Atheists, if a violent criminal were to say he is an atheist, what would you think?

Question

A) The guy really is an atheist
B) Atheism has nothing to do with his behavior
C) He's not a reflection on me
D) Other, please explain

In addition, could your answer likewise be applied by at least some Christians in the same situation?

Answer 1

B)

"In addition, could your answer likewise be applied by at least some Christians in the same situation?"

Yes, but I never know someone who kills in the name of atheism. But then again, I never use that argument against religion. I only use that argument against religious nutshells, luckily for us there are just the minority.

Answer 2

B and C.

Let's turn the question around, though. What would you say if a violent criminal turned his life over to Jesus? Or a violent criminal identified as Christian. I think that's far more likely to happen than a criminal coming out as an atheist. And I also know that violent crimnals coming out and saying they're Christians has little bearing on attitudes toward Christianity, while if the same guy was discovered to be an atheist, it would make views towards nonbelievers even harsher than they already are.

Answer 3

The answer is 'D'. I would have no choice but to view it as a statistical abberation.

Why? Well... chew on this for a little while.

Christians make up about 75% of the US population and 75% of the US prison population. No big surprise there.

Atheists, on the other hand, make up about 10% of the US population... but they only make up 0.2% of the US prison population. Now, isn't THAT a surprise? That means that on a per-capita basis, atheists are FIFTY (50) times LESS LIKELY to be incarcerated than Christians. Pretty strange, huh, for a group that has no god-given guiding moral principals?

I can only think of two possibilities that might reasonably be said to account for this discrepancy:

1. Atheists are of a higher ethical and moral caliber than Christians, and thus are less prone to do the same kinds of nasty things that land so many Christians in the slammer;

OR,

2. Atheists are, overall, a lot smarter than Christians and thus, they are less likely to get caught in the course of their transgressions.

It's GOT to be one or the other... take your pick.

(Statistics from US Bureau of Prisons, 1997)
.

Answer 4

Christians would follow the teachings of the Bible
The 10 commandments say, " Thou shalt not kill."
Being an Athiest doesn't make them a murderer, it just means they have not accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. If a person is not a Christian it would probably be easier to commit a violent crime. So my answer is other.

Answer 5

B) if a group of people started to kill in the name of Atheism then I would think something was fundamentally wrong with a lack of belief.. But since it is rather rare for someone to kill just because of their lack of belief I would likely think this person was just nuts.

It would be the same if a Christian were to kill someone, I would not blame "Theism" for the cause, I would likely blame it on something else. I would only blame it on his/her religion (Christianity in this case) if it were done in the name of religion and at the same time most Christians agreed to an extent of such actions.

Answer 6

I am wondering what the question is trying to point to...I also look at many of the responses on here and get the feeling that many of the responders are young enough to not remember the governments in the former soviet union and in China that were atheistic in nature and the number of people killed in that light.....yes many have been killed for religious principles and atheist are right there.....it is not an us against them type of thing....


foot note...I lived in both of those countries during the times of some of the most harsh crack downs.....this is not base on hear say or books or news reports. I buried many friends killed by these governments.

Answer 7

1.) B
2.) Most criminals in the US serving time are self professed Christians. Their belief in mythology does not have anything to do with their criminal behavior, but there is a correlation between ignorance and the propensity to commit crime.

Answer 8

D) he may call himself an atheist, but does not know what it means to be an atheist, because if he did, he would know that you cannot create heaven on Earth by killing your neighbor. If he claimed he was a true atheist and knew what being an atheist meant, then I would call him a liar.

Answer 9

A B and C.
and yes some christians could say the same.

Answer 10

B)

of course atheists don't claim that atheism affects someones behaviour

we don't say you can only be moral or good i f you're an atheist