I'm all for free thinking and reason- my education background is science. I also support religion- not the culty kind, but the mainstream religions that do good things in the world.

However, I know of some college students who seem very opposed to their family's religion and are now atheists. I am all for questioning and free choice- been there myself. What concerns me is there seems to be a campaign on campuses to promote atheism, denounce religion, anti religion rock songs... humanistic rallies

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but in my day, believing in God, or not, was a private thing. I would guess most people questioned, but few could say atheist with certainty. Agnosticism is apparently not good enough, it has to be atheism.

To me, if I were to denounce my religion of birth, it would only be after careful study and serious decision that it is not for me. However, the jump to atheism in college does not seem like a decision made through study and inquiry.

Any comments on this? Are we heading for the Church of Atheism?

In a word...No.

If you look at all the countless threads on RickRoss.com, you will see people are yearning for something greater/smarter than themselves. Many of these people come from families that may not have been staunch believers in anything. College campuses are rich with cultic and religious "vultures" looking for young minds to convert. It was like this since the 1960's (at least).

This yearning for "something else" allows cults and abusive religions to thrive all the time.

Am I happy this seems to be the norm? No. The more reason that people have, the less likely they may be to join cults, sweat lodges, and other crap.

There are some famous atheists who now speak openly, and so some others are now speaking openly.
That is a recent phenomenon.
Have never seen that as being culty at all.


But there are probably "cults" that say they are atheist, like the Raelians.
So it has to be based on specifics.

Troubling new developments in places of higher learning? A trend amongst young people who have rejected religious upbringing and now identify themselves as belonging to a "Church of Atheism".

Amongst atheists there are all kinds of cultural, philosophical, social or political values. The thing that unites them is their non-attendance at church, and to religion or theism. It could be seen as advantageous to religious fundamentalists if they could attach "cultic" connotations to atheism. Atheists are generally free and independent thinkers. They value rationalism, not authoritarian dogma. Where is the evidence of atheist cults or sects in universities?

No evidence Sandman- I was asking to see if there was any. I agree with all the posters here- about the free thinking and freedom from fundamentalism. To me there seems to be strain of anger that goes beyond simply the choice not to believe something. It would be the nature of a cult to capitalize on a new trend, so I wondered. Maybe it is just the enthusiasm of the college age and the tendency to want be different from the older generation. It's good to know there is nothing more going on.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/03/2012 08:28PM by paperlane11.