Hi Beth- I have a similar personal experience. However, I think that expressing one's atheism is not just a function of access to like minded others. It is also a function of the amount of hostility one receives when such a view is expressed. This varies from culture to culture. While I am very comfortable discussing my views here in Canada I am much more reluctant to express those views when I am in the US. If I were to travel to Iran (not likely) I would be careful not to talk about it at all.
-Don. ----- Original Message ----- From: Beth Benoit <[email protected]> Date: Wednesday, September 21, 2011 6:16 am Subject: [tips] intuition = belief in a higher being To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" <[email protected]> > A new paper in the Journal of Experimental Psychology > http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/xge-ofp-shenhav.pdf > proposes that > those who think intuitively (" For the purposes of this study, > intuition is > thought of as the tendency to rely on first instincts and to > reach decisions > quickly and then stick by them.") are more likely to say they > believe in the > existence of God than those who have a reflective style of thinking > "(Reflection, on the other hand, is a slower process that involves > questioning initial instincts and looking at a wider range of > alternatives.") > > Another interesting thought, proposed by Christopher Hitchens in > his newest > book, *Arguably: Essays*, is that people are more likely > to say they're > atheists now because there's more access to different points of > view and > information (via the internet) than there was before. I > imagine it must > have been a lonely business being an atheist in the "old days." > > I'm much more aware of many people being comfortable saying > they're atheists > or agnostics. I don't think this was true in earlier > decades, at least not > in my experience. > > Beth Benoit > Granite State College > Plymouth State University > New Hampshire > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13157.966b795bc7f3ccb35e3da08aebe98f18&n=T&l=tips&o=12832or > send a blank email to > leave-12832-13157.966b795bc7f3ccb35e3da08aebe98...@fsulist.frostburg.edu Don Allen Retired professor Langara College --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=12842 or send a blank email to leave-12842-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
