Does Peer Pressure stifle the acceptance of the obvious?

I guess this is possible. To be honest though, I have never met another openly Atheistic person in my entire life before coming to this board. I was beginning to think that I was the only one.... anywhere. I agree with you on this point. People are people. There is no fundamental difference in the character of of atheists or any other demographic group. Groups in general tend to adopt a group mentality. That is why I avoid them.

Thanks for the explanation Mike but please don't get the idea that I don't understand what peer pressure is all about simply because I dissed your link. I just dislike phsychology intensely and tend to think the whole field is a little ridiculous.Physchologist: Shows PY an ink blot and says "What does this remind you of?"
PY: "An ink blott! DUH! You should be more careful with your ink!"

Oh the Inquisition . you think the persecution of non- and ex-believers ended then? But anyway I did say ”Churches’ plural, (with the intent to include all of them: should have said 'religions' in hindsight). Religion’s history with intimidation is not at an end, not by a long shot. In most cases it is not the logging saws or spiked brazier chairs any more but more subtle and psychological pressure. But please note, neither am I saying strong intimidation is the sole playground of religion. It just so happens religion was my topic and focus.Nor am I saying that all persons of faith feel trapped like this. I couldn’t possibly make that claim. I’m sure that most people of faith out there have 100% conviction in their doctrine being 100% correct, and as such they have no reason to doubt. No reason to question. No reason to stand up and say ”what you have taught me is wrong’. They have don’t have to fear the unknown of what their parents will think, what their friends will say or do, how the community will treat them after they stand up and say you are wrong, or how that confession affects their standing with God. All I was trying to do was float a new topic, a new idea for people to mull over and think on. To help people recognise this fear in them should it indeed be there.This message has been edited by ohnhai, 03-11-2005 02:43 AM

there is THIS one

Nice site. Didn't know it was there.

P.Y.I didn't mean for it to sound like I was trying to teach you. I was just trying to show why my link is relevant, as the Asch test shows that there is infact a psychological reason for people's behaviour pertaining to conformity. Would you say your dislike of it renders it a useless concept?You don't think "peer pressure" is psychological?

Phsychology as a concept? That is rather a wide group of fields. No doubt some have their uses. I happen to think Freudian phsychology is laghable though,yes peer pressure is phychological. No argument there.I went back and tried your link again. It was kind of interesting but somewhat misleading in that it all but said that I was wrong and should try again. It didn't even cross my mind that it was possible to make the same choice a second time.
IMO this wasn't an issue of peer pressure. I could care less what most people choose. I was simply under the impression that I was not able to pick the same choice again and was physically being forced to choose a different one. Since I was 100% sure I was right, I chose to say to hell with it and left the site. That was why it pissed me off.

If they are worried about their standing with God, they can't have moved all that far from their former beliefs. Maybe you are referring to ancillary doctrines: "I still believe in God but I think it's ok to have an abortion." If they come to that belief, I don't think they are worried about what God thinks: they think that God agrees with them.So the pressure, I would say, comes from their peers and their bosses (including parents).I'm not really qualified to comment, since I never had any pressure to believe anything as regards religion, and we see the sorry result. I'm incapable of believing much of anything for more than about an hour.To be frank, I find it hard to believe that the situation is very traumatic for most people. The OP makes it sound like there are all these agonized people out there, being bullied from outside and tearing themselves apart on the inside. I suppose it's possible. I personally don't know any such people, but perhaps I live in a sheltered world.

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In my experience, it's less about peer pressure and more just open hostility.

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Interesting.In my experience, when a group of scientist friends and I (who all happened to be non-believers) found out (at his wedding) that another one of our group actually was a pretty devout Christian, we didn't do anything at all. Well, we all were kind of surprised that he had kept this from us.In fact, we are all still really close and see each other as much as we can when they come into town.On the other hand, when I tell people who ask that I am a non-believer, I run a pretty good chance of getting a lecture. I got repeatedly insulted to my face about my beliefs and morals by my own sister, and spent an agonizing 5 hours alone in a car with someone who tried to browbeat me into believing.There is a great deal of ignorance about and patronizing condescention from Christians and othr religious people towards non-believers. I mean, look at how you Mormons treat the people who leave your religion, let alone stop believing in the supernatural altogether. Huge rejection from the entire community, right?I don't think this happens to religious people from non-believers anywhere near as much. How could it; it's "normal" to believe in this country, most non-believers grow us indoctrinated into some faith or another.Mostly, I keep my mouth shut about being a non-believer except in really specific circumstances because letting certain sorts of people know carries a great deal of risk.This message has been edited by schrafinator, 11-02-2005 05:06 PM

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I just dislike phsychology intensely and tend to think the whole field is a little ridiculous.

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Physchologist: Shows PY an ink blot and says "What does this remind you of?"
PY: "An ink blott! DUH! You should be more careful with your ink!"

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That's not Psychology.That's Psychiatry.Psychology is science.

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I happen to think Freudian phsychology is laghable though,

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So does everybody else in Psychology except the Freudians.FYI.

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That's not Psychology.

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Psychologists, as in clinical rather than experimental, are not psychiatrists.Psychiatrists are medical doctors and can prescribe medication.Clinical psychologists cannot, but in practice usually a medical doctor will write a prescription for them.That's my understanding, that the difference is basically between an MS degree and medical school.This message has been edited by gene90, 11-02-2005 05:07 PMThis message has been edited by gene90, 11-02-2005 05:08 PM

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On the other hand, when I tell people who ask that I am a non-believer, I run a pretty good chance of getting a lecture. I got repeatedly insulted to my face about my beliefs and morals by my own sister, and spent an agonizing 5 hours alone in a car with someone who tried to browbeat me into believing.

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Mostly, I keep my mouth shut about being a non-believer except in really specific circumstances because letting certain sorts of people know carries a great deal of risk.

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Well, like I said, there are rotten apples in every bunch. Though I suspect believers would be more likely to "lecture" non-believers on the issue, since non-believers don't have hell on their minds.

Most clinical Psychologists I know ar MD/PhD's, but maybe that's not the case with clinical Psychologists in general.

The funny thing, neither of these people believed in hell, really.They just couldn't stand that I didn't believe as they did.