Schizochristianity
I thought this was a Christian nation. Well, actually, I thought it was a secular nation based on the constitution, but Robertson, O’Reilly et al. keep telling us it’s a Christian nation. There certainly are plenty of signs to support that. God has been very successful in the bumper sticker market, and he has lots of people dropping by his house at least once a week. People say “thank god” and “god bless you” all the time. He’s even on the money. However, when you look around and watch how people live, it’s inconsistent. Popular culture is, by definition, popular, and the people are consistently voting against god with their credit cards during the week even if they do throw him a couple of bucks in cash every Sunday morning.
I recently read The Da Vinci Code, and I was reflecting on its immense popularity. It’s not just a bestseller or a blockbuster movie, it’s a phenomenon. Now, I’ve heard both positions argued, but I have to say that after having read it, no good Christian could tolerate it. If I truly believed in Jesus Christ, I would be sending Dan Brown hate mail every day. However, in a country that self identifies as 85% Christian, it’s been a goldmine. People can’t get enough of it. They’ve read the book, seen the movie and watched the 317 different “documentaries” about it on cable. Something doesn’t add up.
Then, a few days ago, I saw The Omen at the drive-in. It’s been a very successful movie. It came out on 6/6/06, and Christian America flocked to see it. Then, just to top it off, SPOILER: THE DEVIL WINS! The people who go see this movie aren’t going home and saying Hail Marys afterwards. They’re not appalled by the blasphemy. They love it. (Well, they like it, at least; it wasn’t that great.) Once again, something’s a bit off here.
Just yesterday, my wife was reading the June issue of 5280 magazine (a Denver publication), and read me an interesting passage from an article entitled “People’s Republic of Porn,” by John Dicker. (No, I’m not making that up.)
In conservative Cincinnati, for example, one cable operator will only carry Pleasure, TEN’s single X channel. However, as Boenish [Oh, grow up.] notes, market research consistently shows that the more conservative a community is, the more adult entertainment is purchased - often on the order of a usage rate that’s up to 100% higher than in other markets.
“The Bible Belt is awesome for us,” Boenish says with barely restrained glee.
So, Christianity has a strong positive correlation with porn consumption. The calculus grows ever more complex.
Howard Stern, The Daily Show, most rap music, half the dramas in prime time TV… hugely popular and distinctly distasteful to anyone who really believes that Jesus Christ is his lord and savior and that there is a real risk that he’s going to hell. There is only one explanation that makes all of this insanity gel. There are a lot more atheists in America than anyone realizes. Many of these “Christians” are checking that box on the census because either that’s what they were taught to do or they identify the word with their culture or they were well trained during the cold war that atheists are the enemy… NOT because they’re sitting home on Saturday nights waiting for the Rapture.
If I’m right about this, then PR is incredibly important in our cause. We have to remove the stigma that’s so strongly tied to the word atheist. We have to educate people and teach them that “Christian” is not a default; it’s a choice. If we can do that, I think we’ll find that we have a lot fewer people to deconvert than we once thought.
~I AM~
June 16th, 2006 at at 10:18 pm
Though I admire the optimism of your closing paragraph, I can’t share it. We humans seem to have a real knack for simultaneously believing contradictorary things. I’ve been consistently struck by the devouts’ ability to rationalize their heathenish behavior.
June 17th, 2006 at at 12:02 am
I agree with Tanooki Joe. I don’t believe that a community’s appetite for pornography or blasphemous entertainment has anything to do with their latent atheism. Case in point, the number of overtly Christian people in the military far outweigh the number of atheists, yet they have no problem reconciling that they belong to a group of people whose main purpose is to KILL. They conveniently forget that Jesus Christ specifically taught his followers to love their enemies and to turn the other cheek. When I asked one of my fellow airmen, a devout Christian, about that particular conundrum he had no answer. He just went silent. Compartmentalized separation of spiritual beliefs and day-to-day living is a strong human trait. I can’t think of any culture or theology that’s immune to it. Some are just better at hiding it than others. It’s either a very useful survival tool honed by millenia of evolution, or it’s that whole free will thing that God chooses to hide behind.
June 17th, 2006 at at 1:23 am
I don’t believe that a community’s appetite for pornography or blasphemous entertainment has anything to do with their latent atheism. Case in point, the number of overtly Christian people in the military far outweigh the number of atheists, yet they have no problem reconciling that they belong to a group of people whose main purpose is to KILL.
Although I agree with the anlysis of the contradiction, I also agree that the optimism is perhaps a little misplaced. For it seems clear, that this obvious (to us) contradiction, is not so obvious to most people. Not because they are incapable of seeing it, but because they don’t want to see it. A co-worker once told me that the reason he supported a ban on gay marriage, was because he was sick of being subjected to the amoral character of gays depicted in the media, and subsequently having to explain them to his 5 year old. Of course, it was a very short time after that conversation that he had to explain to his 5 year old why mommy and daddy were getting a divorce. So much for protecting the sanctity of marriage.
The point is, deep down inside, most people don’t really believe in God. But, it’s allot easier to get through life if you always have an easy scapegoat handy. And, God, who can never be understood, or seen, or proven in anyway, constitutes a universal get out of shit card for the psyche. I mean, just look at the rules. You can kill, rape, steal, and generally be a worthless human being, but if on your death bed, you repent, and really mean it (wink wink, nudge nudge) then it’s all OK, and you still get to go to heaven. Isn’t it neat that a rapist murderer that repented on their death bed could get to hang out with all his victims in heaven? What would they talk about?
Most
Christianspeople are morally lazy, and nobody wants to have their laziness pointed out to them, particularly if that means they suddenly have to take responsibility for their own actions.June 17th, 2006 at at 5:46 am
“Christian” is not default - it’s a choice!
Classic! That really sums it up!
Thanks, Skeptico!
June 17th, 2006 at at 6:11 am
I AM, I think you are essentially right, most “christians” only go through the motions because so many others are going through the motions and few want to stand out.
Pied Piper and Lemmings jumping off a cliff come to mind.
To use a different animal analogy, Religious leaders know that many would prefer to be sheep than sheperds. They take advantage of the sheep nature of people.
In the PR department, I for one have started referring to myself as non-superstitious. While less inflamatory than calling myself “atheist” it risks pissing off the superstitious when the realize that by labeling myself non-superstitous, I am labeling the religious superstitous…
June 17th, 2006 at at 8:57 am
I’m sure it’s just projection on my part, but I also find it hard to believe that so many people really believe in their religions. I agree they are just following what their parents did, fitting in with the community, etc, and never give it too much thought.
Certainly they would never consider admitting to being atheists, even if they could admit that their beliefs were hard to swallow - atheism is too confrontational for most people, and pointlessly so.
I like arationalbeing’s idea: instead of atheists vs believers (or whatever they are) we are rational people and they are superstitious people.
I also think there is something basically undemocractic about religion. If you belive in gods and prophets and priests, not to mention “god’s chosen people” then you don’t believe in equality and democracy.
So, if you say that you believe in democracy and in science, you’ve pretty well identified yourself as an atheist!
June 17th, 2006 at at 12:23 pm
Mike, come to think of it, Democracy might in fact be the enemy of Religion and vice versa.. Great point.
June 17th, 2006 at at 12:29 pm
I like what you guys are all saying about PR. But I think Athiest has a nice ring to it. We could call ourselves the Pink Fuzzy Bunnies and the theists would equate it to filth. Stand Proud. We shouldn’t have to change what we are when we are right. We’re the Atheists, were keeping it real.
June 17th, 2006 at at 1:18 pm
I agree and I don’t shy away from the term atheist.
But, by way of analogy, why do you wash your hands before eating? Is it because you don’t believe that disease is caused by evil spirits? Well, of course you don’t. But the simple fact is that you believe in germ theory, and you don’t waste your time argueing about spririts.
Or do you?
June 17th, 2006 at at 9:39 pm
We have to educate people and teach them that “Christian” is not a default; it’s a choice
I agree with you that PR is very important in convincing people of something, whether it be politics, religion, choice of breakfast cereals, etc. However, I think that Christians already know that it’s a choice. They just think it’s the only choice that is compatible with morality; i.e., they think that by saying that they are christian they are really saying that they care about human beings, love freedom, and are suspicious of that kid in gym class that only wears black. So I believe this is the most imporant part of the PR angle that we could attack. Whether it would help much I don’t know, but I think the goal should be to disassociate Christianity and morality from each other in people’s minds. In fact, the easiest way to do this would be to associate Christianity with immorality, and religion gives us so many examples of this association that it’s almost too easy. The hard part is to convince the theist that these examples aren’t just a “few bad apples”, but that this behavior is systematic.
June 18th, 2006 at at 10:11 am
People seem to have an innate ability to believe to contradictory things simultaneously.
George Orwell even gave it a name - doublethink
Much of this ability seems to come from nurture. From being taught it. Therefore we can see that, as I Am, myself, and perhaps the whole population of this blogosphere have pointed out, Christianity is a result of teaching children from a young age that something that is obviously contradictory to reality is in fact the reality, and that the thing it contradicts is a result of this reality.
In reference to what I Am said, I think that Christians are just continuing to use doublethink, though just turning it around the other way. There is no way to express this in logical terms, because the very logic of it defies logic.
June 18th, 2006 at at 10:55 am
You’re right. My father-in-law and I had a great arguement about my wife and I not baptizing our baby. He threw out all the basics…tradition, morals, etc etc. I was doing fine because, these are all easy punches to deflect. Finally he had to use his big guns….damnation. He actually said.
“I don’t care about you but She’ll end up in hell!” all I had to say was, “If you really believed that, would you skip church on Sundays” That shut him up, he hasn’t been to church since the last funeral. But it never occured to him that he was a bad catholic. The sactimonius assumption is I am a catholic, therfore, I am morally sound, above reproach, and you should listen to my enlightened opinion. And they ALL do it! That really bugs me.
June 19th, 2006 at at 4:13 am
The very fact that we call ourselves atheists, and not aspiritists, indicates that religion IS a default in our society. In a sane world, everyone would be implicit atheists and we wouldn’t have a word for it.
June 19th, 2006 at at 4:24 am
This is an important point. People want to be good, or at least the want to [i]appear[/i] to be good. When they are brainwashed into thinking that believing in God is a undeniably [i]good[/i] thing, that going to church is a [i]good[/i] thing, that praying is a [i]good[/i] thing, many people will do it for that reason alone. And if the expence of becoming a [i]good[/i] person isn’t higher than just professing your belief in some abstract entity called God, as compared to the expence of becoming an [i]actual[/i] good person (you have to do good things, which is bothersome), the choice is easy for the morally lazy.
June 19th, 2006 at at 6:08 am
Just thought I’d chime in here on actual numbers. The most recent GSS data indicate that close to 50% of people in the U.S. either: (1) claim no religious affiliation or (2) rarely attend church services. Let me clarify - the actual number without a religious affiliation is about 13% to 14%. Religious “nones,” as we in sociology call them, rarely attend church. Another 35% to 40% of people in the U.S. attend religious services maybe once or twice a year (e.g., Christmas and Easter, etc.). The implication - the U.S. may be very credulous - belief in god, hell, immortality, etc. remain much higher than 50% - but actual behavior does not seem to reflect that belief. This may also partially explain the high rates of pornography consumption in “Christian” areas - people claim they are Christian, but of those who do, almost 1/2 go to church so rarely that they are considered religiously inactive. In other words, their behavior is not as heavily influenced by their religious beliefs as you might think. That said, religious nones and atheists are more likely to support allowing people of all ages to view pornography and are more likely to have seen an x-rated movie in the past year (again, using GSS data). I don’t think this makes atheists any less moral, it’s just that atheists are more like Europeans in their attitudes toward sexuality - they are far less prudish and recognize that sex is part of life.
June 19th, 2006 at at 8:15 am
You Dicker.
You brought her.
June 19th, 2006 at at 9:43 am
Another interesting poll (Survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press Oct. 12-24, 2005…. hey! Why don’t YOU reference YOUR polls? Just asking) has shown that secular people (no religious affiliation) are signifigantly more opposed to torture than Christians… Catholics are about 21% more supportive of torturing “suspected terrorists” “sometimes” and twice as supportive of using torture “often”. Very “love thy enemy” of them.
June 19th, 2006 at at 11:11 am
And if the expence of becoming a [i]good[/i] person isn’t higher than just professing your belief in some abstract entity called God, as compared to the expence of becoming an [i]actual[/i] good person (you have to do good things, which is bothersome), the choice is easy for the morally lazy.
Yes, I think you hit the nail on the head.
June 19th, 2006 at at 11:50 am
Catholics are about 21% more supportive of torturing “suspected terrorists” “sometimes” and twice as supportive of using torture “often”.
Anyone remember a little thing called the Inquisition?
June 19th, 2006 at at 5:05 pm
Kristian, just FYI, it is and (minus the spaces, won’t show up if I do it correctly)
All the html codes appear at the bottom of the comments spaces
…and I agree with what you said, too.
June 19th, 2006 at at 5:10 pm
woops, I forgot to add the “non” at the end of my name. Gosh, I remember when it used to be Aeger, and I was content with it… that was of course before I actually looked it up in a credible Latin dictionary.
As a matter of fact, I’m still in the market for a new, catchy alias. Ideas?
June 20th, 2006 at at 5:26 pm
You know H.S. has no morals. I can’t say that to all non-theiest but they have a view of their own opinion.. You guys think that the world will be better without God. A athiest world is like Post war Iraq. Chaos!!!!!!!! and no structure. A FREE FOR ALL. I think Athiest don’t have structure because they follow their “free will” to do whatever they want and not keep it in the closet. I say this, if you guys are agianst prayer in public schools, and religion in mainstream America, why does it harm you in a way that you have to bitch about your disbelief of a deity. You don’t believen God but you will complain events around towards this deity. Its like this, you see a music video on TV, you can change the channel but you don’t have to protest about the vide.o. If you don’t believen it, why is it bothering you so much to debunk it when its useless to you. If you don’t believe it, don’t complain about it.
June 20th, 2006 at at 5:34 pm
Its like this, people say Barry Bonds suck and he’s a bad baseball player and they wouldn’t waste their time seein’ this guy on TV, but they will bitch and complain about him all the time. That is what I say about Ateist to religion, you don’t believe it but you’ll let it bother you. You make a ant(Relgion) look like godzilla at the end of the day. If you don’t believe it, why bother it.
June 21st, 2006 at at 9:00 am
Yo … Jordan. Get a spell checker man! It would also be good to invest in some remedial English as your semantical (look it up … it will be good for you) juxtoposition is truly outta whack!
Now for your premise: If we don’t believe in it why bother it. Hmmmm, that’s what they told the Jews in Nazi Germany. If we don’t confront the day to day intrusion in our lives we will soon have a religious tyranny (some say we do now) running our country. They’ll come first for the unbelievers … then they’ll finally come for the folks whose religion is not like THEIR’s. Being atheist just means there are less of us. But when we are gone, whose left? You. Then you’re screwed if you are the only minority left. Check out the history of the Jewish pogroms … its enlightening what the “majority” does to the “minority”.
June 21st, 2006 at at 9:33 am
Mr. King brings up some useful points that I think are widely shared by people who can actually put English sentences together. One is of course the “no morality without my deity” business that we have all heard a zillion times. It is so familiar that I won’t bother to address it, although it reinforces my main argument.
Another of his points is that, since we have no superstitious fears of punishment, we have no legitimate complaint about prayers/pledges in school, etc. A Jew might fear the awful wrath of Yahweh if he sat through a prayer to a false god like Jesus; we can only complain of being bored for a few minutes.
This is why I would like to – while never denying my lack of belief in their superstition – affirm my belief in the things they are assaulting, most specifically in democracy. Their actions are an assault on my most basic beliefs. They try to teach our children that America is a theocracy, not a democracy.
The debate in this country is very backwards. Firstly, we are defending democracy. Secondly, why don’t these people share our belief in democracy?
July 11th, 2006 at at 10:26 am
I am a Christian who believes that Jesus is Lord and Savior and that people can be reborn through faith in Him. I believe that fully and have my reasons. That being said, I don’t think America is a Christian country and “Christian” should by no means be the default. I don’t understand why more people don’t just speak plainly about what they believe, or at least more clearly express their agnosticism. In short, I’m tired of American pharisaic hypocrisy and I respect the consistancy and straightforwardness of many of your points of view and the trajectory of this debate.
October 13th, 2006 at at 1:58 pm
wholesale fabric supplier…
your site has great information ..keep it up…