Are most people with Asperger's Atheists?

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Vince
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23 Jun 2011, 6:19 pm

raisedbyignorance wrote:
I tend to find both sides to be incredibly annoying. So I consider myself as "no assocation" or for people who don't like complex terms "agnostic".

That's not what agnostic means. Agnostic means you don't know. Which is an answer to a different question. You're still either a theist or an atheist.
If you don't know if there's a god, but you believe anyway, you're an agnostic theist. If you don't know if there is a god, and therefore don't hold the belief that there is one (regardless of whether or not you hold the belief that there isn't one), you're an agnostic atheist.
The question here isn't whether there is a god or not, but whether or not you hold the belief that there is one. Might sound like the same question, but they hold quite different implications. If you don't hold the belief that there is a god, regardless of what other beliefs you may or may not hold, you're an atheist by default. There is no association. Theism is a word describing the belief that the word "god" refers to something which exists in reality, nothing less. Atheism is a word describing the absence of that belief, nothing more.


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SuperTrouper
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23 Jun 2011, 6:21 pm

I'm a Christian... but I'ven been treated terribly by many a Christian both online and in real life, so they're not always my favorite people.



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23 Jun 2011, 6:25 pm

I doubt there's any correlation.

I myself am an Atheist. I'm an atheist to the Christian God for exactly the same reasons Christians are atheists to the Muslim God, to Zeus, to Odin, to Shiva, etc. etc. etc.


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23 Jun 2011, 6:27 pm

The_Walrus wrote:
This post should be used as an example of how people with Asperger's tend to take things literally.

I'm a monotheist, with much of my religion coming from Christianity, as well as parts from Islam and Hindhuism.


I am so tempted to describe my reaction to religion when I was probably 10 or so, as a different perspective on taking things literally.

Nowadays I am a pagan-leaning agnostic. I do agree with Bloodheart that religion is a human construct, although I find it hard to go full atheist for some reason.



syrella
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23 Jun 2011, 6:34 pm

I consider myself agnostic, simply because I don't know and I can't prove it either way.


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USMCnBNSFdude
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23 Jun 2011, 6:59 pm

I'm one of those sperm-preserving mackerel snappers.


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23 Jun 2011, 7:17 pm

XFilesGeek wrote:
I am.

"Atheism" means to lack a belief in a god(s).



I've always found this definition a bit amusing. After reading a long online forum argument on the definition of atheism, I basically came up with this one:

You know all that stuff people believe about god and spirits?

Not that.


The point being that some atheists go through huge mental gymnastics to expunge the very concept of god from their discourse. It is no longer acceptable for an atheist to say they don't believe in god or that they believe that god does not exist. They must insist that atheism is the complete lack of any belief what so ever. The irony being that you cannot exist as a sentient without belief of some sort (not necessarily god or spirit) since rationalism, science and logic are restrictive descriptions of reality, rather than all encompassing and comprehensive. But once you accept the inevitable requirement of some form of belief, the door is opened to all the forms of belief that contemporary atheism holds in contempt. An intellectually honest atheist will accept that their reality is fundamentally based in belief, even if that belief is that science, rationalism, and such are the best descriptors of reality.


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anikatheoddone
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23 Jun 2011, 7:24 pm

no im a wiccan....sort of. but im also a buddhist....my religion cant be defined very well.



Vince
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23 Jun 2011, 7:45 pm

wavefreak58 wrote:
An intellectually honest atheist will accept that their reality is fundamentally based in belief, even if that belief is that science, rationalism, and such are the best descriptors of reality

Science isn't a "descriptor of reality". Nor is it a collection of claims. It's a method. Specifically the only reliable method of telling the difference between a verifiably true claim, a demonstrably false claim and a yet unverified claim. It's not a matter of faith; it works, and ways of applying it are constantly being adapted to give more precise results. Results which are tested over and over again, often in various ways, to make sure that they're accurate.
Religions don't do that. They put forth a bunch of claims and expect you to accept them at face value, without questioning or testing them, because they're the absolute truth.
To say that science has anything to do with faith is frankly...actually, I won't dignify that with a descriptor.


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aghogday
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23 Jun 2011, 8:33 pm

Vince wrote:
wavefreak58 wrote:
An intellectually honest atheist will accept that their reality is fundamentally based in belief, even if that belief is that science, rationalism, and such are the best descriptors of reality

Science isn't a "descriptor of reality". Nor is it a collection of claims. It's a method. Specifically the only reliable method of telling the difference between a verifiably true claim, a demonstrably false claim and a yet unverified claim. It's not a matter of faith; it works, and ways of applying it are constantly being adapted to give more precise results. Results which are tested over and over again, often in various ways, to make sure that they're accurate.
Religions don't do that. They put forth a bunch of claims and expect you to accept them at face value, without questioning or testing them, because they're the absolute truth.
To say that science has anything to do with faith is frankly...actually, I won't dignify that with a descriptor.


There are branches of science that study faith, and provide evidence that the positive imagery from faith or prayer provides an intrinsic benefit to some that take part in it. There are also branches of science that study logic and emotion, and research from this research suggest that emotion underlies most of the human decision making process.

While science can measure some phenomenon in concise ways, other phenomenon in human experience is much harder to measure and the results aren't always accepted. Some "believe" the results others don't. A good example is climate science and global warming, some believe that climate science has the correct answer on global warming, while others don't believe it; the basis of this is not religion, it is opinion and belief based on individual experience.

Religion has very little to do with beliefs in everyday life. The beliefs range from I must wash my hands 20 times a day with antibacterial soap to remain germ free and healthy to it is a worthwhile endeavor to play the lotto, and I will one day win it, or the combo at Wendy's is a better deal than the $1 menu items.

Religions aren't the only institutions that take advantage of the basic tendencies of humans to have faith and belief in almost anything they come across that feels good, regardless of what science has to say about the efficacy of the behavior. Almost every commercial and marketing ploy one comes across takes advantage of it. Marketing Science studies this too and the results of this show that people make decisions based on emotion.

Believing one can win the Lotto and making an investment in it, and washing one's hands 50 times a day, doesn't result in a payoff of more money or good health. The science is clear on this, but people keep doing it. Why? Because they believe. They are slaves to their emotions.

We are all human; none of us are immune to beliefs that aren't completely rational and not supported by science. Without emotion we wouldn't be able to tie our shoes. If one doesn't believe this, they are not being rational or acknowledging evidence from science; additional evidence they are slaves to their emotions.

While the percentage of atheists are higher in Europe. The range in the general population of the US is anywhere from 4 to 6 percent. One can't gather scientific evidence from an anonymous website, but everytime the question is answered here, the results are no less than 50/50 and often higher.

There has been some research that suggests that people with Aspergers don't have the ability to think teologically and apply the same purpose to religious beliefs that others do.

At least here when the questions are asked many people answer that they personify inanimate objects and score highly on schizotypal measures on personality tests; both related to teological thinking, so anecdotally, I question the research that suggests that people with Aspergers don't have the ability to think teologically.



styphon
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23 Jun 2011, 8:37 pm

Pretty sweeping statement.

Personally, I am a muslim convert.


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wavefreak58
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23 Jun 2011, 8:53 pm

Vince wrote:
wavefreak58 wrote:
An intellectually honest atheist will accept that their reality is fundamentally based in belief, even if that belief is that science, rationalism, and such are the best descriptors of reality

Science isn't a "descriptor of reality". Nor is it a collection of claims. It's a method. Specifically the only reliable method of telling the difference between a verifiably true claim, a demonstrably false claim and a yet unverified claim. It's not a matter of faith; it works, and ways of applying it are constantly being adapted to give more precise results. Results which are tested over and over again, often in various ways, to make sure that they're accurate.
Religions don't do that. They put forth a bunch of claims and expect you to accept them at face value, without questioning or testing them, because they're the absolute truth.
To say that science has anything to do with faith is frankly...actually, I won't dignify that with a descriptor.


Every word, equation, definition, jot and tittle is a descriptor of something. The essence of knowledge is description. I don't need you to dignify that nor is your disdain worth anything.


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aghogday
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23 Jun 2011, 9:49 pm

Vince wrote:
raisedbyignorance wrote:
I tend to find both sides to be incredibly annoying. So I consider myself as "no assocation" or for people who don't like complex terms "agnostic".

That's not what agnostic means. Agnostic means you don't know. Which is an answer to a different question. You're still either a theist or an atheist.
If you don't know if there's a god, but you believe anyway, you're an agnostic theist. If you don't know if there is a god, and therefore don't hold the belief that there is one (regardless of whether or not you hold the belief that there isn't one), you're an agnostic atheist.
The question here isn't whether there is a god or not, but whether or not you hold the belief that there is one. Might sound like the same question, but they hold quite different implications. If you don't hold the belief that there is a god, regardless of what other beliefs you may or may not hold, you're an atheist by default. There is no association. Theism is a word describing the belief that the word "god" refers to something which exists in reality, nothing less. Atheism is a word describing the absence of that belief, nothing more.


Agnostic means more than you don't know. It also means not committed to believing in the existence or the non existence of God, or a person who is unwilling to commit an opinion about something.

No association fits the definition of agnostic in this context, because by stating no association the individual is not willing to commit an opinion.

From the Merriam Dictionary

Quote:
Agnostic:

1: a person who holds the view that any ultimate reality (as God) is unknown and probably unknowable; broadly : one who is not committed to believing in either the existence or the nonexistence of God or a god
2: a person who is unwilling to commit to an opinion about something <political agnostics>



Is there a god?

I'm undecided if God exists or not.

I lack a belief in God.

I believe in God.

Do you believe in Intelligent Life on other Planets?

I'm undecided on whether or not there is intelligent life on other planets

I believe there is Intelligent life on other planets.

I lack a belief in intelligent life on other planets.

Some people may believe a person is either atheist or theist, but the world isn't black and white. Undecided or not willing to commit an opinion exists also.



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23 Jun 2011, 10:33 pm

do a poll. i'm agnostic.



aghogday
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23 Jun 2011, 11:33 pm

Here is a recent poll done in the General Discussion section, that generated a large response to the question of whether or not people with Aspergers believe in God. It also provides many links to suggestions that Atheism is more prevalent among people with Aspergers.

A poll done strictly in the PPR section would probably present a more biased view.

Close to 70 percent voted they did not believe in God.

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt157691.html


I'm an agnostic theist, in that I believe that God is All, but understand as a human being that I have limited perception and can't possibly fully understand what God is.

I respect a person's right to consider themselves agnostic and neither theist or atheist, agnostic atheist, agnostic theist.....

And beyond that to consider themselves whatever they want to consider themselves as far as what God is or isn't. This isn't rocket science, it is a very subjective issue, based on each individual's experience of life. We don't share anyone's life experiences, so we can't imagine how different biological tendencies, perceptions, emotions, and experiences play a role in determing someone's opinion on this subject.



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24 Jun 2011, 1:13 am

The_Walrus wrote:
League_Girl wrote:
I'm an atheist because I do not believe in god and I find religion boring. I don't understand it. I think it's all made up because of too many contradictions in it so that tells me god doesn't exist and it's just all beliefs and made up. Some people think there is more than one god while I was taught there is only one. Plus how did god make me? My parents made me, all it took was for them to have sex and the sperm and egg met and that was how I was conceived. God didn't decide that my mom would have three kids, she decided that herself. She decided she was too old to have kids so she had her tubes tied and she could have adopted or tried to but never did if she and dad wanted more kids. God doesn't give us food, we buy it and people grow it and sell it and factories make food too and ship it. How is god responsible for that? And also the bible has left out dinosaurs when I read it. It only mentioned how he created earth and the trees and flowers and two people. What about dinosaurs and other creatures that lived before humans?

So that is why I do not believe in god.

This post should be used as an example of how people with Asperger's tend to take things literally.

I'm a monotheist, with much of my religion coming from Christianity, as well as parts from Islam and Hindhuism.


How was that literal?