Atheist Contributions to the World

My post still holds.

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I think not. In the US, Republicans are most likely to do this, and they more often identify with the intensely religious. They are also most likely to discount scientific conclusions, like global warming.

Science is not technology.

 

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sorry see edit after that!

Atheism originated in India according to the link

meanwhile

from same link

"Written by Gora, in "We Become Atheists" at the end of the last chapter, "Future of Atheism" :

"The future of atheism consists in establishing partyless democracy and achieving one equal humanity through it. National and racial differences vanish as real democracies federate at first for commonweal and then move towards one humanity and one wor1d. The United Nations Organization will have to convert itself into United People's Organization for the purpose. Atheist awakening rouses people all over the world into the feeling of mastership over their institutions and systems of life. The spread of the atheist outlook is hope of humanity to turn from war to peace, from slavery to freedom, from superstition to a sense of reality, from conflict to cooperation". "

also more on atheism and India

http://www.hinduwebsite.com/history/athiesm.htm
http://atheism.about.com/b/a/193289.htm

what made you think there was no atheism in India Sam? Is it hidden?

 

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Yes atheism originated in India. Four of the six traditional philosophies of India are atheistic and in fact Buddhism was the dominant religion in India for 1000 years. But Buddhism has all but vanished and people have reverted back to the theist philosophies, which have never completely disappeared, not even when atheism was dominant.

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Lots of atheism in India still, many websites dedicated to discussing it.

Meanwhile has abortion always been legal in India?

My earlier point was that where as in the West these 'sex' things were illegal, atheism perhaps contributed to them becoming legal. Perhaps the dominant atheist philosophies in india of long ago are what permitted the legal abortion? After all abortion would not have been carried out pre atheism (10,000bc) as medicine not that advanced -I wouldn't have thought ?

 

Hmm I want to see it in practice first. We have a good model of a secular democratic republic right now with less than 1% atheism. Most of the problems that still persist in India are related to poor education or unemployment or even the burgeoning population and competition for jobs and resources.

In 5000 years of known history, with strong theism, we have never attacked another country for personal gain nor have Indians lost their culture or identity to foreign invasion. I much prefer our current culture, which is social and community based to any system I see in the world. e.g. the current argument against the veil in the UK has never even been a topic of discussion in India, where those who wish to wear one are free to do so. I like the idea that one can have several different colorful traditions co-existing rather than the one size fits all which seems a requisite of Western "integration".

Indian tradition has shown tolerance towards other religions, alternative sexualities, ascetics, heterodoxy, abortion- there are even places that perform same sex marriages. True, there are many negative offshoots to this practice of embracing all ideologies but they have never dominated society (even though they may have had short periods of popularity) chiefly because the Indian traditional thought does not allow for intolerance to flourish to the detriment of society.

The positive outlook and humanism is not achieved through theism or atheism but the practice of tolerance.

Tell me, do you see tolerance for different thought as an automatic achievement of atheists even on this forum (?intelligent discussion??)

The basis for democracy and secularism is argument that encourages ALL thought, no matter how unpopular or sensational. Everyone must be an equal contributor to the melting pot of discussion, every point of view must get a fair hearing without fear of discrimination or ridicule.

Without respect for divergent opinions there can be no secularism.

 

no so tolerant towards women yet though Sam?

from web

"According to a recent report by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) up to 50 million girls and women are missing from India' s population as a result of systematic gender discrimination in India. In most countries in the world, there are approximately 105 female births for every 100 males.
In India, there are less than 93 women for every 100 men in the population. The accepted reason for such a disparity is the practice of female infanticide in India, prompted by the existence of a dowry system which requires the family to pay out a great deal of money when a female child is married. For a poor family, the birth of a girl child can signal the beginning of financial ruin and extreme hardship.

However this anti-female bias is by no means limited to poor families. Much of the discrimination is to do with cultural beliefs and social norms. These norms themselves must be challenged if this practice is to stop.

Diagnostic teams with ultrasound scanners which detect the sex of a child advertise with catchlines such as spend 600 rupees now and save 50,000 rupees later.

The implication is that by avoiding a girl, a family will avoid paying a large dowry on the marriage of her daughter. According to UNICEF, the problem is getting worse as scientific methods of detecting the sex of a baby and of performing abortions are improving.

These methods are becoming increasing available in rural areas of India, fuelling fears that the trend towards the abortion of female foetuses is on the increase"


re atheists on this forum, the ones that treat athesim like a religion and argue about it's merits in the religion forum, well they are 'religious' and thus as closed minded. It's about people not 'club's at the end of the day

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I have heard of many Islamic and Hindu terrorist attacks lately in India, and what about Kashmir?

 

Probably the best place to meet other atheists?

1% of our population is still a lot of people.

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I don't know what Buddha's stand was on abortion. Was he for it or against it?

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Abortion has been performed even before it was written into law, there has never been a public argument against it. Historically, it was induced through herbal concoctions. In fact, it was after it was written into law that some pro-life groups have spoken out against it. These were not based on any particular religion though, but on sanctity of life in general.

 

I found the reason for legal abortion in India Sam, anti female feeling.
Very sad state of affairs. But not the topic here.

 

All reverbrations of the mujahideen from Afghanistan. We face issues with Muslim boys being kidnapped for training in terrorist camps by Islamic militants.

Kashmir is a political issue with India and Pakistan playing ping pong. It is related to a referendum granted to the King of Kashmir during independence (of India) that they would be allowed to vote whether they wish to join India or Pakistan or maintain a separate nation. Of course, politicians and their promises can hold only so much water and it was never actually granted to them.

 

Do they truly identify with the religious or do they claim to?

 

Yes the science of gender detection has played havoc with our female population!

We are getting our feet back after 200 years of occupation, our country has been free for just around 60 years (since 1947).

Like I said, most current problems are related to population, poverty and education. It is much better than it used to be. Awareness is spreading and people are trying to make things right. Open discussion is the best forum for change.

Education is especially important. A survey was conducted in India about what rural people thought about the British rule. There were people who had not even realised they had ever been there!!

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1% of population is still high though Sam, hardly non existant, 1 in 100 people, for a highly populated continent that is a lot not a little.

India
Demographic profile
Medium variant
2005 Indicator
Population (thousands) 1 103 371
Male population (thousands) 565 778
Female population (thousands) 537 593


Europe
Population (thousands) 728 389
Male population (thousands) 350 386
Female population (thousands) 378 003

 

Well who said it was superior in "all senses"? Besides, there are more theists than atheists. So it doesn't prove any point if you show that atheists have accomlished more...

And that is also completely besides the point, since atheism is about your own life, not how much you contibute to the world.

 

Legally medical practioners are forbidden from revealing the sex of the child. The legalisation of abortion was a response to illegal abortions and danger to the health of the mother.

 

Still a LOT less than 99%

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I think they are mostly sincere. The thing is, they arrogantly assume the Earth is put here for our use, and that God wouldn't have done so if our use would damage it, or anyway it doesn't matter if the rapture is coming. I see Jesus fish more often on huge luxury SUV's, and I have heard self-identified Christians on the radio being proud of driving gas guzzling trucks. They don't believe the science, because that might mean accepting other more controversial implications of science.

 

Sam, this also confused me

from web
"
Ethical Atheist,
B.R.Bajaj
brbajaj@hotmail.com

I live in north India, and was born in a Hindu family. In this part of the world, we have muslims, hindus, sikhs jains, buddhists and innumerable local sects-all preaching their own mumbo jumbo. Majority of the people are religious and follow the rituals. Religious conflict has taken millions of lives in this part of the world. In 1947, when Pakistan was created, an estimated 1 million muslims and hindus/sikhs killed, maimed and burnt each others property. My family was a victim of the carnage in 1947. I am 54years old, and what I have seen in this world, compels me to state that as long as human beings are insecure, illiterate, poor, hungry, unsure of the future, dissatified etc., they will try to seek refuge in religious mumbo jumbo of all types, and these fears will be constantly exploited by those who benefit from this. More on this another time"

http://www.ethicalatheist.com/docs/World/india_update.html

How can you say india is tolerant towards other religions?

I think Uk is the most tolerant place in the world, we have every imaginable place of worship possible here, all existing side by side. No bloodshed.

 

I accept that India has a long tradition of religious tolerance. Jesus would never have been crucified there. This is partly due to the diversity of religions there, not just sects, but very different philosophies. I'm all for diversity of religious ideas, I think it's healthy, and atheism is one of these religious ideas (or ideas about religion).

The problem is more severe with the Abrahamic religions, since the "one God" concept is inherently less tolerant. They are also more patriarchal and militant in nature, seeking to become dominant the way an army is dominant.