Why are there more male atheists than female atheists?

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   rickyliceaposted 12 years ago

   http://cdn.yougov.com/today_uk_import/Y … 070904.pdf
   
   According to this YouGov poll men are twice as likely as women to be atheists 22% versus 10%.
   
   It is something that I have noticed on the internet as well.
   
   When the bible says things like this, Ephesians 5, 22-24
   
   "Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything."
   
   And some muslims make their women dress like this
   
   

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      Chasukposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Maybe there are as many men as women who are atheists, but they aren't as vocal about it. I've known very few women who actually enjoyed argument. Atheism almost always entails argument. Or maybe they feel that their religious belief -- or lack of it -- is a private affair.

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         Greekgeekposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         +1
         
         Fewer women like to argue or be dictated to about politics or religion. Whenever that comes up in social settings, all the women I know move to another room to get away from the men arguing about them. They probably move away from pollsters, to. I certainly would!

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            rickyliceaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            I doubt that it's just that women are too shy, according to gallup women are more likely to attend church than men.
            
            And in Europe
            "A half-century later, the massive church was nearly empty during Mass on a recent Sunday -- its cold, cement walls echoing with the thin coughs of elderly women, who seem to make up the majority of parishioners in many Irish parishes."
            
            http://www.boston.com/news/world/articl … ?page=full
            
            While Catholics prohibit women from entering the priesthood.

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               Chasukposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               I don't want to endorse a stereotype, but I don't think that women necessarily attend church out of religiosity. Many women attend church to belong, and for networking with other women. It is the only socially sanctioned opportunity that many women have to congregate regularly with other women.

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                  rickyliceaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  Yeah that's one of the few advantages of organized religion.
                  I often thought it would be a good idea to have atheist clubs or groups. Since we are so few in number, it would really help in meeting friends.

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                     Chasukposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     If you are a member of a UU church, you can easily be a member of atheist club or group.

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         kathleenkatposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         This...
         
         
         
         
         There are plenty of people who don't believe and don't feel compelled to tell everyone about their  beliefs. I don't believe, but I was (kind of) asked on here whether I did. I don't walk down the street and advertise it.
         
         You'll also find that there are many people who believe that don't do things like wear crosses, paint dots on their foreheads, etc.

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         udontnomiposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         You have got that absolutely right. They are too serious about it for enjoyment!

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      pennyofheavenposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Maybe because there are more males then females in the world?

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         A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, a 1.1:1 ratio, which still doesn't explain the differences.

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            pennyofheavenposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Huh? Who asked for differences?

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               A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               The OP...
               
               "According to this YouGov poll men are twice as likely as women to be atheists 22% versus 10%."

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                  pennyofheavenposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  Oh ok I get it. Thanks

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      DoubleScorpionposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      If this is in fact true...
      
      Based on Socialogy, I would say that is is because men tend to be more logical in their thinking and actions, while women favor the emotional side of thinking and actions...

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      Josakposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      perhaps because women are still expected to be good little Christians (particularly in terms of sex) while men have had a bit more license in that area for a long time, what I mean is women are still stupidly expected to meet this medieval image of virtue to greater extent than men and religiosity plays a part in that.

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      nightwork4posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      not to be a sexiest but i think for many religion is a social affair more then anything and women tend to like social affairs more then men. my wife is an atheist but i don't think anyone other then myself really knows it. i've been asked by a few people how my wife and i get along since i'm an atheist and she's a christian.

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      Sophia Angeliqueposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Women are traditionally feelers, nurturers, intuitive. Men are traditionally thinkers.
      
      Women, therefore, tend to 'feel' God more, while men don't. One certainly cannot find evidence for God in a rational way. In the end, it always comes down to feeling... i.e. belief, faith.
      
      I'm a female atheist, by the way!

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   Emile Rposted 12 years ago

   Maybe, women figured out a long time ago that men wrote the Bible and the quran. But, neither book is what ultimately drives belief.

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      pisean282311posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      did they?...i guess it depends on country surveyed but most muslims countries see women coming out on streets against people/authors who write for women treatment in islam

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         Emile Rposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I didn't really understand what you were trying to say, but I did say maybe. Most women are brighter than they let men know.
         
         I think it is difficult to determine what women think in strict Islamic settings. I consider them imprisoned and under siege. Most prisoners do cave in and do as they are told.

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            pisean282311posted 12 years agoin reply to this

            @emileR m not at all doubting brightness of women ...cant blame women gender when 70% live in social structure that discourages them to think independently...may be thats y women in such countries fear change , r more traditionalist and use god as escapism from life...

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   Greekgeekposted 12 years ago

   I wonder how they conduct that poll. The only atheists I know in real life are women.
   
   Women are also more nervous about giving away their religion (or lack of), if they're not Christian. I haven't even told my own neighbors, lest it strain our interactions. I doubt most men would worry about that!

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   scottcgruberposted 12 years ago

   I think a lot may depend on how the question is worded. According to the most recent Pew survey on religion in the U.S., only about 4% of respondents self-identify as atheist or agnostic. However, about 9% of self-described Christians either don't believe in God or express doubt or uncertainty in God's existence. There are also sizable percentages of non-believing Catholics, Jews, and Muslims. This leads me to believe that quite a lot of people do religion out of habit or for the social aspects rather than out of actual belief. Maybe some of that is behind these survey results as well.

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   A Troubled Manposted 12 years ago

   Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
   
   1 Tim. 2:11-14

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   AEvansposted 12 years ago

   Because men tend to analyze more and they are hard-headed. ::

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   AshtonFireflyposted 12 years ago

   In my personal opinion, atheism does not appeal to emotions. Religion does.
   This is not to say that one is right and the other is wrong; but realistically, atheism is not for wimps. It basically states that there is no God; we have no divine purpose; and in some cases atheism may cause one to believe they have no purpose in this life other than to live.
   Religion, on the other hand, promotes the idea of a loving Father who will save us from everlasting hell by sending Himself to die for us. This paints a much more romantic, emotionally appealing picture for any person.
   Men, in most cases, tend to be more logical. Women, in most cases, tend to be more emotional.
   It would therefore be easier for men to accept a lifestyle or worldview not dependent upon emotion; whereas a woman might be more inclined to accept a lifestyle or worldview which appeals to emotion.
   Just my opinion.

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      rickyliceaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Interesting that both you and AEvans bring up sex differences, although it's kind of a touchy subject.
      I'm no expert, but I guess I wouldn't rule it out.
      
      
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNONWYorKtw

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   Paul Wingertposted 12 years ago

   This is an assumption, but I recently read that women see and analyze things differently than men. Men tend to see “the big picture” where women view things in smaller bits. So an explanation could be that men would see the whole Biblical and Jesus story and say, “Bullsh*t”.  Women would focus on the individual stories. For instance let’s take the Noah story where the entire earth was flooded. In today’s terms that would be laughable because the focus is in a smaller part. Today we know the earth is a sphere measuring about 25,000 miles in circumference at the equator. To see the whole picture, thousands of years ago, when this BS story was written, the thought of the day was the earth was flat and consisted of three land masses, Europe, Lybia, and Asia (all shaped much smaller than they actually are) which floated on a great sea.

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      pennyofheavenposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I read somewhere that man can sit on mountain top meditating on the navel for years and years trying to find enlightenment. Woman find enlightened while doing the dishes.

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         kirstenblogposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         So do you think that on the whole women are probably working to much to have the free time to actually question religious dogma?
         Could be

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            pennyofheavenposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Could be?

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         Paul Wingertposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         What about men doing dishes?

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            udontnomiposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Real men change diapers. Even poopie ones!

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   ITcoachposted 12 years ago

   I could not find this difference of thought between Atheist. Every one is free to choose his opinion and belief. I think Male give more attention to the belief so they get atheist more than that of females.
   Nice thread to share.

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    A Troubled Manposted 12 years ago

    There are a great deal of studies on why females tend to be more religious than males. Just look them up.

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    Adriana Cupsaposted 12 years ago

    Women feel more the need to rely on somebody, men are more independent. That s why are less women atheist than men.

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       Uninvited Writerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I beg your pardon? I do not need to rely on anyone.

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          udontnomiposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          A hard row to hoe. Or did I get that backwards?

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       SomewayOuttaHereposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       what?    thanks for the chuckle!

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