X-Message-Number: 29838
From: Mark Plus <>
Subject: Secular Australians, was Re: An Australian Cryonics facility
Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2007 08:19:32 -0700

In Cryonet #29837, Phil Rhoades writes,


>The main reason for being out of a main population centre (Sydney has a 
population of about 4M) is because of security.  Religious 
fundamentalism/fanaticism is already very powerful and on the rise (more so in 
the US than Oz).  


I've gotten the impression that Australia, like other properly civilized 
countries, has become more secular with time. For example:

Census figures show more Australians have no religion
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21976369-2,00.html


While the U.S. looks exceptionally religious for a developed country, the 
secularizing trend has gotten underway here as well. A Financial Times/Harris 
poll last year revealed that 18 percent of Americans identify themselves as 
atheist or agnostic. 


Religious Views and Beliefs Vary Greatly by Country, According to the Latest 
Financial Times/Harris Poll
http://www.harrisi.org/news/allnewsbydate.asp?NewsID=1130


We also see evidence for the growing social acceptance of nonbelief in the U.S. 
coming from the market. If somebody even a decade ago had predicted that in 2006
and 2007, we'd witness a sequence of best selling books criticizing belief in 
god, nobody would have found that credible. Perhaps the publishing success of 
Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens represent three black-swan 
events in a row. But I rather doubt it.


"There was a time before reason and science when my ancestors believed in all 
manner of nonsense." (Narim on "Stargate SG-1")

Mark Plus

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