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Disappointed that this is downvoted. You are absolutely right: most people don’t actually investigate the origins of their beliefs and just adopt whatever their

Disappointed that this is downvoted. You are absolutely right: most people don’t actually investigate the origins of their beliefs and just adopt whatever their social tribe believes. The average urbanite atheist knows as much about evolution as the average rural creationist. It is almost entirely a social phenomenon, not an epistemological one.

AussieWog93 5y ago
Is this an American thing? I remember being taught the basics of evolution in year 8 or 9 science class in a way that was impossible to misunderstand ("children resemble their parents" + "some parents more likely to survive" => small changes in distribution of traits among each child generation => specialisation to local environment over many generations). I do have a Christian friend who believes that it was God who set the wheels of evolution in motion, but there seems to be little misunderstanding where I am (Melbourne, AU) about what Darwinism is or denial that it's a strong force at play.
- ceilingcorner 5y ago
  Yes, evolution is taught in schools. But that doesn’t mean the average person can explain how evolutionary theory works beyond a few sentences, in the same way that the average person cannot tell you more than 2 or 3 of the amendments to the Constitution.
smackeyacky 5y ago
There is no basis for this assertion. Furthermore, your "average urbanite atheist" probably knows more than you think: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2010/09/28/130191248/atheists-and-agnostics-know-more-about-bible-than-religious https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2010/09/28/130191248...
- tapas73 5y ago
  Linked article conveniently forgot to mention the relevant footnote from original article: > This may seem paradoxical, since atheists and agnostics have very low levels of religious commitment and yet score very well on the survey questions. However, atheists and agnostics account for a relatively small share of the total number of people with low levels of religious commitment; 4% of Americans describe themselves as atheists or agnostics, while fully 35% have low religious commitment. Atheists and agnostics answer an average of 20.9 questions correctly, compared with an average of 15.4 correct answers among people with low religious commitment who do not describe themselves as atheists or agnostics. Btw survey questions them selfs are a bit nitpicky.. (who cares if jesus realy changed water into wine or if that was just symbolic) Original article: https://www.pewforum.org/2010/09/28/u-s-religious-knowledge-survey/ https://www.pewforum.org/2010/09/28/u-s-religious-knowledge-...
  - smackeyacky 5y ago
    Religious people seem to care quite a bit about whether the bible is literally true. Further to that, some religions also heavily use traditions that don't appear in the bible at all. Catholics, for example, are meant to believe that the sacrament literally turns water and wine into the flesh of Christ. As in, it's actual flesh and blood (Transubstantiation). So either Jesus was a walking breadstick or Catholicism as it is currently practised is obviously wrong. There are so many varieties of Christianity based on "those other christians are definitely wrong" that I guarantee you somebody cares about those distinctions.

AussieWog93 5y ago

Is this an American thing? I remember being taught the basics of evolution in year 8 or 9 science class in a way that was impossible to misunderstand ("children resemble their parents" + "some parents more likely to survive" => small changes in distribution of traits among each child generation => specialisation to local environment over many generations). I do have a Christian friend who believes that it was God who set the wheels of evolution in motion, but there seems to be little misunderstanding where I am (Melbourne, AU) about what Darwinism is or denial that it's a strong force at play.

ceilingcorner 5y ago
Yes, evolution is taught in schools. But that doesn’t mean the average person can explain how evolutionary theory works beyond a few sentences, in the same way that the average person cannot tell you more than 2 or 3 of the amendments to the Constitution.

smackeyacky 5y ago

There is no basis for this assertion. Furthermore, your "average urbanite atheist" probably knows more than you think: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2010/09/28/130191248/atheists-and-agnostics-know-more-about-bible-than-religious https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2010/09/28/130191248...

tapas73 5y ago
Linked article conveniently forgot to mention the relevant footnote from original article: > This may seem paradoxical, since atheists and agnostics have very low levels of religious commitment and yet score very well on the survey questions. However, atheists and agnostics account for a relatively small share of the total number of people with low levels of religious commitment; 4% of Americans describe themselves as atheists or agnostics, while fully 35% have low religious commitment. Atheists and agnostics answer an average of 20.9 questions correctly, compared with an average of 15.4 correct answers among people with low religious commitment who do not describe themselves as atheists or agnostics. Btw survey questions them selfs are a bit nitpicky.. (who cares if jesus realy changed water into wine or if that was just symbolic) Original article: https://www.pewforum.org/2010/09/28/u-s-religious-knowledge-survey/ https://www.pewforum.org/2010/09/28/u-s-religious-knowledge-...
- smackeyacky 5y ago
  Religious people seem to care quite a bit about whether the bible is literally true. Further to that, some religions also heavily use traditions that don't appear in the bible at all. Catholics, for example, are meant to believe that the sacrament literally turns water and wine into the flesh of Christ. As in, it's actual flesh and blood (Transubstantiation). So either Jesus was a walking breadstick or Catholicism as it is currently practised is obviously wrong. There are so many varieties of Christianity based on "those other christians are definitely wrong" that I guarantee you somebody cares about those distinctions.