketball with them?

[basics]

I think what we are seeing in America is the diminishing of what was a strong evangelical culture through easy believism which is causing a sort of scapegoat mentality in that rather than looking to Jesus as the true born again believer should do, the easy believer looks elsewhere for his problems and what better than the guy who can't believe.

For example Roman Catholicism which was the direct enemy of Christ and the people of God, has for some insane reason become a bedfellow of the easy believer, so one would have thought that seeing millions of Roman Catholics flooding in from the south would have been America's top priority but it seems that that is not the case. Despite all the Biblical warnings, false gospels are better than no gospels at all in the minds of men.