Religion (or lack thereof) and Autism/Asperger's?

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Your right it is on your part for insulting me. Look up the facts yourself and know that I am right.

Not true we work with the Church serve our fellow man by doing good works. And we do not fear death but most people do since they have no hope when it comes.

Yes, but when Christians do good, they are typically doing so because they believe it's going to earn them a pass into heaven. I've been to multiple churches, and the message is always the same: "do good in this life so you'll be rewarded in the next, aka heaven."

When I do good to others, which I do consistently, I do so, not for concern of my soul's fate, but because I want to do the right thing. Christians believe that in order to do good, you must follow the bible. That is entirely false. But, then they'll say: "they may be a good person, but they're going to hell, because they are not Christian."

Nice.

Heaven is not my only goal in life it is to do good work to help out those in need not just because it is a good thing to do but because it't the right thing to do. Having faith in God is believeing in something that is bigger then yourself I don't bring up Hell too the people who do not believe in God because their non belief doesn't affect my life at all. If some one doesn't believe in a afterlife why mention Hell when you have no belief of God Heaven the Devil or Hell seems pointless to talk about unless you have belief of it in the first place.

If you actually do your research, the faithful only live longer in countries where they are the majority--very likely, it is not that they are living longer than they otherwise would have lived, but that they ostracize others who do not share their faith and, thus, those people tend to be stressed out by interacting with all the bigots, dying sooner either from the stress or, sometimes, suicide.

Religious Aspies might usually be devoted.

Religion has nothing to do with autism.

Spirituality is a different matter.

Agnostic atheist here. (even if my father is a christian priest)
I don't believe there are such as strong atheists - only weak atheists (agnostic atheists), antitheists, or gnostic atheists (for me that's BS, nobody can know anything for sure - neither science can explain everything) These terms are a little bit misunderstood in my opinion.

I don't like religions and I never will. I see them as illogical and as the cause of a lot of intolerance, bigotry, fundamentalism ,extremism and last but not least death and destruction. That goes for all religions, not just one of them.

People who are religious tend to think that there religion is the only one that matters and they also think that they are the only ones who have a fixed set of moral values. I strongly disagree with that. It has been proven time and time again in the past that people are capable of doing a lot of nasty things in the name of their religion and unfortanately nothing has changed in that regard. I also think that religions are to blame for the degrading position that woman had and have in a lot of cultures and that's another aspect of religion I strongly dislike.

In my opnion religion used to provide the answers to a lot of questions people had in a distant past. Some of these questions have been anwered by science now and I consider that to be a good thing.

Last edited by pokerface on 04 May 2012, 1:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.

This is something fanaticals do I will say that they are very small in number most present day christians only care about their fellow religious brothers and sisters the fact that some one is a atheist doesn't matter to them christian look after one another just like athesits do.

http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/s ... ive-longer

That didn't refute what I said, it confirmed it.

Research was actually down in the PPR forum here on world planet, and presented in a paper from Boston University. Per analysis of another "NT" website, it was deterimined that 26% high functioning autistic atheists vs 17% "NT" were atheists. Along with other statistics listed below. If you were posting in the PPR section during the period the study was conducted you could have been an unwitting participant for a subject of study.

There are quite a few interesting opinions on the internet that suggest that most atheists have some autistic traits.

But this is the only actual research conducted that provides any numbers that I am aware of. I suspect it is flawed in the sense that the individuals on the other site that was chosen, as an "NT" site could have been been comprised with undiagnosed individuals with Aspergers as well.

I checked the site out and there are many of the same types of heated discussions about religion as there is here.

That really doesn't happen much in real life with Atheist against religious philosophies in the US; most people keep that type of thing to themselves, moreso I think for Atheists, because they are in the small minority in the US; unfortunately still a philosophy not well accepted in all areas where one is trying to gain job advancement.

Kind of a don't ask don't tell environment, still exists in some areas. Although it doesn't really seem fair in a nation that values separation of church and state. Depending on where one lives atheists can receive bias against their beliefs not much different than what we have historically seen among other minority groups in the US. Not nearly as much of an issue in some other western societies, that have moved further away from organized religious activities.

The internet is actually a haven to express that one is an atheist; it is a rare avenue for atheist in the US, where they can feel accepted rather than ostracized. Interesting here how the tables are turned, at times, as compared to the real world.

I'm in the 16% category from below, those that contruct their own construction category, somewhere close to classical pantheism.

Organized religion does provide lifelong social connections that aren't available today in many other areas of life.

Social connectedness is studied as the #1 factor in human happiness, which obviosly factors in less stress and overall better health, not to mention the real life advantages of being connected to others in times of emotional, financial, or in general when one needs assistance from others in any area of need.

It is clear that some benefit very much from participating in organized religion. A likely advantage for some in living a happier, fulfilling life. However, almost impossible to separate from all the factors in life that contribute to happiness, health and longevity in an actual scientific study. But, 80% of the country aren't doing it because they aren't gaining a real perceived benefit from it, even if it's just connections with others.

http://csjarchive.cogsci.rpi.edu/proceedings/2011/papers/0782/paper0782.pdf

Religion provides a vehicle to ignore some of the existential angst that those that don't have a belief in a higher power for hope experience. But on the other hand not every one is able to experience emotions as others are, so the benefit of hope an emotion, is not the same for one that does not feel it as strongly regardless of that avenue of hope.

Whereever there is bliss, there is fuel for positive things in life, because it is some evidence that one is able to ignore the negative thoughts in life that remove bliss from the experience of life.

Those that have the ability to gain hope, regardless of the avenue provided in life to reach it are the lucky ones. When one loses the ability to look forward to the next moment, life is not quite the same, and all to often too much of the same.

I wish I had that thing that all the other congregation members had going when I was going to church as a young person; it was a connection with others, that creates a greater power in life, which was not the same for me as it seemed to be for most others.

It's God and the same; it's human nature and our ability to connect with others, whether it is a plant, a cat, the congregation at church, or the sense that one is connected with all. Those that lose the ability to connect at all, are the most unlucky of human beings; in a way analogous to the "zombie apocalypse".

Modern culture provides electronic connectedness in ways never conceived before, but a machine is never alive, only imagined as such, in smaller and smaller avenues of what approximates human connection.

Culture is interesting in it's many expressions; the "zombie apocalypse" is more telling of culture than myth in some ways. Not only an analogy of a type of ignorance of reality, but a lack of bliss as well, in "zombie apocalypse" like proportion.

It appears that you are one of the fortunate ones in regard to hope; hold on to it and enjoy it, it is part of what is required for the next good moment, regardless of the beneficial avenue one gains to take them there. And, I think it is good to join with others in the hope that others are fortunate as well in gaining a source of hope in life, in whatever beneficial avenue they can find. As far as I am concerned those that gain hope in their "religious" pursuits whatever they may be in life, are indeed one of the fortunate ones in life.

Very interesting. I've indulged in religious modes from time to time. It's highly compartmentalized - I can switch it on and off. What I'm doing is like animism with pantheistic tendencies. It's very lean and mean, stripped down to only what I consider the core benefits. It would not be suitable for most believers, who are seeking something unyielding, fixed, and certain. This is far too flexible for those needs, and has no mechanisms to attempt to prove or justify itself (I regard these as unnecessary). It is deliberately subrational.

That being said, I consider myself atheist.

If you're doing something similar I wouldn't mind to hear more, if you'd like to start a thread or pm me.

This is common to pretty much any belief system, whether faith-based or hard empiricism. Whether I agree with your position or not, at least yours is consistent and realistic (and honest).

Here's why: Hard empiricism demands that the only true knowledge out there is directly observable by the senses. But this assumption itself is not arrived at through any such observation. It cannot prove itself, and because it depends so heavily on that idea, the whole of it is false.

The mechanism to prove or justify Christianity is the experience of the believer. It is somewhat legitimized by the empiricist standard if one takes into account that Christianity is a shared experience. Anti-theists seem to quickly lump this kind of evidence with complicated explanations such as "mass hysteria." What I find amusing is how some will try to bypass their own burden of proof by saying "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." To a believer who HAS experienced God in some way, the assertion that there is no God is itself an extraordinary claim for which extraordinary evidence never seems to be forthcoming.

Right or wrong, it is up to the individual as to whether one's own personal beliefs are proven or justified and whether that is even necessary. Whether I agree with you or not, and whether you are right are not, you are at least on the right track logically.