Is there an atheistic dogma?

You sometimes hear people calling atheism a religion and as with any religion they claim that it has a specific set of beliefs attached to it. I'd like to see the extent to which people here agree on various issues and if there really is agreement within our beliefs apart from a lack of a belief in God(s).

-How would you label yourself in regards to theological belief? note this question is asking about what you believe not what you know

Atheist

-Are you a naturalist? naturalism is synonymous with materialism and physicalism which state that physical matter is the only reality. This view denies that anythingsupernatural exists.

Yes

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

Yes

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

Yes

-How old do you believe the earth is?

A little over four billion years

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

Relative

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

I'm a little divided on this but ultimately I would say no

-Do you believe that we have free will?

Yes

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate? This debate is often too complicated for labels so feel free to elaborate on your standpoint.

Pro-choice

-Democratic or Republican? This one won't apply to many people (including myself) so either put not applicable or give us your political views

Not appliccable. I did however vote for the Labour party in the recent New Zealand election which I suppose is the closest equivalent to being a Democrat.

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Biigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

Nope none that I can think of (although I'm sure that some would call evolution a giant conspiracy).

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

He's a great biologist and an average theologist with some ideas that are much too fanatical for my tastes

-Cake or Pie? (inb4lies)

Cake

-How would you label yourself in regards to theological belief? 

Atheist

-Are you a naturalist?

Yes

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

Yes

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

Yes

-How old do you believe the earth is?

4.5-6 billion years

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

Relative

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

I think this is a little too complicated for a straight yes or no but I'll say no.

-Do you believe that we have free will?

Yes

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate?

Pro-life but support abortions for people under 16 years old.

-Democratic or Republican?

Does not apply to me but moderate left-leaning would be my standpoint.

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Biigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

None really.

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

A very good biologist but his views on theology promote double standards and are too 'militant' for my likeing.

-Cake or Pie? (inb4lies)

Depends. I don't like fruit pies but chicken pies FTW.

And Dom could I sticky this? It would be interesting if all members answered it.

Heh, I think the only thing dogmatic in atheism is that you have to either disbeleive in the existence of God or beleive they don't exist and thats about it. Though I think alot of atheists are on common grounds with their morality and such.

-How would you label yourself in regards to theological belief? note this question is asking about what you believe not what you know

Theist

-Are you a naturalist?

Depends.

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

Not sure as of yet, though evolution seems far more probable than creation.

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

Not sure.

-How old do you believe the earth is?

Very very old.

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

Never really thought about it.

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

I don't think we are.

-Do you believe that we have free will?

Yes

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate?

Pro-life

-Democratic or Republican?

I have not alligned myself with a party yet, but I have been told I'm a centrist.

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Biigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

No.

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

Dislike the man.

-Cake or Pie?

Cheese cake.

-How would you label yourself in regards to theological belief?

Athiest

-Are you a naturalist?

Yes

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

Yes

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

Most probably(99.9% certain)

-How old do you believe the earth is?

More than 4 billion years.

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

Relative

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

No. But it still presents us with everyday challenges which we must overcome to ensure our existance as a species, but how we deal with those challenges are governed by our freewill.

-Do you believe that we have free will?

Yes

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate?

Pro-Choice. I think it it's very naive to think that parents are somehow less emotionally affected by this rather than the protesters. When perfectly social people decide to abort a fetus when the mother's life is not at risk, it would be very immature to assume that there is nothing more to it than meets the eye. BECAUSE THERE IS more to it! People just don't care to see the complexity involved in this. I agree abortion is not a good thing but it's still the right of the mother to decide about it because she is the only one who would love and care about her child the most and if anyone has a say in this, it's the other members of the kids family and no one else. 

-Democratic or Republican?

Somewhere in the middle if the question did apply to me.

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Biigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

No. But the existence of some random political conspiracies would actually make some sense!

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

I don't know a lot about him but it seems like he pushes things a little too hard.

-Is there an atheistic dogma? 

I guess there is.

-Cake or Pie?

Cake.

-Did you like this topic? (made up myself)

Very much indeed!:)

Skeptic, Atheist, Anti-theist. In that order.

-Are you a naturalist? naturalism is synonymous with materialism and physicalism which state that physical matter is the only reality. This view denies that anythingsupernatural exists.

Yes. While I acknowledge the possibility of existence beyond the natural world, every claim ever made by any human being in regard to such existence has been either been a fallacious mistake, a speculative fancy or an outright fabrication. Until some evidence is presented, I'll continue to evoke a healthy Skepticism and assume that such things either don't exist or have no effect on, or access by our own reality.

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

Yes

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

Yes

-How old do you believe the earth is?

A little over four billion years

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

Relative, although I prefer the term "subjective".

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

I'm actually not personally familiar with this issue, but if it means that everything in the universe is "bound" to happen a certain way, then I suppose I would say Yes, given that from what I know, the universe is self contained and nothing outside can interfere with its processes (lest it be considered part of the universe anyway). 

-Do you believe that we have free will?

Difficult to answer. I believe humans and other sentient beings are able to make decisions, ofcourse, but this is most likely a simple mundane function of constant sensory input, memory and temperment, all handled by the brain. Just because we make choices doesn't mean we are exempt from the laws of causality or that "everything begins with choice", as if we somehow create a primordial "first move" when doing so. 

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate? This debate is often too complicated for labels so feel free to elaborate on your standpoint.

Anti-fetus. I dislike the term "pro-choice" because I see it as a manipulative and dodgy euphemism. The real question of whether abortion is okay is not whether we support "the murder of innocent children" or "a women's right to choose", but whether a fetus, or embryo, or blastocyst or zygote has the inherent right to live. My answer to this is No, because the unborn organism, however much it resembles a cute littel person (or doesn't) is completely devoid of any significant sensory input or  memories or personality that are neccessarily derived therefrom. Basically, its a blank slate, one that probably doesn't even care for its own existence if indeed its at all aware of it. 

-Democratic or Republican? This one won't apply to many people (including myself) so either put not applicable or give us your political views

I consider myself an extreme social liberal and moderate fiscal socialist. I typically vote democrat but I acknowledge that democratic politicians are largely a bunch of spineless pushovers who will far too often cave into political pressure from the right rather then stand up for their own alleged ideals.

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Biigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

I don't believe any conspiracy theory that is the product of paranoia, corellative fallacies, political smearing or a simple desire for "alternative information", which would include all of those listed (I also think creationism, holocaust denial and "skepticism" of global warming should be added to that list). I also reject the classic straw man that since I don't believe those I therefore "don't believe that any conspiracies happen, ever". Of course real conspiracies happen, all the time, but they are uncovered by wistle-blowers and genuine journalistic/scientific investigation, not by random folks with zero inside information who "don't believe in coincidence".

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

An esteemed biologist and that's all that really matters. I don't pay much attention to his religious punditry, not because I disagree, but because I find it irrelevant.

-Cake or Pie? (inb4lies)

Pie.

Christian Existentialist

-Are you a naturalist? naturalism is synonymous with materialism and physicalism which state that physical matter is the only reality. This view denies that anythingsupernatural exists.

No, I believe in some form of transcendence that surpasses this mere physical reality.

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

Yes

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

Yes. Fascinating subject.

-How old do you believe the earth is?

Between 3-4 billion years old.

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

There are absolute standards.

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

No, as one can pressupose by me labeling myself an "existentialist"

-Do you believe that we have free will?

Yes

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate? This debate is often too complicated for labels so feel free to elaborate on your standpoint.

Pro-life

-Democratic or Republican? This one won't apply to many people (including myself) so either put not applicable or give us your political views

Libertarian Socialist (No, not exactly a contradiction).

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Biigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

No. Not any major ones,

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

Great scientist, poor philosopher. I'll agree with Alister McGrath: He has little knowledge of the intricacies of Christian theology. If he's going to call it a "non-subject" and attack, he should atleast know about it.

-Cake or Pie? (inb4lies)

Pie.

-How would you label yourself in regards to theological belief? 

Atheist

-Are you a naturalist?

Yes

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

Yes

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

Yes

-How old do you believe the earth is?

4.5~ Billion years old

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

Relative

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

Yes and no.

-Do you believe that we have free will?

Yes

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate?

I'm against Abortion except in three occurances: Rape, Incest, Mother in Danger. However, if someone were to abort for Rape/Incest I think it should be done during the first trimester. That being said, I am Pro-Choice.

-Democratic or Republican? 

I am a registered independant, mainly because I hate both of the major parties. However I tend to agree with the Democrats more than the Republicans.

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Bigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

He's a smart guy, but he's a bit too radical for me.

-Cake or Pie?

Cheesecake = type of pie. Cheesecake > Cake. Pie > Cake.

-How would you label yourself in regards to theological belief? 

Theist.

-Are you a naturalist? 

Nope. Unless God would count as natural. Then yeah, everyone's a naturalist.

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

Not evolution alone, but yes.

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

Again, not alone, but yes.

-How old do you believe the earth is?

Approximately four billion years.

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

Objective.

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

Not really; this goes into depth.

-Do you believe that we have free will?

Yes.

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate?

Absolutely pro-life. I've even been described as a radical pro-lifer, though I wouldn't oppose an abortion as a last-case scenario. I'm surprised by the number of pro-lifers here, to be honest.

-Democratic or Republican? 

Neither. Were the Centrist Party still active, I'd be that. I voted for the Constitution Party in this year's American election. I tend to agree with Republicans more than Democrats.

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Bigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

Ha, no, and I find such conspiracies to be disrespectful and silly.

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

I'd think more highly of him if he'd keep his books out of the theological realm. As it is, I consider him something of a blowhard and the main instigator of Neo Atheism.

-Cake or Pie? (inb4lies)

Cake, of course.

Agnostic, only because I will not dogmatically declare ANYTHING. Aside from that, I personally can't bring myself to believe there is a God.

-Are you a naturalist?

Taking what I said above into consideration, yes generally.

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

Yes

-How old do you believe the earth is?

A couple'a days? :P j/k

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

Relative

-Do you believe that we have free will?

Yes

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate?

Pro-choice

-Democratic or Republican?

I prefer not to label myself politically.

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Biigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

Only if you consider the belief that politicians and big corporations are only out to serve themselves a conspiracy.

-Cake or Pie?

Can't I have my cake and eat pie too?

:P

TC, you've set up a precedent which people are following devoutly, which makes me sceptical that the points being are actually those of the user. MetalGear_Ninty

I see your point but I reckon that the people here are big enough to express their own opinions. I doubt that everyone answered "yes" to the evolution question just because they were influenced by my answer.

In any case there is quite a bit of divergence in opinion in many of the questions.

[QUOTE="MetalGear_Ninty"]TC, you've set up a precedent which people are following devoutly, which makes me sceptical that the points being are actually those of the user. domatron23

I see your point but I reckon that the people here are big enough to express their own opinions. I doubt that everyone answered "yes" to the evolution question just because they were influenced by my answer.

In any case there is quite a bit of divergence in opinion in many of the questions.

The response to the Dawkins question in particular struck me.

Atheist

-Are you a naturalist? naturalism is synonymous with materialism and physicalism which state that physical matter is the only reality. This view denies that anythingsupernatural exists.

Yes

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

Yes

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

Yes

-How old do you believe the earth is?

A little over four billion years

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

Relative

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

Probably no

-Do you believe that we have free will?

Yes

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate? This debate is often too complicated for labels so feel free to elaborate on your standpoint.

Pro-choice

-Democratic or Republican? This one won't apply to many people (including myself) so either put not applicable or give us your political views

Closer to democrat, but not too unbalanced.

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Biigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

No

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

He's a great biologist and an average theologist with some ideas that are much too fanatical for my tastes(agree)

-Cake or Pie? (inb4lies)

CakePie

[QUOTE="domatron23"]

[QUOTE="MetalGear_Ninty"]TC, you've set up a precedent which people are following devoutly, which makes me sceptical that the points being are actually those of the user. MetalGear_Ninty

I see your point but I reckon that the people here are big enough to express their own opinions. I doubt that everyone answered "yes" to the evolution question just because they were influenced by my answer.

In any case there is quite a bit of divergence in opinion in many of the questions.

The response to the Dawkins question in particular struck me.

It's all good man. I did notice the Richard Dawkins thing though.

Would you like to fill the questionnaire out with your own opinions?

-How would you label yourself in regards to theological belief?

Atheist.

-Are you a naturalist?

Yes.

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

Yes.

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

Yes .

-How old do you believe the earth is?

Around four and a half billion years.

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

Relative.

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

As in general cause and effect? Sure.

-Do you believe that we have free will?

Yes. But not the type spoken of in religion.

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate?

Well, I'm not against them.

-Democratic or Republican?

I wanted Obama to win. :P Here in the UK, if I was to vote, I'd either vote Conservative or Liberal Democrat.

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Biigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

I have my doubts from time to time. Not generally, though.

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

I think he is brilliant and I share a lot of the same opinions he has.

-Cake or Pie?

Cake, easily. Depends on the pie though.

-How would you label yourself in regards to theological belief?

Agnostic.

-Are you a naturalist?

Yes.

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

Yes.

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

Yes.

-How old do you believe the earth is?

Four billion years, a bit more perhaps.

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

Absolutely relative.

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

If you mean natural laws that govern the universe, then yes, of course. As for a set path, or fate, not in the least.

-Do you believe that we have free will?

To a degree....within the constraints of the physical world.

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate?

I'm pro-life, with a few exceptions.

-Democratic or Republican?

I usually refer to myself as a conservative liberal.

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Biigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

I believe in E.T. lifeforms, and also suspect that something happened with JFK (nothing major, but not as tidy as was claimed). Other than that, no.

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

An enjoyable read and fun to watch. Meh, don't really have too much to say about him, except he makes some good points. Pat condell is better for some truly offensive religion bashing.

-Cake or Pie?

Chocolate cake with frosting and sprinkles......and a glass of milk.

-How would you label yourself in regards to theological belief?

Atheist

-Are you a naturalist?

Yes

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

Yes

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

Yes

-How old do you believe the earth is?

4.5 billion years

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

Relative

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

I'm kinda mixed on this one but I guess I'll say no.

-Do you believe that we have free will?

Yes

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate?

Pro-choice

-Democratic or Republican?

Not appliccable.

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Biigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

Nope.

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

He's a good biologist

-Cake or Pie? (inb4lies)

Pie.

Agnostic.

-Are you a naturalist? naturalism is synonymous with materialism and physicalism which state that physical matter is the only reality. This view denies that anythingsupernatural exists.

I'm going to assume naturalism until it's proven otherwise.

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

Yes.

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

I'm going to assume it did, until proven otherwise.

-How old do you believe the earth is?

4 billion years seems about right to me. :P

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

Absolute.

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

Nope.

-Do you believe that we have free will?

I don't know.

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate?

Pro-choice, although under certain caveats.

-Democratic or Republican?

I would be a democrat.

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Biigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

No.

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

He wrote a book in which he made some good arguments against theism and some rubbish ones for atheism. :P

-Cake or Pie? (inb4lies)

Cake, any day. :D

[QUOTE="domatron23"]

[QUOTE="MetalGear_Ninty"]TC, you've set up a precedent which people are following devoutly, which makes me sceptical that the points being are actually those of the user. MetalGear_Ninty

I see your point but I reckon that the people here are big enough to express their own opinions. I doubt that everyone answered "yes" to the evolution question just because they were influenced by my answer.

In any case there is quite a bit of divergence in opinion in many of the questions.

The response to the Dawkins question in particular struck me.

-How would you label yourself in regards to theological belief? note this question is asking about what you believe not what you know

Agnostic.

Funky_Llama

:o  I always thought you were and atheist.

[QUOTE="Funky_Llama"]-How would you label yourself in regards to theological belief? note this question is asking about what you believe not what you know

Agnostic.

felixlynch777

:o  I always thought you were and atheist.

On another note: for those of you who claim who actively believe that God doesn't exist, what's your reason? I'm intrigued; I've never really seen a particularly convincing argument for strong atheism.

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

Objective.

 

 Theokhoth

The response to the Dawkins question in particular struck me.

MetalGear_Ninty

Well, if you think it's everyone guess again!

You can see a post of mine in a thread about Dawkins' book where I say practically the same thing (nearly 2 months ago). ;)

Well, I tend to label myself as such because I'd usually call myself a weak atheist. But I don't claim to know that God doesn't exist, so I'm not a strong atheist, or by the definitions used in this thread, atheist. :P

On another note: for those of you who claim who actively believe that God doesn't exist, what's your reason? I'm intrigued; I've never really seen a particularly convincing argument for strong atheism.Funky_Llama

I've always said that anyone who doesn't label themselves as agnostic in some way or form is just lying to themselves. I claim to be Atheist, only because I don't believe or think there's a god. However I don't know for sure and I doubt I ever will know for sure.

[QUOTE="Funky_Llama"]Well, I tend to label myself as such because I'd usually call myself a weak atheist. But I don't claim to know that God doesn't exist, so I'm not a strong atheist, or by the definitions used in this thread, atheist. :P

On another note: for those of you who claim who actively believe that God doesn't exist, what's your reason? I'm intrigued; I've never really seen a particularly convincing argument for strong atheism.TenP

I've always said that anyone who doesn't label themselves as agnostic in some way or form is just lying to themselves. I claim to be Atheist, only because I don't believe or think there's a god. However I don't know for sure and I doubt I ever will know for sure.

-How would you label yourself in regards to theological belief? note this question is asking about what you believe not what you know

Atheist.  While I think there is a remote possibility of something else we don't know and might mistake for supernatural, I think it highly unlikely and am certain there is no religion that can claim honest knowledge of the subject.   In the event of the perceptually supernatural thing that i do not believe in but recognize the possibility of (much like philosophers recognize the possibilities of human zombies and worlds created by mad scientist) I am most certain it has no interest in judging my petty actions.  So I am atheist by default.

-Are you a naturalist? naturalism is synonymous with materialism and physicalism which state that physical matter is the only reality. This view denies that anythingsupernatural exists.

Yes and no.  I do not believe in a supernatural world but I think a phenomenological one is indisputable.  Our ideas of self, love, debt, hate......all exist as very real things but they exist only as constructs of an abstract world created by our minds.  In this mentally projected world I also find the notion of god along with Minerva, Heracles, Spiderman, Barney the Dinosaur and whatever other figures do not exist in the material world but are tangible ideas that actually effect human life.  

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

Yes, it is impossible to rationally dispute this fact given the knowledge we have today.

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

Yes

-How old do you believe the earth is?

Over 4bil.  I wouldn't be surprised if it were to get pushed back even farther.  As science has progressed it has been able to push this date back several times.

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

Relative

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

Yes but not towards any goal.  There are things that happen based on probability, but I still think that knowing all the information of why would lead to only one final possible result.

-Do you believe that we have free will?

No, genes and memes.

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate?

Pro-choice

-Democratic or Republican? 

Most likely libertarian.  Through I did agree with a vast majority of Obama's positions.

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Biigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

I don't know if I believe in it, but I believe in the very real possibility of a 9/11 government conspiracy.

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

Brilliant scientist and writer who I also find quite humorous and charming.  If The God Delusion is all you have read from him, you really owe it to yourself to check out The Selfish Gene.

-Cake or Pie? 

I don't really like sweets and haven't had either in years.

I would label myself an atheist.

-Are you a naturalist? naturalism is synonymous with materialism and physicalism which state that physical matter is the only reality. This view denies that anythingsupernatural exists.

No

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

Yes, I indeed do.

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

Yessiree.

-How old do you believe the earth is?

Approximately 6 billion years or so.

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

Relative, of course. It's an empirical truth.

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

Nope. Too orderly for my tastes.

-Do you believe that we have free will?

Yes.

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate? This debate is often too complicated for labels so feel free to elaborate on your standpoint.

Pro-choice ftw! Babies are teh suck!!1!

-Democratic or Republican? This one won't apply to many people (including myself) so either put not applicable or give us your political views

I consider myself a Republican, but don't follow their mainstream conservative ideology. I'm a libertarian for the most part.

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Biigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

I'll probably be mocked for this, but I do believe there is a "Big Foot" animal species. There's sufficient contemporary evidence for such an animal to exist. If you don't believe me, I'm willing to link to sources.

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

Not much.

-Cake or Pie? (inb4lies)

Cake.

On another note: for those of you who claim who actively believe that God doesn't exist, what's your reason? I'm intrigued; I've never really seen a particularly convincing argument for strong atheism. Funky_Llama

The more the days go by, the more comfortable I become aligning myself with strong atheism. For the existence of Big Foot, does one say "I don't believe in Big Foot" or does one say "I believe Big Foot doesn't exist"? Both apply for the strong atheism equivalent. I will admit that the burden of proof relies on the strong atheist, but I think that gods and their many interpretations rely on the conception of man, and man is flawed and likes to suppose ideas with little reason. That's enough, for me at least, to deduce that there is no god in any sense of the definition of god.

Additionally, I do not rule out that there may be some life out there that could be superior to humans, enough to define a god, but most likely, if such a life exists, it wasn't in the form any man could have accurately conceive. Although, leave it to some of the Bible thumpers to suggest that this "god" is the same God in the Bible. Men are often wanting to connect dots when there are none whatsoever.

Interestingly enough, I am hesitant to appreciate the idea of people abandoning their religion, because one thing religion has that irreligion doesn't is a uniform sense of morality, which is why I'm disgusted when some theists brand atheism a "religion", because it cuts out the separation of religion and atheism that makes religion so pure in the first place.

Ultimately though, I'm an agnostic, just as much as I cannot "prove" that the text I'm typing will be posted on a site called GameSpot. However, I feel strong in my conviction.

-How would you label yourself in regards to theological belief? note this question is asking about what you believe not what you know

Agnostic I suppose

-Are you a naturalist? naturalism is synonymous with materialism and physicalism which state that physical matter is the only reality. This view denies that anythingsupernatural exists.

Yes and no: Sitri_ explains it better for me. I stand more close to his point of view

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

Yes

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

Yes

-How old do you believe the earth is?

As old as scientific methods and theories have stated it is (I just don't remember to say for sure how old)

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

Relative but there could be a stable basis of moral behaviour that everyone could follow when it comes to actions (and not thoughts)

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

(If I understand correctly what this means) then I'm leaning towards no

-Do you believe that we have free will?

We all potentialy have but rarely exercise it. (I don't btw believe in genes for that specific matter)

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate?

It realy depends

-Democratic or Republican?

I know nothing about politics' terminology.

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Biigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

The fall of the Twin Towers in Manhattan is odd to me.

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

I hear him for the first time. I can't have a say

-Cake or Pie?

Cheesecake, Applepie, or anything that has chocolate (wasn't that q irrelevant?)

Allrighty it seems like enough people have answered this now so I'll go ahead and tally the results to see what conclusions we can garner.

Ten people (excluding myself) defined themselves broadly as atheists. Out of these ten people:

-         80% were naturalists

-         100% believe in evolution

-         100% believe in abiogenesis

-         100% believe that the earth is upwards of 4 billion years old

-         100% believe that morality is relative

-          There was a 50/50 split over the issue of determinism

-         80% believe that humans have free will

-         60% are pro-choice

-         The answers were varied for the political question but a left leaning bias was discernible

-         90% do not believe in conspiracy theories

-         No-one worshipped Richard Dawkins as the deity of atheism

-         40% like cake 60% are wrong

It seems as though there is a good degree of agreement amongst atheists about evolution, abiogenesis and the age of the earth. It is also notable that fundamental theism is in direct opposition to all of these positions. I wouldn't quite identify these things as the dogma of atheism however given that every theist and agnostic who answered also had similar responses. They are more likely due to a different common factor that we all share… perhaps reality.

Every atheist in the sample also believed that morality was relative which is perhaps related to the moral argument for God or maybe just the naturalistic way that they tend to view the world.

Apart from this agreement most other issues, particularly abortion, politics, determinism and cake vs pie had varying responses which indicates that atheism is not dedicated to any particular social or political agenda. Perhaps it is because these views can be positive or negative regardless of skepticism which it seems was the largest common factor amongst atheists and quite possibly the underlying cause of many of the responses.

-         40% like cake 60% are wrong

domatron23

-         No-one worshipped Richard Dawkins as the deity of atheismdomatron23

To think I had such high hopes for atheism. :lol: 

-How would you label yourself in regards to theological belief? note this question is asking about what you believe not what you know

Antireligion Nontheist.

-Are you a naturalist? naturalism is synonymous with materialism and physicalism which state that physical matter is the only reality. This view denies that anythingsupernatural exists.

No. 

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

Yes

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

Yes

-How old do you believe the earth is?

4.5 Billion years

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

Relative

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

Yes

-Do you believe that we have free will?

For the most part yes.

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate? This debate is often too complicated for labels so feel free to elaborate on your standpoint.

I believe it is suitable in cases of rape/incest or when there is evidence that the baby will severely mentally or physically handicapped.

-Democratic or Republican? This one won't apply to many people (including myself) so either put not applicable or give us your political views

N/A as I am British.  I am more moderate than anything else.

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Biigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

Not really.

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

Too self-important for my taste.

-Cake or Pie? (inb4lies)

Toast

-How would you label yourself in regards to theological belief? Theist

-Are you a naturalist? Not in any of Plantinga's possible worlds

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

Yes

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

Yes (well EVERYONE believes that of course)

-How old do you believe the earth is?

~4.55 billion years

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

Define "absolute" and "relative". If we're talking objective and subjective I'm an objectivist. Some moral statements ARE OBJECTIVELY TRUE. We know that someone who would tortures babies is less moral than someone who devotes their entire lives to helping the poor and feeding the hungry.

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

No

-Do you believe that we have free will?

Yes

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate?

Pro-life

-Democratic or Republican?

LIBERTARIAN BABAY!

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Biigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

Yes. all conspiracy theories are themselves a conspiracy by the government to keep idiots from voting. It has worked out just a little bit though

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

He's a joke of a philosopher.

-Cake or Pie? (inb4lies)

Ice cream

-Are you a naturalist? Not in any of Plantinga's possible worlds

danwallacefan

Oh you sneaky devil, is that a reference to the ontological argument?

[QUOTE="danwallacefan"]

-Are you a naturalist? Not in any of Plantinga's possible worlds

domatron23

Oh you sneaky devil, is that a reference to the ontological word game?

-How would you label yourself in regards to theological belief? note this question is asking about what you believe not what you know

Christian Theist.

-Are you a naturalist? naturalism is synonymous with materialism and physicalism which state that physical matter is the only reality. This view denies that anything supernatural exists.

No.

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

No.

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

No.

-How old do you believe the earth is?

Between 5000 and 7000 years old.

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

Absolute.

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

Possibly. However, if it is, than it is not reliant upon materialism, but on God ultimately being in control.

-Do you believe that we have free will?

Yes.

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate? This debate is often too complicated for labels so feel free to elaborate on your standpoint.

Pro-life.

-Democratic or Republican? This one won't apply to many people (including myself) so either put not applicable or give us your political views.

In the UK, I'd describe myself as a Labour supporter, which is the equivalent to Democrat. However, in terms of American politics, I'd describe myself more as a Republican.

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Biigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

Yes. I believe the Loch Ness Monster does, or did exist (I believe it, along with a handful of other lake monster sightings are possible sea dinosaurs which survived the after effects of the Flood) I'm uncertain whether Bigfoot and the Yeti exist, probably leaning more towards that they don't. I'm also uncertain of whether aliens exist, though I believe it is probable, and that it is the work of Satan (especially with the smell with is often described after abductions and so on). I believe there's something extremely suspicious about what happened on 9/11, I'm not sure what, but I don't think all is as it seems.

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

He's a biologist and I think he should stick to his job rather than trying to prove what's logically impossible to prove. I also think he's intolerant of other's beliefs (i.e going into schools and telling Muslims, Christians and Jews that their God doesn't exist and that their sacred books are a load of fiction).

-Cake or Pie? (inb4lies) 

Hmmm, definitely flapjack. :P

-How would you label yourself in regards to theological belief? 

A timid agnostic when everything's cool. Vaguely theistic the rest of the time, which is most of the time. 

-Are you a naturalist? 

No, but give me time. 

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

Yes. 

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

Sure.

-How old do you believe the earth is?

Not sure. Billions of years, scientists say. I'll go with that.

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

Technically absolute. 

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

Not really.

-Do you believe that we have free will?

Not exactly (yes, I am a confused individual).

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate?

Pro-life mostly, with exceptions for rape or serious medical problems. 

-Democratic or Republican? 

Still registered Republican. Probably closer to Democrats ideologically now. 

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Biigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

No. But I believe in Keyser Söze

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

He's a windbag, in my uninformed opinion. 

-Cake or Pie? (inb4lies)

HAMBURGER

-How would you label yourself in regards to theological belief?

-Are you a naturalist? naturalism is synonymous with materialism and physicalism which state that physical matter is the only reality. This view denies that anything supernatural exists.

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

-How old do you believe the earth is?

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

-Do you believe that we have free will?

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate?

-Democratic or Republican?

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Biigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

-How would you label yourself in regards to theological belief?

Atheist

-Are you a naturalist?

Yes

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

Yes

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

Yes

-How old do you believe the earth is?

A little over four billion years

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

Relative

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

no, but far from certain.

-Do you believe that we have free will?

Yes

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate?

Pro-choice, in that I don't feel governments should have a right to interfere in such a horrible decision.

-Democratic or Republican?

Left wing.

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Biigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

I think Kurt Cobain was murdered, but that isn't much of a conspiracy theory, just police incompetence.

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

Liked The Selfish Gene and The Blind Watchmaker a lot, as well as his documentaries. The God Delusion has some very good arguments against religion, but the ones for atheism aren't up to the same standard.

-Cake or Pie?

Savioury pie >Cake>Sweet pie

-How would you label yourself in regards to theological belief?

Atheist

-Are you a naturalist?

Yes

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

Yes

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

Yes

-How old do you believe the earth is?

Around 4.5 billions years old

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

Relative

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

Certainly not

-Do you believe that we have free will?

Of course

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate?

Pro-choice, it's her decision

-Democratic or Republican?

Democrat

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Bigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

I'm a skeptic, so.. No

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

Besides the God Delusion his writings are great. I believe there's good material in that book, but some of what he says needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

-Cake or Pie?

Cake Thursday to Sunday, and pie Monday to Wednesday

-How would you label yourself in regards to theological belief?

Atheist.

-Are you a naturalist? 

Yes.

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

Sure do.

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

Yes.

-How old do you believe the earth is?

Few billion years old.

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

Relative.

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

No.

-Do you believe that we have free will?

Yes. 

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate?

Pro-choice.

-Democratic or Republican?

Social democrat. Not to be confused with democratic socialism.

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Biigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

Nope. 

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

Honestly, have not read any of his books.

-Cake or Pie? (inb4lies)

Pie, Apple.

-How would you label yourself in regards to theological belief? 

Theist.

-Are you a naturalist?

No.  That's not to say that I definitely think that the supernatural exists, but I'm open to the possibility.

-Do you believe that evolution by natural selection accounts for the diversity of life on earth?

Yes.

-Do you believe that abiogenesis ocurred on earth?

Science still has a long ways to go before this can be considered the definitive answer, but I certainly think it's the best answer we have available, and certainly better than "it popped out of the head of a deity in its current form".

-How old do you believe the earth is?

I can never remember exactly what the scientists peg it as, but I have no reason to give a different age than theirs.

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

I always struggle with this question.  On one hand it'd be rather nice to be able to look at things like the Holocaust and say "that's morally wrong".  But, on the other hand, if someone pressed me to prove wrong someone who disagreed, I would imagine I would be unable to.

If someone stuck a gun to my head and told me to answer one or the other, I'd have to go with relative.

-Do you believe that the universe is deterministic?

Yes.

-Do you believe that we have free will?

I always hate this question because it's never clearly defined what is meant by "free will".  If by "free will" we mean that humans are able to choose what to do, then obviously we do - we're not some inanimate puppets.  However, if by "free will" we mean that humans are able to choose what to do in a vacuum, which is to say that every choice a human makes is arbitrary and free of any external influence, then the answer to me is clearly no.  Humans do what they do because it is what they desire to do - if it wasn't what they desired to do, they wouldn't do it.  And, since humans cannot choose what to desire arbitrarily, I can't see a justification for belief in this form of free will.

-How would you label yourself in regards to the abortion debate?

I refuse to label myself. :P

I believe that abortion is okay as long as the fetus has not reached the point at which it could be considered a bona fide human life - if there's no human life, then obviously abortion does not take a human life.  Exactly where this divide should be put is an answer that I unfortunately can't really provide, but I think a sensible one is to look at the widely accepted criteria for what it means for a human to be dead.  If the fetus meets these criteria, then it seems logical to me to assert that it is not yet a human life, as it would be considered dead had it already been alive.

The broadest of these criterias would be that of brain death - if there is no detectable brain activity of any kind, then it would not be considered a human life.  If we wanted to be more conservative, one could instead say that if there is no heartbeat, then it would definitely not be considered a human life.  Either of these bars is fine with me.  Fundamentally, I suppose one could call me pro-life - I believe that the woman's rights don't trump a human life - but my definition of when that human life begins would undoubtedly be more in line with that of those calling themselves pro-choice.  So I have no idea what to call myself.

-Democratic or Republican?

Democrat.

-Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Biigfoot, aliens at Roswell, 9/11 government conspiracy, faked moon landing etc

Nope.

-What do you think of Richard Dawkins?

I have no real opinion of Richard Dawkins whatsoever.

-Cake or Pie?

Pie.

-Do you believe that morality is absolute or relative?

I always struggle with this question.  On one hand it'd be rather nice to be able to look at things like the Holocaust and say "that's morally wrong".  But, on the other hand, if someone pressed me to prove wrong someone who disagreed, I would imagine I would be unable to.

If someone stuck a gun to my head and told me to answer one or the other, I'd have to go with relative.

GabuEx

Hmm. I'd always thought that utilitarianism implied moral objectivism.Funky_Llama

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

On matters of morality I find I have very little logical consistency in the things I say, and quite frankly I don't think any attempted rectification of that fact would make me feel any better about it. :P

Out of curiosity, what's your basis for your belief in objective morality?