258
Americans were asked "What percentage of American adults _____" compared with the true proportion.
(lemmy.world)
this post was submitted on 05 Jun 2025
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That number is wrong.
28% of people in the US don't have a religion. People here just don't like the word atheist.
Not having a religion =/= atheist in surveys like this.
Believing there is no god is still a belief. Not having a religion means you dont subscribe to any belief
To paraphrase a famous quote: Saying atheism is a belief is like saying not playing tennis is a sport.
There's no proof for or against God, just by the simple fact that God could just not care and not get involved, and such a God would be neither provable or disprovable.
The only position that can be logically drawn from that is the agnostic one: "I don't know whether God exists or not, and I don't care. It doesn't affect me.".
Atheists on the other hand are in a position that doesn't logically follow from the evidence. They believe that there is no God. It is a belief, because it cannot be logically derived from the evidence. And there are lots of Atheists who live their atheism like a religion. They study their literature to build a belief system, to find evidence, to disprove others. They meet up (online or physically) to talk about their non-belief and to hone their arguments. They strongly defend their position in discussions. I've even met Atheist missionaries who stand on street corners preaching that God doesn't exist.
To respond to your quote: Not playing tennis would be agnosticism. Atheists are running around the field, following the players and shouting in their ears that tennis sucks. They are playing, just a different sport.