Polls About Atheists and Atheism

Some time around World War 2, people started using the phrase, "There are no atheists in foxholes" to indicate either that, under fire or threat of death people all believe in God or that atheists are not patriotic enough to serve their country. Do you think this is true? Do people suddenly believe that God is real if their lives are threatened? Or are atheists too cowardly and immoral to serve as soldiers?

Even if they disagree with the religions of other people, some people believe that belief in God, some God, is necessary for people to be good. They question why anyone would not just run amok, killing and stealing and wreaking havoc without a belief in God to keep them in check. Some people believe that it is not possible to be a decent human being without believing in some God or another.

What do you think?

Seven States Constitutions do not allow atheists to testify in court. Although this has been overturned in by the Supreme Court, many people still feel atheists ought not to be allowed to testify in court.

Since the "swearing in" traditionally requires one to put his or her hand on a Bible or Koran, those opposed to atheists testifying in court claim they have nothing to swear on, that the oath has no meaning without the religious assertion, "so help me God" afterward.

Seven states' constitutions forbid atheists from holding public offices. The Supreme Court has overruled these states' constitutions, ruling that religion, or lack thereof, may not be used as a grounds for discrimination.

Assuming a candidate was the most in line with your views and better qualified than the other candidate for President of the United States and assuming that person were also an atheist, would you vote for him or her or would you vote for someone less aligned with your views to ensure a religious person held the White House? Keep in mind that the atheist choice would be most in line with your views on all of the hot button issues.

Not believing in God is pretty much that which defines being an atheist. I don't know what is so difficult to understand about that. You don't believe in thousands of other Gods, we atheists just take it all the way and don't believe in any. It makes as much sense for atheists to think your particular God or Goddess isn't real as for you to think some other particular God or Goddess isn't real.

But despite "not believing in God" being the definition of atheism, many people believe that atheists think God is real and that atheists just decide to defy God because they are angry at God or because they are evil people.

This question comes up, more often than you would think. In child custody cases, religious education holds weight in regard to custody arrangements. Religion, or lack thereof, is also taken into account in cases of adoption. Some people strongly feel that atheists should not be allowed to raise children. What do you think?

Young children are very impressionable. Perhaps that is why some people have expressed concern over atheists teaching in schools. A few atheist teachers even allege they have been fired for being atheists.

You've been interviewing candidates for a position in your company that needs to be filled. One man stands out; he's well-qualified, comes highly recommended, and unlike the other candidates for the position he has excellent experience in the type of work required. You are checking out his facebook profile as part of your pre-hiring investigation and you see that his religious views are stated as atheist. Would you still hire him or would you go on to the next most qualified candidate? To clarify, the business is secular so it is not a religious bookstore, a religious school, or anything similar.

It is a common belief that there are no atheist charities. However, there are actually many atheist and secular charities in existence. Many atheists also report giving time and money to charities run by religious organizations. Personally, I've worked in Christian run soup kitchens and homeless shelters and I am an atheist.

I have been told, however, that all charity comes from God, so any good works I may have done are in some way still not good. Since they were not done in service to God they are either meaningless or in service of evil. Other people have told me that, belief in God or not, none of the charitable things I've done came from me but from their God working through me.

Do you believe that atheism and charity are incompatible? Can atheists care about their fellow humans?

This is one of those strange things I've heard, something which, in my opinion, defies all logic. For some reason some people believe that even though atheists don't think God is real, atheists must think all of the other things associated with Christianity are real. Some people believe that atheists worship Satan, that their every action is done for the love of evil.

What do you think?

Some people believe that some people who believe in God decide to become atheists so they can do immoral things without feeling guilt or without having to follow God's commandments. In my experience, people don't decide to become atheists, they just come to a position from which they don't think God is real. Do you think that some people decide to become atheists to avoid the rules of religion even though they think God is real?

Politicians generally face severe repercussions if they've even been believed to make defamatory remarks about religious beliefs. However, it's open season on non-theists. Politicians can make any defamatory remarks about a person if they have to do with atheism, without fear of repercussions of any kind.

Although many are quick to label atheism as a religion, atheism and atheists are not given the same treatment as religion and religious people are when it comes to remarks of a discriminatory nature.

Assuming you don't think it's OK for politicians to make discriminatory remarks about people based on religious belief do you think it is OK to make such remarks regarding atheists and atheism?

If an employee is found to be an atheist, is it OK for their employer to lay them off? If an existing employee is found to be an atheist (through facebook, blogging, etc.) is it OK to lay that person off to replace them with a religious employee? Would you choose a religious employee over a non-religious one if you were in a position to hire new employees? All of these questions are assuming the business in question is not religion-based.