the fastest spreading religion in the world

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I made this statement regarding atheism:



I said that in reference to a statement made about counting atheism as one of the world's fastest growing religions. I didn't state that atheism is a religion I stated that I thought that for some it is. That is an opinion it is an opinion formed through observation and I believe it to be valid as an opinion. I gave several reasons why I believe some atheist treat their athiesm as a religion other than numbers of gods. If one is going to preach the virtues of disbelief in a god then that person should be prepared to have people form the opinion that they are treating their atheism as a religion.

But still, this makes no sense. You can see people arguing the virtues of all sorts of things; this doesn't make them religions.

I noticed that you put "Humanist/Athiest" as your religion in your user info and not "none". Does that not go to validate my opinion?

Not really. While humanism isn't exactly a religion, it's the closest thing I have to one. I realize that the "atheist" qualifier doesn't strictly fit, but it's the sort of information that people here tend to be interested in knowing.

I don't understand why the title of "Fastest Growing Religion" is so important. Competition among the religions is never a good thing.

Am I wrong?

I see two possible reasons:

- simple appeal to numbers

- if a person is convinced that their religion is created by God, and that God wants to convert everyone to that religion, then we would expect to see that the religion was very popular. If it's not growing as fast as other religions that aren't "God-given", then this is a strike against the truth of the religion in question.

 

[Justin Thyme]

But why are the actions you described treating them like religions?

Because those actions are exactly what these people would be doing in regards to religion if they had one. That doesn't make atheism a religion but the people I"m referring to have supplanted a religion in their life with atheism in such a way that atheism is now their religion.

There is an idea that the human brain is geared toward religious thought, that our psyche requires religion in some form. I don't know that this is true but just from what I see it is plausible that this is the case for the majority of humans. Maybe that explains why someone would treat their atheism as a religion.

 

[Justin Thyme]

But still, this makes no sense. You can see people arguing the virtues of all sorts of things; this doesn't make them religions.

No, it doesn't make them religions. But still that doesn't keep people from treating things that aren't religions as religions.

Not really. While humanism isn't exactly a religion, it's the closest thing I have to one. I realize that the "atheist" qualifier doesn't strictly fit, but it's the sort of information that people here tend to be interested in knowing.

But still, you have treated atheism as though it were a religion in this label. Have you not?

 

[Riverwolf]

Because those actions are exactly what these people would be doing in regards to religion if they had one. That doesn't make atheism a religion but the people I"m referring to have supplanted a religion in their life with atheism in such a way that atheism is now their religion.

Not really. You could switch it around and say people are treating their religions like political stances, even if they don't bring their religion into politics.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

No, it doesn't make them religions. But still that doesn't keep people from treating things that aren't religions as religions.

What constitutes treating something as a religion?

But still, you have treated atheism as though it were a religion in this label. Have you not?

I've deliberately and knowingly used a term that doesn't really fit. I don't think that this constitutes treating atheism as a religion.

I suppose that it would've been more accurate for me to have said "what religious beliefs I have are atheistic in nature", but I don't think the software allows for that many characters.

 

[Justin Thyme]

What constitutes treating something as a religion?

We've gone through that and you have rejected the things I've given as not making sense. They make sense to me enough that I've gotten the impression that people are treating their atheism as a religion.

What I'd like to know is why is this important enough to you and others to continue with this discussion? I tossed that comment out very lightly yet it has become a heavy thread of discussion here. Why?

 

[Father Heathen]

The only reason Islam appears to be quickly growing is because they breed like rabbits in the 3rd world. And those people didn't choose to adopt the faith, they were born into it and indoctrinated since birth. Also reality isn't determined by a consensus of the lowest common denominator.

 

[ZooGirl02]

Personally, I am quite afraid of the day when Islam becomes the majority religion in the United States of America. My reason? Well, from what I understand, most Muslims believe that Sharia Law is an essential tenet of Islam and so, if Muslims become the majority, Sharia Law is likely to become the law of the land at one point or another. To me, Sharia Law is barbaric. Many Muslims' interpretation of Sharia Law includes stoning to death those who have sex before marriage and those who commit adultery. Now, don't get me wrong, I also abhor adultery. However, I see nothing wrong with sex before marriage. So if Islam does become the majority religion in my life time and we do end up having Shariah Law as the law of the land, I can only hope and pray that it is a tolerant version of Shariah Law that still allows people to do what they want (for the most part) without fear of being executed by a raging mob of Muslims.

Of course, I realize that Muslims are, for the most part, peaceful. However, my reading on the religion suggests that most of them do believe in Shariah Law. I have no problem with them practicing Shariah Law so long as they don't try to impose it on others. I love Muslims and believe that they worship the same God as I do. However, I cannot tolerate any possible intolerance of my beliefs or practices on their part.

 

[yassin]

Personally, I am quite afraid of the day when Islam becomes the majority religion in the United States of America. My reason? Well, from what I understand, most Muslims believe that Sharia Law is an essential tenet of Islam and so, if Muslims become the majority, Sharia Law is likely to become the law of the land at one point or another. To me, Sharia Law is barbaric. Many Muslims' interpretation of Sharia Law includes stoning to death those who have sex before marriage and those who commit adultery. Now, don't get me wrong, I also abhor adultery. However, I see nothing wrong with sex before marriage. So if Islam does become the majority religion in my life time and we do end up having Shariah Law as the law of the land, I can only hope and pray that it is a tolerant version of Shariah Law that still allows people to do what they want (for the most part) without fear of being executed by a raging mob of Muslims.

Of course, I realize that Muslims are, for the most part, peaceful. However, my reading on the religion suggests that most of them do believe in Shariah Law. I have no problem with them practicing Shariah Law so long as they don't try to impose it on others. I love Muslims and believe that they worship the same God as I do. However, I cannot tolerate any possible intolerance of my beliefs or practices on their part.

first, thanks for your participation and declare your reasons to be fair of Islam.
second, it's not true to be stoned to death if you make sex before marriage.In fact there's a punishment if you make sex before marriage,and this is you who asking for this punishment to Purify your spirit,because you made something wrong, if you don't ask ,you will not be punished.
I wanna tell you something,Islam forbid sex before marriage to protect the woman,
why should you be a single mother?

 

[yassin]

The science of modern cosmology, observational and theoretical, clearly indicates that, at one point in time, the whole universe was nothing but a cloud of ‘smoke’ (i.e. an opaque highly dense and hot gaseous composition).1 This is one of the undisputed principles of standard modern cosmology. Scientists now can observe new stars forming out of the remnants of that ‘smoke’ (see figures 10 and 11).

Figure 10: A new star forming out of a cloud of gas and dust (nebula), which is one of the remnants of the ‘smoke’ that was the origin of the whole universe. (The Space Atlas, Heather and Henbest, p. 50.)
​

​

Figure 11: The Lagoon nebula is a cloud of gas and dust, about 60 light years in diameter. It is excited by the ultraviolet radiation of the hot stars that have recently formed within its bulk. (Horizons, Exploring the Universe, Seeds, plate 9, from Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc.) (Click on the image to enlarge it.)
​

The illuminating stars we see at night were, just as was the whole universe, in that ‘smoke’ material. God has said in the Quran:
Then He turned to the heaven when it was smoke... (Quran, 41:11)
Because the earth and the heavens above (the sun, the moon, stars, planets, galaxies, etc.) have been formed from this same ‘smoke,’ we conclude that the earth and the heavens were one connected entity. Then out of this homogeneous ‘smoke,’ they formed and separated from each other. God has said in the Quran:

Have not those who disbelieved known that the heavens and the earth were one connected entity, then We separated them?...

(Quran, 21:30)
Dr. Alfred Kroner is one of the world’s renowned geologists. He is Professor of Geology and the Chairman of the Department of Geology at the Institute of Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany. He said: “Thinking where Muhammad came from . . . I think it is almost impossible that he could have known about things like the common origin of the universe, because scientists have only found out within the last few years, with very complicated and advanced technological methods, that this is the case.”2 (To view the RealPlayer video of this comment click here ). Also he said: “Somebody who did not know something about nuclear physics fourteen hundred years ago could not, I think, be in a position to find out from his own mind, for instance, that the earth and the heavens had the same origin.”3(View the RealPlayer video of this comment ).
Footnotes:
(1) The First Three Minutes, a Modern View of the Origin of the Universe, Weinberg, pp. 94-105.
(2) The reference for this saying is This is the Truth (videotape). For a copy of this videotape, please visit this page.
(3) This is the Truth (videotape).

 

[Wannabe Yogi]

Personally, I am quite afraid of the day when Islam becomes the majority religion in the United States of America.

Islam is not even close to the fastest growing religion in America. So you really have nothing to worry about.

 

[yassin]

God has said in the Quran about one of the evil unbelievers who forbade the Prophet Muhammad

from praying at the Kaaba:

No! If he does not stop, We will take him by the naseyahnaseyah (front of the head)! (front of the head), a lying, sinful

(Quran, 96:15-16)
Why did the Quran describe the front of the head as being lying and sinful? Why didn’t the Quran say that the person was lying and sinful? What is the relationship between the front of the head and lying and sinfulness?
If we look into the skull at the front of the head, we will find the prefrontal area of the cerebrum (see figure 12). What does physiology tell us about the function of this area? A book entitled Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology says about this area, “The motivation and the foresight to plan and initiate movements occur in the anterior portion of the frontal lobes, the prefrontal area. This is a region of association cortex...”1 Also the book says, “In relation to its involvement in motivation, the prefrontal area is also thought to be the functional center for aggression....”2

​

Figure 12: Functional regions of the left hemisphere of the cerebral cortex. The prefrontal area is located at the front of the cerebral cortex. (Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology, Seeley and others, p. 210.) (Click on the image to enlarge it.)
​

So, this area of the cerebrum is responsible for planning, motivating, and initiating good and sinful behavior and is responsible for the telling of lies and the speaking of truth. Thus, it is proper to describe the front of the head as lying and sinful when someone lies or commits a sin, as the Quran has said, “...A lying, sinful naseyah (front of the head)!”
Scientists have only discovered these functions of the prefrontal area in the last sixty years, according to Professor Keith L. Moore.3

Footnotes:
(1) Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology, Seeley and others, p. 211. Also see The Human Nervous System, Noback and others, pp. 410-411.
(2) Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology, Seeley and others, p. 211.
(3) Al-E’jaz al-Elmy fee al-Naseyah (The Scientific Miracles in the Front of the Head), Moore and others, p. 41.

 

[yassin]

Islam is not even close to the fastest growing religion in America. So you really have nothing to worry about.

n “Islam is the fastest-growing religion in America, a guide and pillar of stability for many of our people...” (Hillary Rodham Clinton, Los Angeles Times).1
n “Moslems are the world’s fastest-growing group...” (The Population Reference Bureau, USA Today).2
n “....Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the country.” (Geraldine Baum; Newsday Religion Writer, Newsday).3
n “Islam, the fastest-growing religion in the United States...” (Ari L. Goldman, New York Times).4


Footnotes:
(1) Larry B. Stammer, Times Religion Writer, “First Lady Breaks Ground With Muslims,” Los Angeles Times, Home Edition, Metro Section, Part B, May 31, 1996, p. 3.
(2) Timothy Kenny, “Elsewhere in the World,” USA Today, Final Edition, News Section, February 17, 1989, p. 4A.
(3) Geraldine Baum, “For Love of Allah,” Newsday, Nassau and Suffolk Edition, Part II, March 7, 1989, p. 4.
(4) Ari L. Goldman, “Mainstream Islam Rapidly Embraced By Black Americans,” New York Times, Late City Final Edition, February 21, 1989, p. 1.

 

[DeitySlayer]

n “Islam is the fastest-growing religion in America, a guide and pillar of stability for many of our people...” (Hillary Rodham Clinton, Los Angeles Times).1
n “Moslems are the world’s fastest-growing group...” (The Population Reference Bureau, USA Today).2
n “....Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the country.” (Geraldine Baum; Newsday Religion Writer, Newsday).3
n “Islam, the fastest-growing religion in the United States...” (Ari L. Goldman, New York Times).4


Footnotes:
(1) Larry B. Stammer, Times Religion Writer, “First Lady Breaks Ground With Muslims,” Los Angeles Times, Home Edition, Metro Section, Part B, May 31, 1996, p. 3.
(2) Timothy Kenny, “Elsewhere in the World,” USA Today, Final Edition, News Section, February 17, 1989, p. 4A.
(3) Geraldine Baum, “For Love of Allah,” Newsday, Nassau and Suffolk Edition, Part II, March 7, 1989, p. 4.
(4) Ari L. Goldman, “Mainstream Islam Rapidly Embraced By Black Americans,” New York Times, Late City Final Edition, February 21, 1989, p. 1.

Do you have anything more recent? All of those are over a decade, three of them over two decades, old. Statistics and demographics change over time, you know.

 

[xkatz]

Atheism and agnosticism are growing far faster in America than Islam is IMO.

 

[Wannabe Yogi]

This scientific nationwide survey of 113,000 Americans asked about religious preference, along with other questions. They followed this up, with even more sophisticated methodology and more questions, with the American Religious Identity Survey (ARIS) conducted in 2001, with a sample size of 50,000 Americans.

It shows clearly that Islam is not the fastest growing faith in America. The ARIS is seen by most as the best survey in America.

Top Twenty Religions in the United States, 2001
(self-identification, ARIS)

2000 % Change
1990 - 2000
Christianity +5%
Nonreligious/Secular +110%
Judaism -10%
Islam 109%
Buddhism +170%
Agnostic -16%
Atheist 0.4%
Hinduism +237%
Unitarian Universalist +25%
Wiccan/Pagan/Druid 0.1%
Spiritualist 0.05%
Native American Religion +119%
Baha'i +200%
New Age +240%
Sikhism +338%
Scientology +22%
Humanist +69%
Deity (Deist) +717%
Taoist +74%
Eckankar +44%





Largest Religious Groups in the USA

 

[yassin]

Do you have anything more recent? All of those are over a decade, three of them over two decades, old. Statistics and demographics change over time, you know.

so, give me your new statistics........please.

 

[Twister]

The only reason Islam appears to be quickly growing is because they breed like rabbits in the 3rd world. And those people didn't choose to adopt the faith, they were born into it and indoctrinated since birth. Also reality isn't determined by a consensus of the lowest common denominator.

Not the case at all. and even if it was, whats worng with that? how would that be handled when the non-muslims are graciously leaping towards creational bankruptcy by adpoting homosexuality?

>Muslims are Not afraid to inhabit the world.

>Non-muslims are un-knowigly providing a lot of room for that habitation. Food for thought.

 

[Cypress]

What makes you think that non-Muslims were "graciously leaping towards creational bankruptcy by adpoting homosexuality"?
Homosexuality exists everywhere, it has nothing to do with religion.

 

[Breathe]

how would that be handled when the non-muslims are graciously leaping towards creational bankruptcy by adpoting homosexuality?

Adopting homosexuality? Heh.

Are you seriously saying there are no gay Muslims?

>Non-muslims are un-knowigly providing a lot of room for that habitation. Food for thought.

Jeez. I never thought I'd see that kind of talk on here. I've heard it in my city quite a few times before, but I never expected such a vile statement to appear on the forum. :cover:

:sigh: