In general, are atheists "better" than Christians? Define "better" when answering.?

Question

Something to consider from barna.org:
"One of the most significant differences between active-faith and no-faith Americans is the cultural disengagement and sense of independence exhibited by atheists and agnostics in many areas of life. They are less likely than active-faith Americans to be registered to vote, to volunteer to help a non-church-related non-profit, to describe themselves as "active in the community", and to personally help or serve a homeless or poor person. One of the outcomes of this profile - and one of the least favorable points of comparison for atheist and agnostic adults - is the paltry amount of money they donate to charitable causes. The typical no-faith American donated just $200 in 2006, which is more than seven times less than the amount contributed by the prototypical active-faith adult ($1500). Even when church-based giving is subtracted from the equation, active-faith adults donated twice as many dollars last year as did atheists and agnostics."

http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=272

Gawry- This doesnt take into account conversions. The majority of inmates MAY have gone in as Atheist/Agnostic and been converted after getting in jail. "No Atheists in foxholes" or in this case, jail.

Atheist Consiglieri- First, this is a survey and if you had answered it then you could consider it charitable giving (as you did in your answer). That would be your choice. Second, surveys look at trends and from those you can make generalizations. You would be an exception to the trend. Third, they considered tithe and offering, and after removing those amounts Christians outgive atheists 2:1.

Atheist Consiglieri- You made a good point, but you assumed that all Christians tithed (gave 10% of income) when in fact only 6% actually tithe and churches base their budgets on 2-3% of their congregations "income".

ignoramus_the_great- I agree!

If you have problems with the SURVEY, feel free to go to the site and see how they conducted the SURVEY. At barna.org you will find other surveys also with surprising results in some cases.

Frater Pan- Any animal rescue, PETA, ACLU, McDonald's House (Target has a similar "house"). These were just off my head.. Im sure with a little bit of research you could find more. Watch any of these celebrity gameshows and listen to who they are donating to.

Answer 1

The biggest problem with this barna statement, and the prison statement from your other answerer, is that some people profess Christianity but do not make much of an attempt to follow Christ. My personal brother is a prime example. But your 'define better' statement is the key here.

An atheist can be a morally good person but can only be held accountable by society, which isn't a good moral entity. Christians should be morally good and are held accountable by society and religion which would include accountability by the church and a personal devotion to God. It is logical that Christians would be more apt to be good, moral people. This means that Christians (those who actually practice following Christ) should be more likely to give to charities, help the less fortunate, and stay out of trouble. If you could actually get that much detail in a study, I'd guess this is what you'd find. Again, this doesn't mean an atheist can't be moral.

Answer 2

I would like to advise you that you check on the total amount of people who are religious which is recorded in the censuses at lest before you posted this unbalanced random sample of donations equals summary.

I think you will find that main stream America has a total religious population of more than 85%, which would leave only about 15% for the agnostic and athiest fields to be corrected within your sumary.

And I may add where does it say on a donation form that what is your religion. If so how much did the Jews donate. HMmm!

Answer 3

This argument is incredibly flawed.

Lets take the charity argument first.

Atheists on average donate $200. Does this account for the time they spend helping others? I personally don't donate to charities unless it is during a Golf tournament, which I spent way more than 200 on last year. But I have spent hundreds of hours putting together charitable events for Cerebral Palsy and Veterans and personally was involved in raising over $30,000 for charity this year alone. But I would be included in the 'less than $200" mark, because I don't count what I do as charity.

Christians ($1,500) on the other hand, count Tithes and Offerings as charitable giving. This is actually not charitable at all. 97% of tithes and offerings go towards the membership and denominations directly. Mortgages get paid, and lights are kept on, but hardly any of the money given in churches ever makes its way out to the community. This sounds ludicrous, but can be verified by checking the church books. I grew up as a minister's son, and saw the books in many churches my Dad pastored. In the end, it was one of the reasons he left the denomination we were in.

Churches don't really provide money for charity. As proof, imagine how much out of every Christians offering or tithe makes it to people in need?

Lets say its only $1 per week. Most Christians will imagine a much higher number.... But at $1 X 2.1billion Christians around the world, we would have an annual charitable donation of $109,000,000,000 per year. Poverty and hunger should be a thing of the past. Christian charitable giving would be bigger than all but 23 countries GNP around the world.

This shows us that religions offering doesn't make its way to charity at all.

Answer 4

I think it's important to diferentiate between no-faith and lapsed faith here. Most atheists and agnostics spend a LOT of time thinking about ways to better the earth, whereas most lapsed faith people - those who were raised in a religion and just decided it doesn't matter anymore and no longer identify with that faith - don't. Neither would qualify as an "active faith" person, but there is a very big difference.

Answer 5

Consider that many charities are faith-based. It isn't the act of giving that Atheists, or other non-Christians, have a problem with, it's the act of giving to a religious organization.

Well, firstly I am not an Atheist, I am one of those Pagans Sgt. Casey mentioned. And this is one of the few areas that Pagans can be lumped in with Atheists and Agnostics -- our unwillingness to give to faith-based charities. Other than that, we are very different from Atheists -- and Atheists tend to be just as critical of us as Christians are.

Don't get me wrong, I want to give. I truly do. But the vast majority of the charities out there are Christian, and they tend to proselytize the people they are helping. So, it isn't narcissism, it isn't selfishness, it isn't that we don't want to help or to give. The problem is that we don't have anyone to give to -- no non-Christian, secular charities. We want to help, we just don't want to force a religion that we don't agree with or believe in on anyone. And most Pagans don't even want to force their own religion on other people.

So, give me a charity that helps without preaching, and I'll give all I can.

Answer 6

Better at what? Better morally? No. You will find 'bad apples' in both groups I'm sure. That doesn't make the whole lot bad, nor does it mean one is better than the other. Oh, and BTW, I am a registered voter and I donate as much as I can, albeit not much by your standards. If someone asks for donations they shouldn't criticize how much you give, but just be glad someone cares enough to give any.

Answer 7

More false Christian propaganda. Surely lying is a sin!!!!!
What a weak religion and what poor faith to have to keep trying to pump such propaganda!

With so Called Christian Americans running things is it any wonder that certified statistics show America has the highest percentage of destitute people living below the poverty line in the developed world?

That Christians in prison for serious sexual of fences far outnumber every other religion and atheists combined!!!

Answer 8

Yes, they are better.

Why? It's easy. Christians believe they're correct to the point that they have killed many many many people in history who opposed their beliefs or even suggested that they may be wrong. Atheists? Not so much. Some people on these forums may try to get a rise out of people but it's because they're bored, not because they want you to convert.

Answer 9

Interesting site. Much can be said about this quote also:

"There are nearly 130 million American adults who describe themselves as Christians, but who are Christian in name only; their behavior includes little related to experiencing and expressing their alleged faith in Christ."

Answer 10

well i give to the leukemia foundation
i am registered to vote
i think "we " are better becasue we dont do these things out of religion or trying to get into heaven and apease a higher power--we do these things out of humanity and love
we are human and we support humanity
but we also dont have to feel guilty if we dont do these things
thats the best part of all!!!!!!!