Atheism, a dangerous idea?

As a European, I am puzzled by the hostility shown in some US quarters to atheism as a point of view. What is considered to be so dangerous or subversive, that for instance, no American politician who wished to get elected could claim to be one.Richard Dawkins is forthright in expressing his atheism, but it is hardly an issue in his home country. Yet in the States he is vilified and demonised by some religious groups. Could anyone explain what is so abhorrent about atheism? What are the fundamentalists so afraid of?

Thread moved here from the Proposed New Topics forum.

They are afraid that their 'sheep' will be lead astray, and satan will take over.Me, I think it is a lot of insecurity on their part.

Also, there is always this equating atheism with Darwinism. Which is perceived as the real problem; that critical thinking needed to follow scientific ideas leads to the danger of people then questioning their received religious dogma, i.e. science leads to atheism, or is it the evolutionary biologists being perceived as having a hidden agenda, using "Darwinism" as a tool to promote atheism? Does science lead to atheism or are atheists taking over science?I suspect either is a red herring and many fundamentalist religious leaders use "atheistical Darwinists" straw-man arguments to further their own agenda. Am I being too cynical?

In every religious, political, and social movement you can find extremists who view anything contrary to their beliefs as "evil". In this respect, the Christian fundamentalists in the US are not very different than what you can find in any other political movement. What makes Protestant fundamentalism so visible in the US is that they are proving to be useful to the ruling classes in the US (who I suspect actually have contempt for the fundamentalists, aside from their usefulness).

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"These monkeys are at once the ugliest and the most beautiful creatures on the planet./ And the monkeys don't want to be monkeys; they want to be something else./ But they're not."
-- Ernie Cline

So it's the right-wing politicians and fundamentalist religious leaders, who are the cynics, in forming their unholy alliance, exploiting their followers for political gain.

Well, not really. I think people who have responded so far are hyping this a little out of proportion. Remember that the christian fundamentalists only represent a small portion of the voting population here in the U.S.The problem, I think, is that atheism tends to be misunderstood by people who have been religious all their lives. The overwhelming majority (in the upper 90's percentile) of the U.S. voters believe in a god of some sort. And in their minds, atheism somehow equates to not having any moral. I think it's about time we have a burning Bush...Anyway, to most people out there, a politician who proclaims to not believe in a deity of some sort is the same as someone who would burn a cat for fun.Personally, every once in a while when someone asked me how I have any moral at all if I was an atheist, I just tell him that I was on my way to get some spare gasoline and a cat from the store and see how big of a fire I can get the cat to light up and how fast can it run around while while screaming.

Atheism is dangerous.Nihilism is even more dangerous.

It's like smoking and rock and roll - they know that it's our secret way to bed all those christian girls.

Yes, girls love nihilists. It's so romantic. That's why I am one.

If you have a purpose for being a nihilist, doesn't that imply that you are not a nihilist?

OK, I'll put in my answer since he's not getting to it yet: He said many times that a nihilist of course has many subjective purposes, just like everybody else, so even being a nihilist could have the subjective purpose of attracting women (he must meet some pretty odd women, but anyway).But a nihilist is defined as recognizing that human beings have no "objective" or "formal" purpose, a purpose for having been created at all AS a human being, a purpose that is part of being a human being, built into being a human being, something human beings were made for -- rather than just existing to no ultimate/objective/formal purpose and then going out like a light.Many people have this view but don't recognize it. If you recognize it and embrace it -- instead of appealing to sentimental or subjective made-up purposes as the explanation of your life -- you're a nihilist.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

You didn't fall for THAT old line did you? "I'm a Christian"Sheesh CK.There's one born every minute Edited by iano, : No reason given.

The phrase "useful idiots" pops into my mind when I think of the Religious Right as a political movement.Edited by Chiroptera, : No reason given.

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"These monkeys are at once the ugliest and the most beautiful creatures on the planet./ And the monkeys don't want to be monkeys; they want to be something else./ But they're not."
-- Ernie Cline

Although from my point of view as a Bible inerrantist Christian the US is far from a Christian nation any more, there was a time when it was (Toqueville was impressed with that fact for instance) and there must be something that still lingers of this fundamental American character. I don't think that politicians professing belief carries much of a clue to this character any more, though it once did. Now a lot of it is lip service, just a matter of national habit.I was an atheist into my forties, and now that I'm a Christian I think it's sad that this nation is losing its former Christian character, which to my mind is what made it great. Losing that Christian foundation means losing that greatness, and we're on the way down it seems to me.I think there is a common American gut reaction against atheism, and I think it is bound up in this national identity somehow, though I'm not sure I'm saying how all that clearly.Edited by Faith, : syntax correction