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Topic: State Atheism - page 9. (Read 6801 times)

sr. member
Activity: 994
Merit: 441
August 14, 2014, 08:56:07 AM
You may have missed the part in the link that said the most unhappy places were places with religious oppression.LOL zolace cant find a hole deep enough to dig himself into.
hero member
Activity: 756
Merit: 506
August 14, 2014, 08:53:28 AM
Scandinavia prosperity had a lot to do with being a trade conduit between NATO and the USSR in the Cold War.  25% of Finland's exports were to the USSR and the percentages were similarly high to the rest of the WP.  Finland had a monopoly on the production and distribution of certain imported goods in the USSR.

The Fernsehturm in East Berlin, for instance, was built by Swedes.  The Scandinavians received all sorts of preferential trade agreements and contracts by both sides of the Cold War in order to win their favour or to keep them neutral, and this benefited their economies a great deal.


Nowadays the Scandinavians are saying their economies are in a stagnation and their welfare state is disappearing.  Not surprised since it was a bubble based on the assumption that a transfer of wealth from the United States and the Soviet Union into Scandinavia would last forever.

Reality is that former Scandinavian exports and contracts have since gone to China and Germany.
sr. member
Activity: 994
Merit: 441
August 14, 2014, 08:52:14 AM
What what did the article YOU posted note were factors in Norway achieving that rating?   Granted - you may realize actually posting what the article said will be a problem for you.  Of course, not posting it does also now.  So, fear not, and go with posting the excerpt from the article above.
I've made my point .   The nations with the least religion are the perennial winners in the happiness studies.   You cannot explain it.....it is making your brain smoke.   If you think you have a point, feel free to make it.
sr. member
Activity: 994
Merit: 441
August 14, 2014, 08:50:46 AM
LOL  I already posted dozens of reasons why they are happy.  No hesitation.  An eglaitarian society desired after WWII was the secret.  Egalitarian - equality and equal rights for all peoples.   No religious bigotry apparantly.

again "freedom to choose the direction of their lives" came out of one of many of my links.   They apparantly chose (in majority) no religion....and yet they are among the happiest peoples on the planet.

Still cant explain that can you?
Ok this is getting even more pathetic.

In the link below that you posted supporting your premise:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2013/10/29/the-worlds-happiest-and-saddest-countries-2013/
again "freedom to choose the direction of their lives" came out of one of many of my links.   I already posted this .     "Legatum scores the world’s countries on entrepreneurship, personal freedom, health, economy, social capital, education, safety & security, and governance." And that was just one of my many links about those countries.  They apparantly chose (in majority) no religion....and yet they are among the happiest peoples on the planet. They have personal freedom and equality, no religigious bigotry.

Still cant explain that can you.
legendary
Activity: 1330
Merit: 1000
August 14, 2014, 08:49:40 AM
Got curious and was checking out China's position on religion.

Came across this article on State Atheism.  Rather interesting - rather like a State Church, like was common in Europe.  And, at least by definition, not the same as a secular state.

Examples of such were/are the communist states, Revolutionary France and Revolutionary Mexico.  The article goes into detail on each such country.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_atheism

State atheism is the official promotion of atheism by a government, sometimes combined with active suppression of religious freedom and practice. In contrast, a secular state purports to be officially neutral in matters of religion, supporting neither religion nor irreligion. State atheism may refer to a government's anti-clericalism, which opposes religious institutional power and influence in all aspects of public and political life, including the involvement of religion in the everyday life of the citizen.

Well, surprise surprise... Atheism in it's weak form is a good thing (in my opinion). But many atheists are not a single bit 'better' or open minded than the most religious nutjobs. If you are running around and tell people that their religion is wrong and they shouldn't force their believe on others, well go figure what you're doing yourself!

+1
sr. member
Activity: 364
Merit: 250
August 14, 2014, 08:47:52 AM
What what did the article YOU posted note were factors in Norway achieving that rating?   Granted - you may realize actually posting what the article said will be a problem for you.  Of course, not posting it does also now.  So, fear not, and go with posting the excerpt from the article above.
sr. member
Activity: 364
Merit: 250
August 14, 2014, 08:39:17 AM
LOL  I already posted dozens of reasons why they are happy.  No hesitation.  An eglaitarian society desired after WWII was the secret.  Egalitarian - equality and equal rights for all peoples.   No religious bigotry apparantly.

again "freedom to choose the direction of their lives" came out of one of many of my links.   They apparantly chose (in majority) no religion....and yet they are among the happiest peoples on the planet.

Still cant explain that can you?
Ok this is getting even more pathetic.

In the link below that you posted supporting your premise:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2013/10/29/the-worlds-happiest-and-saddest-countries-2013/
sr. member
Activity: 994
Merit: 441
August 13, 2014, 01:20:11 PM
LOL  I already posted dozens of reasons why they are happy.  No hesitation.  An eglaitarian society desired after WWII was the secret.  Egalitarian - equality and equal rights for all peoples.   No religious bigotry apparantly.

again "freedom to choose the direction of their lives" came out of one of many of my links.   They apparantly chose (in majority) no religion....and yet they are among the happiest peoples on the planet.

Still cant explain that can you?
sr. member
Activity: 364
Merit: 250
August 13, 2014, 11:25:52 AM
Do please answer the above - I think I know why you may be hesitating to do so.


But, while on the subject, happen to come across another article where a different nation is ranked #1 - and the ones that follow are also in South America. Happiness is probably hard to quantify.

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/worlds-happiest-country-would-you-believe-paraguay-n110981

Paraguay is the happiest country in the world, with 87 percent of residents scoring high on an index of positive emotions, according to the latest Gallup poll on well-being.

Not surprisingly, Syria, suffering through a civil war, is the unhappiest and people there are so badly off they’ve hit a new low, the survey finds.

The ten happiest countries in the world and why were not one of them

http://www.planetizen.com/node/65088
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110125110022AAUPy6Q

Norway tops the list
What's the most prosperous country in the world? Norway. What's it got that the rest of the world doesn't? The biggest bump comes from having the world's highest per capita GDP of $53,000 a year. Norwegians have the second-highest level of satisfaction with their standards of living: 95 percent say they are satisfied with the freedom to choose the direction of their lives; an unparalleled 74 percent say other people can be trusted.

Cynics (particularly those leaving comments on Legatum's excellent website) say Norway's ranking is a fluke, that it's a boring, godless (just 13 percent go to church) homogeneous place to live with a massive welfare state bankrolled by high taxes. Without massive offshore reserves of oil and gas that it exports to the world through state-controlled Statoil, Norway's GDP would be far smaller.

And yet joining Norway in the top 10 prosperous countries are its Scandinavian sisters Denmark, Finland and Sweden, with equally small and civilized Switzerland and the Netherlands also in the club. None of these countries are blessed with great hoards of oil and gas.


Ok this is getting rather pathetic.

In the  link below that you posted supporting your premise:

 http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2013/10/29/the-worlds-happiest-and-saddest-countries-2013/


Again, what what did the article YOU posted note were factors in Norway achieving that rating?

Just paste it below, please.  BTW - you also might want to re-read the article you just posted also - but, if you need help there also, we can get to that as soon as we finish with your link above.

You are quite pathetic.  Apparently you are unable to cut and paste anything yourself.  Must have lost all his fingers but the one that type stupid shit.  I just C&P a whole bunch of reasons in the previous post.  How pathetic are you?  Read it.  C&P whatever you like if you think you have a point .
No, you made the claim from article - you copy what they say.  Granted, I think we both know why you hesitate to do that.
sr. member
Activity: 994
Merit: 441
August 13, 2014, 11:21:25 AM
Do please answer the above - I think I know why you may be hesitating to do so.


But, while on the subject, happen to come across another article where a different nation is ranked #1 - and the ones that follow are also in South America. Happiness is probably hard to quantify.

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/worlds-happiest-country-would-you-believe-paraguay-n110981

Paraguay is the happiest country in the world, with 87 percent of residents scoring high on an index of positive emotions, according to the latest Gallup poll on well-being.

Not surprisingly, Syria, suffering through a civil war, is the unhappiest and people there are so badly off they’ve hit a new low, the survey finds.

The ten happiest countries in the world and why were not one of them

http://www.planetizen.com/node/65088
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110125110022AAUPy6Q

Norway tops the list
What's the most prosperous country in the world? Norway. What's it got that the rest of the world doesn't? The biggest bump comes from having the world's highest per capita GDP of $53,000 a year. Norwegians have the second-highest level of satisfaction with their standards of living: 95 percent say they are satisfied with the freedom to choose the direction of their lives; an unparalleled 74 percent say other people can be trusted.

Cynics (particularly those leaving comments on Legatum's excellent website) say Norway's ranking is a fluke, that it's a boring, godless (just 13 percent go to church) homogeneous place to live with a massive welfare state bankrolled by high taxes. Without massive offshore reserves of oil and gas that it exports to the world through state-controlled Statoil, Norway's GDP would be far smaller.

And yet joining Norway in the top 10 prosperous countries are its Scandinavian sisters Denmark, Finland and Sweden, with equally small and civilized Switzerland and the Netherlands also in the club. None of these countries are blessed with great hoards of oil and gas.


Ok this is getting rather pathetic.

In the  link below that you posted supporting your premise:

 http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2013/10/29/the-worlds-happiest-and-saddest-countries-2013/


Again, what what did the article YOU posted note were factors in Norway achieving that rating?

Just paste it below, please.  BTW - you also might want to re-read the article you just posted also - but, if you need help there also, we can get to that as soon as we finish with your link above.

You are quite pathetic.  Apparantly you are unable to cut and paste anything yourself.  Must have lost all his fingers but the one that type stupid shit.  I just C&P a whole bunch of reasons in the previous post.  How pathetic are you?  Read it.  C&P whatever you like if you think you have a point .
sr. member
Activity: 994
Merit: 441
August 13, 2014, 11:18:33 AM
What else? They are all borderline socialist states, with generous welfare benefits and lots of redistribution of wealth. Yet they don't let that socialism cross the line into autocracy. Civil liberties are abundant (consider decriminalized drugs and prostitution in the Netherlands). There are few restrictions on the flow of capital or of labor. Legatum's scholars point out that Denmark, for example, has little job protection, but generous unemployment benefits. So business owners can keep the right number of workers, while workers can have a safety net while they muck around looking for that fulfilling job.
sr. member
Activity: 364
Merit: 250
August 13, 2014, 11:13:23 AM
Do please answer the above - I think I know why you may be hesitating to do so.


But, while on the subject, happen to come across another article where a different nation is ranked #1 - and the ones that follow are also in South America. Happiness is probably hard to quantify.

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/worlds-happiest-country-would-you-believe-paraguay-n110981

Paraguay is the happiest country in the world, with 87 percent of residents scoring high on an index of positive emotions, according to the latest Gallup poll on well-being.

Not surprisingly, Syria, suffering through a civil war, is the unhappiest and people there are so badly off they’ve hit a new low, the survey finds.

The ten happiest countries in the world and why were not one of them

http://www.planetizen.com/node/65088
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110125110022AAUPy6Q

Norway tops the list
What's the most prosperous country in the world? Norway. What's it got that the rest of the world doesn't? The biggest bump comes from having the world's highest per capita GDP of $53,000 a year. Norwegians have the second-highest level of satisfaction with their standards of living: 95 percent say they are satisfied with the freedom to choose the direction of their lives; an unparalleled 74 percent say other people can be trusted.

Cynics (particularly those leaving comments on Legatum's excellent website) say Norway's ranking is a fluke, that it's a boring, godless (just 13 percent go to church) homogeneous place to live with a massive welfare state bankrolled by high taxes. Without massive offshore reserves of oil and gas that it exports to the world through state-controlled Statoil, Norway's GDP would be far smaller.

And yet joining Norway in the top 10 prosperous countries are its Scandinavian sisters Denmark, Finland and Sweden, with equally small and civilized Switzerland and the Netherlands also in the club. None of these countries are blessed with great hoards of oil and gas.


Ok this is getting rather pathetic.

In the  link below that you posted supporting your premise:

 http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2013/10/29/the-worlds-happiest-and-saddest-countries-2013/


Again, what what did the article YOU posted note were factors in Norway achieving that rating?

Just paste it below, please.  BTW - you also might want to re-read the article you just posted also - but, if you need help there also, we can get to that as soon as we finish with your link above.
sr. member
Activity: 994
Merit: 441
August 13, 2014, 11:08:04 AM
So what gives? What do these prosperous European nations have in common that can somehow explain their prosperity? Being an electoral democracy is almost a given — of the top 25 most prosperous countries, only Singapore and Hong Kong aren't.

Being small helps too. Big countries have so many disparate groups (ethnic, geographic, civic) vying against each other that it's hard for true social cohesion and trust to emerge, and harder to maintain high levels of safety. Among countries with populations of more than 150 million, the United States ranks highest, at No. 10.
sr. member
Activity: 994
Merit: 441
August 13, 2014, 11:02:56 AM
Do please answer the above - I think I know why you may be hesitating to do so.


But, while on the subject, happen to come across another article where a different nation is ranked #1 - and the ones that follow are also in South America. Happiness is probably hard to quantify.

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/worlds-happiest-country-would-you-believe-paraguay-n110981

Paraguay is the happiest country in the world, with 87 percent of residents scoring high on an index of positive emotions, according to the latest Gallup poll on well-being.

Not surprisingly, Syria, suffering through a civil war, is the unhappiest and people there are so badly off they’ve hit a new low, the survey finds.

The ten happiest countries in the world and why were not one of them

http://www.planetizen.com/node/65088
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110125110022AAUPy6Q

Norway tops the list
What's the most prosperous country in the world? Norway. What's it got that the rest of the world doesn't? The biggest bump comes from having the world's highest per capita GDP of $53,000 a year. Norwegians have the second-highest level of satisfaction with their standards of living: 95 percent say they are satisfied with the freedom to choose the direction of their lives; an unparalleled 74 percent say other people can be trusted.

Cynics (particularly those leaving comments on Legatum's excellent website) say Norway's ranking is a fluke, that it's a boring, godless (just 13 percent go to church) homogeneous place to live with a massive welfare state bankrolled by high taxes. Without massive offshore reserves of oil and gas that it exports to the world through state-controlled Statoil, Norway's GDP would be far smaller.

And yet joining Norway in the top 10 prosperous countries are its Scandinavian sisters Denmark, Finland and Sweden, with equally small and civilized Switzerland and the Netherlands also in the club. None of these countries are blessed with great hoards of oil and gas.
sr. member
Activity: 364
Merit: 250
August 13, 2014, 10:44:24 AM
Do please answer the above - I think I know why you may be hesitating to do so.


But, while on the subject, happen to come across another article where a different nation is ranked #1 - and the ones that follow are also in South America. Happiness is probably hard to quantify.

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/worlds-happiest-country-would-you-believe-paraguay-n110981

Paraguay is the happiest country in the world, with 87 percent of residents scoring high on an index of positive emotions, according to the latest Gallup poll on well-being.

Not surprisingly, Syria, suffering through a civil war, is the unhappiest and people there are so badly off they’ve hit a new low, the survey finds.
sr. member
Activity: 364
Merit: 250
August 13, 2014, 10:40:17 AM
Anyway, seeing no response, let me rephrase what got ignored:


1.Nothing in the link about atheists, let alone happy atheists.  I see no disagreement on that.

2.Norway is listed at the top of the list in the link as far as rated happiness.  No disagreement has been noted on that.

3.Having no religion is not the same as being an atheist - is that the claim?

4.rigon notes that Norway has a higher than average percentage of atheists.  Not sure if he is including non religious with atheists. 

5.Norway does not, as a State, promote atheism.  The OP makes claims about state promoted atheism.   


The unanswered question - what did the article note were factors in Norway achieving that rating?
norway has the highest percenage of atheists ANDS people with no religion and are extremelyt happy.  You have no argument with that.  Therefore,......what the fuck point do you think you ar emaking about atheism promoted by North Korea.  Just state is succintly and clearly.  WQhat is your point about N Korea and their abolishment of the people's religion???

Can you EVER fucking answer a question?
The unanswered question - what did the article note were factors in Norway achieving that rating?  Just paste it below, please.
sr. member
Activity: 994
Merit: 441
August 13, 2014, 10:20:51 AM
Anyway, seeing no response, let me rephrase what got ignored:


1.Nothing in the link about atheists, let alone happy atheists.  I see no disagreement on that.

2.Norway is listed at the top of the list in the link as far as rated happiness.  No disagreement has been noted on that.

3.Having no religion is not the same as being an atheist - is that the claim?

4.rigon notes that Norway has a higher than average percentage of atheists.  Not sure if he is including non religious with atheists. 

5.Norway does not, as a State, promote atheism.  The OP makes claims about state promoted atheism.   


The unanswered question - what did the article note were factors in Norway achieving that rating?
norway has the highest percenage of atheists ANDS people with no religion and are extremelyt happy.  You have no argument with that.  Therefore,......what the fuck point do you think you ar emaking about atheism promoted by North Korea.  Just state is succintly and clearly.  WQhat is your point about N Korea and their abolishment of the people's religion???

Can you EVER fucking answer a question?
sr. member
Activity: 364
Merit: 250
August 13, 2014, 09:51:48 AM
Anyway, seeing no response, let me rephrase what got ignored:


1.Nothing in the link about atheists, let alone happy atheists.  I see no disagreement on that.

2.Norway is listed at the top of the list in the link as far as rated happiness.  No disagreement has been noted on that.

3.Having no religion is not the same as being an atheist - is that the claim?

4.rigon notes that Norway has a higher than average percentage of atheists.  Not sure if he is including non religious with atheists. 

5.Norway does not, as a State, promote atheism.  The OP makes claims about state promoted atheism.   


The unanswered question - what did the article note were factors in Norway achieving that rating?
sr. member
Activity: 364
Merit: 250
August 13, 2014, 09:44:21 AM
To clarify the 'hope' - how would you 'sell' the idea?  Humans want both truth and hope - but usually hunger for hope more.

And since there is agreement that not all dictators are evil, do we have an example of a dictator promoting atheism that was not evil?
you are probably right.  Noth Korea was a wonderful place before the dictator promoted state atheism.  That was when they plummetted into the despair of human rights abuses. If Kim Jong only he let the people have their religion, then he wouldnt have abused them so much.  Makes perfect sense

The fact other majority atheist  nations have a population with low crime and happy people must be the spurious relationship.  The fact almost none of the 9% of american atheists are in prison can only mean Satan is helping them avoid capture by the godly police....because clearly they are all without morals and abusers of human rights.
Your people have had more than 2000 years/
You've had a good run, but today people as stupid as you are a dying breed.
Today, and in the future people understand  that the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus and Jesus are all the same.
Even today,  people know you are a lying sack of shit when you  say Jesus answers your prayers. You can't present anything that supports your beliefs.
Can you give us any good reason to believe that you are not just paranoid/delusional ?
For all practical purposes,you are an atheist.  If a person talks like an atheist, thinks like an atheist, and poops like an atheist, well....

And no reasonable person would gather from his posts that rigon is happy - but, then, no reasonable person is making such a claim (rigon may not call himself an atheist either, but, see 2nd sentence above).

You all clearly have anger issues.
As I've stated in another post...You are "broken", and it really doesn't matter what labels YOU assign to us. I will not presume to speak for others.


Well, clearly you are blind even towards yourself.  If there is anyone here who  has had several folk point out his issues, it is you, guy.

When you can be honest about yourself, well, then we will see.

In zolace world, the only way to be "happy" is to deliberately make yourself ignorant, suspend all reason and mindlessy believe fairy tales.
Um, just to clarify - no where did I make the premise that atheists are unhappy. Sure, there seem to be none in these forums, but, these forums are hardly indicative of the population at large for any group.

But, I suppose discussing the happiness factor (which is more due to external factors than internal factors) avoids the point the OP makes.
sr. member
Activity: 994
Merit: 441
August 13, 2014, 09:42:16 AM
PS.  I'm not an atheist.  An atheist strongly believes there is no higher power.  I believe there may be an unknown power involved in the Universe's origins, and we just have no clue what it is and the bible is a fable.

A copy of the Bible book of Isaiah was found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Outside of minor changes in the forms of the letters, the "old" Isaiah was virtually the same as the one that is used by the Jews today.

Now what kind of deluded people would copy by hand so accurately, something that was simply a fable? When you copy kids' stories by hand over dozens of generations, they change. Something happened way back at the time of Moses that was so earth-shattering that the people of Israel carry the tradition in their minds and hearts, right down to today.

If the Bible were a fable, it would not exist.

Smiley
Every atheist I have ever met has been joyful.  As an agnostic, I am about as happy a person you will ever meet.  My wife says I make her sick how I sing in the shower every morning no matter what.  You have no evidence atheists are not happy.


So, its just here that you are unhappy.  Well, that begets some interesting questions.


Ok, went looking through the link, scanning.  Could find nothing about atheists, let alone happy atheists.

So, with Norway being at the top of the list, and (I assume you are correct on this) them having a larger than usual percentage of atheists in the population, you have assumed that some conclusion can be made from atheists on that, yes?

Did you notice what factors were noted in the article that it said were factors in that rating?

I am not unhappy here.  I love calling you an asshole and a moron.  I am having a blast.  You have some nerve thinking you are capable of telling me how I feel.  I guess I should assume you are very unhappy in here since you are always getting your ass kicked ...no??
You make a good point, in that, zolace is not only unable to prove atheism is "bad", zolace can't provide any reasonable argument that his brand of beliefs are "good".
True that.  He can look at a thousand surveys saying they are all happy.  I can tell him Im the happiest person alive....but he KNOWS that no one can be truly happy unless they are a braindead indoctrinated fairy tale believer like himself.    There is no communicating with someone whose mind has turned off and tuned out.
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