The Internet probably hasn’t made people less religious

[rug]

January 20th, 2013 | Posted by: Vlad Chituc

If there was a single cultural currency of the atheist movement, it would undeniably be the Internet language of memes, macros, and Facebook screencaps. Though atheists still make up only around 3-8% of the population, depending on who asks and how, they’re a dominating presence in online discourse. On websites like Reddit, where more than 80% of users are men and under the age of 35, atheism seems to be a default cultural assumption. The atheism subforum is in fact so popular—it has more than a million and a half subscribers—that it’s one of the few that new accounts are automatically subscribed to upon registration. From Facebook to YouTube, it seems like atheism has a serious presence online.

It’s not really much of a surprise, then, that atheists really love the Internet. When commenting on America’s shift away from religion, it seems that atheists are always quick to add to the sociologist’s explanation with a comment like “[a]nd the Internet. Don’t forget the Internet.” And this week, Valerie Tarico took this trend to the extreme with her Salon article, “Religion May Not Survive the Internet.”

Let me continue in my role as stats-nerd and general naysayer to suggest the following: Religion did and will survive the Internet and, at least when we’re talking about shifts in demographics, we probably should forget the Internet.

So here’s what we know:

Atheism hasn’t risen much at all over the last decade.

http://nonprophetstatus.com/2013/01/20/atheism-the-internet-probably-doesnt-matter/

[kestrel91316]

1. You wouldn't know it from listening to the anti-religion nutters here on DU.

They are bound and determined to deny all humans any freedom of religion.

And I'm an agnostic without a dog in the fight.

[rug]

2. If it's posted it must be true.

[cleanhippie]

5. You put your dog in this fight when you falsely accuse people of actions not committed.

You stay classy.

[kestrel91316]

8. DU is chock full of anti-religion nutters who shriek all day long about how

all religion should be banned and anyone with any spiritual leanings whatsoever is evil and crazy.

I haven't stalked you so I don't recall if you are one of them. But there are plenty here.

Those folks are the ones who need to stay classy. I just call 'em as I see 'em.

[jeff47]

9. So....should I re-post that cartoon then? (nt)

[cleanhippie]

10. Really? Can you provide examples of "shrieikers saying religion should be banned"?

Surely, if your accusations are true, you should be able to show several examples of this.

[kestrel91316]

13. Sorry. I don't spend my days stalking and bookmarking threads.

[cleanhippie]

14. Right, so you cannot. Your assertion was pulled directly from your backside, as suspected.

Thanks for comfirming that.

You hava a nice day.

[tama]

23. ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2239105

[Leontius]

16. FYI the poster you are responding to is

a serial offender of what he accuses you of doing. False accusations are his stock and trade, next he'll accuse you of being a budding theocrat.

[Phillip McCleod]

18. false accusations?

the gauntlet was thrown down from this bystanders viewpoint. the accusation was leveled against atheists here. if anyone is tossing accusations around i would strongly suggest looking in the mirror

[Leontius]

20. No accusation against "atheists" was made he just made an observation

that even a simple look any day in this group will prove out. The anti-religious bigotry of some is always on display here. I stand by my statement without any reservation.

[Phillip McCleod]

21. why because they make snarky comments?

that hardly seems worthy of such condemnation.

[mr blur]

12. Agnostics can be bigots too, eh?

Who'd have thought...?

[jeff47]

3. It didn't make more. What it did is let them find each other.

Being an atheist in a religious community is hard. But finding out "you are not alone" by going on the Internet is very helpful.

There's also a ton of atheists that still label themselves of their parent's religion, because that's more acceptable than declaring their atheism. Any "new" atheists created by the Internet are going to be from this group, who finally feel it's acceptable to just be themselves.

[cbayer]

6. Really good point. I don't recall that there were organized groups for non-believers

in the past, but we are certainly seeing growth at this time. I think the internet has helped that occur.

[dimbear]

22. Religion thrives in closed enclaves, where only the favored information is allowed.

Small towns in Utah where there are only Mormons, in the south where there are only Baptists, whole countries of only Muslims, and so on. But guess what? The internet gets thru those curtains somehow. It must be magic. Like the song says, "There's a Light".

[cbayer]

4. Good article and nice site.

He makes some good points and I really like his approach.

Agree that many leaving the more traditional churches are leaving because of the politics. I think groups and institutions that begin to make use of the internet will see a benefit, but agree that the internet itself is unlikely to impact on an individual's religious beliefs.

[cleanhippie]

7. The internet is providing people better access to reality, and they are finding it quite sobering.

The sheer amount of information and empirical evidence that contradicts religious claims that is now available to just about everyone on the planet is what is making religion, or at least organized religion, more and more irrelevant. IOW, people now have better access to reality, and they are finding it quite sobering.

[okasha]

11. This has a deja vu feeling about it.

Back in th eighties or so, television was going to destroy the churches. Didn't happen.

And as always, the net is an unreviewed venue for all sorts of nutjobs with agendas. My personal favorite is Humpheys, followed by S. Acharya. Always good for laughs.

[cleanhippie]

15. TV failed to provide a reliable source of information, while providing religion with a new

Way to market it's ideas. Th Internet, OTOH, is allowing people to have access to real, supported, and substantial information that in many cases, directly contradicts the teachings of religion. People are seeing, many for the first time, that they have not really been given the "truth".

[muriel_volestrangler]

17. I'm not convinced anyone can call themselves a "stats-nerd" after saying this:

The atheism subforum is in fact so popular—it has more than a million and a half subscribers—that it’s one of the few that new accounts are automatically subscribed to upon registration.

Or, just possibly, it has more than a million and a half subscribers because it's one of the few that new accounts are automatically subscribed to upon registration.

[Phillip McCleod]

19. except it wasn't a natural event

the site admins made a decision based on popularity of the subforum.