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[QUOTE=jcb;397333]Actually a [URL="http://www.holysmoke.org/icr-pri.htm"]recent study[/URL] said that the atheist population in jails is small, but existent. Approximately .21% of the prison population are declared atheists. This is from the Federal Bureau of Prisons.[/QUOTE]
Absolutely jcb, ROCK ON, MY MAN, ROCK ON!
I wonder why Grumpy didn't check his facts before he made such rash statements.
[QUOTE=jcb;397333]Actually a [URL="http://www.holysmoke.org/icr-pri.htm"]recent study[/URL] said that the atheist population in jails is small, but existent. Approximately .21% of the prison population are declared atheists. This is from the Federal Bureau of Prisons.[/QUOTE
It seems if .21% is accepted as atheist population in prison then that is extremely small unless that is 21% ...But the percent of the of the population in the united states in general seems to be about 30% or so ...I'm not really sure what the " atheist " label is ...A lot of folks think it is a belief group of some kind like Christians or pagan or something ...If atheist is describes as not believing in a god then that number is probably higher ...if those numbers are correct then it looks like the percentage of people in jail who believe in a god is bigger than the percentage of the rest who do ...I guess that would make Grumpy's post closer to right.
It is extremely small - .21% is correct.
One of the problems is that "atheism" is difficult to define. It's sometimes hard to draw lines between atheism, agnosticism and "non-religious" beliefs. That .21% is "declared atheists."
(from Wiki) The most recent American Religion Identification Survey report, released March 9, 2009, found that in 2008, 34.2 million Americans (15.0%) claim no religion. Of which, 1.6% explicitly describe themselves as atheist or agnostic.
Bug, thanks for once again proving my point.
I really should have known better than to make the post in the first place. Once again a bunch of you are making arguments over a simple statement and something that was never intended to be taken the way you are going.
Grumpy
Aren't there religions that don't believe in a god? ...Maybe the Scientologist and even the hindu believe the spirit is in the person or something like that ....I doubt they would classify themselves as atheist though ...I think religion to a lot of people is just a social thing ....Gives them a reason to get together on sunday.
Exactly, Hll. "Atheism" is indeed difficult to define.
There indeed is a social aspect to many people's "religion." I guess that doesn't matter much in jail, though. To get back to the original topic.
[QUOTE=jcb;397359]It is extremely small - .21% is correct.
One of the problems is that "atheism" is difficult to define. It's sometimes hard to draw lines between atheism, agnosticism and "non-religious" beliefs. That .21% is "declared atheists."
(from Wiki) The most recent American Religion Identification Survey report, released March 9, 2009, found that in 2008, 34.2 million Americans (15.0%) claim no religion. Of which, 1.6% explicitly describe themselves as atheist or agnostic.[/QUOTE]
The wiki stats prolly changes daily:)...People going through hard times, happy times, sad times or whatever will change their relationship with God.
Grumpy sometimes it's hard to read into what you write...at first I thought you really meant there aren't any atheist in jail...but after reading a second or third post down I realized you were saying it in jest...like: "According to convicts, and if you listen what they say, then there aren't any athiests in jail". This seems correct to me anyway. If seen the haircut I have you would understand the baldness...so much stuff has flown over my head it done wore a path! LOL...
As far as the bible readers in jail...I'd say on the inside it's sort of like here on the outside...you have believers, non-believers, hypocrits, etc...I have learned to never say never, but it seems to me that in a lot of cases but not all, a leopard never changes his spots, once a leopard always a leopard. I have lived with a convicted felon (my wife's son)...I knew how he was before he went in (robbed, thieved, stole, lied, drugs, assault, you name it), then while in jail he read the bible a lot...after he got out he even commented to me one time that one of the other inmates said to him: "I'm not sure why you're reading that bible, do you think it's going to help you? I bet you never even read the bible before you got locked up." etc and so on...well...he gets out and we let him stay with us, he's reading his bible, etc....Ok, now let's fast forward about 18 months and guess what? The leopard is presently running from the law (again).
An interesting statistic would be:
Of all the born again Christians where were released early.......how many of them committed another serious crime.......
Not saying Christians don't commit crime, but I'd suspect most of my Christian friends have NEVER committed a crime........
It would be an interesting statistic that may prove/disprove Grumpy's original statement.
Sometimes when people make a mess of their lifes, they turn to religion to give them a sense of what it is all about, and to find some form of guidelines to try to live their live by. Sometimes when folks feel out of control, they turn to what ever gives them some sense of security. And thinking of a higher force that is watching out for you is just what some folks need in desperate times.
Me? I just cleaned the rifle again, double checked that the magazines were all full, and double checked that the ground sensors were working, and that I had all the preplanned fires coordinated and ready to go with the guys that shot the big bullets. Made me feel warm alllllllll over........
[QUOTE=HURRICANEBOB;397665]Sometimes when people make a mess of their lifes, they turn to religion to give them a sense of what it is all about, and to find some form of guidelines to try to live their live by. Sometimes when folks feel out of control, they turn to what ever gives them some sense of security. And thinking of a higher force that is watching out for you is just what some folks need in desperate times. [/QUOTE]
Maybe. Then there's those of us whose lives have sometimes been a mess, sometimes have been great, and most of the time have been in between.
Then somewhere along the way, God found us rather than us finding Him.