<p>"I was referring to "religion" as an umbrella term, not an American thing."</p>
<p>Are you aware how irreligious much of the rest of the Western world is?</p>
<p>"And how can you judge the entire country's religiousity like that? THAT'S absurd! And where'd you get those statistics?"</p>
<p>How not? Don't you think it's a little absurd that Dawkins had to wait six years to publish his book because the majority of America wouldn't be able to handle it? Or that it's impossible for an atheist to be elected to office in this country? I got my statistics from Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins.</p>
<p>""And what you're suggesting about Dawkins is ridiculous... it's clear he has no religiosity, and that he isn't superstitious in the least"
-Really? Have you asked him? Hmph!"</p>
<p>Nope, and I also haven't asked him if his favorite color isn't magenta. Do you want to propose that it is?</p>
<p>""It's absurd even to assert the possibility unless you have some sort of documentation or quote to back it up."
-Huh! YOU should be talking! If I had a nickel for every "statistic" of yours I'd have a private jet on 24 hr stand by."</p>
<p>Huh, I've mentioned three statistics now? You don't find the sheer number fundamentalist religious people in this country amazing?</p>
<p>"I'll try to explain the study to you. It's not scientific but is interesting nonetheless to people with an interest in religion. It was in the feature story of the NYT Magazine from two weekends ago. A prof. at NYU shows his students a box. He says it's an African relic and anything that goes in it vanishes. Some of his students claim to be atheists. Anyway, a few offer to put their pencils in the box. But once the prof asks them to put their cell phones in, they hesitate. When he asks them to put their hands in, some refuse. It was actually just a wooden box, but it's funny none of the students suspected that. I know this sounds silly, but interesting to think about. There was another study involving children age 3-6. A scientist shows the kids an animal cracker box with animal crackers in it. However, there were actually cheerios in the box. When questioned what was in the box, the children guessed animal crackers. After being shown that there were actually cheerios in the box, the children were asked what God would think was in the box, and the children answered Animal Crackers. What does this say? It may sound silly, but most children believe God is absolute and infallible. Anyway, just interesting stuff..."</p>
<p>How does this support your assertion that atheism does not exist? To draw a correlation between a MAGIC box and a GOD is a fallacy on your part. As far as the children go, most children will reflect their upbringing. This does not say that they instinctively "believe God to be absolute and infallible." This merely proves they have been taught/raised to "believe God to be absolute and infallible." Humans don't instinctively know anything. Thats the beauty of instinct, it is an unknown rational impulse to react in a certain way. We instinctivly urinate and make bowel movements. We are TAUGHT to control these instincts as we grow older and hold our movements until at a proper facility. We instinctively follow our parent's words and actions. We are TAUGHT their beliefs and knowledge. Through our upbringing, we are taught to believe in a "belief or hope beyond reason," that does not mean as we grow older we will not reject this belief. Our experiences shape who we are. Where is the investigation of the involved students' backgrounds to see whether or not they were surrounded by organized religion growing up? Wouldn't you need something like that to conclude that religion is "instinct?"</p>
<p>You're just confused and unsure about religion. What kind of a school do you go to that you have duck and cover drills? Sounds like the kind of school that would drill religion into your head beyond the ability to doubt. Clearly, you're the superstitious one, and it seems like you just can't fathom how somebody couldn't be.</p>