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In the Bible Belt, Offering Atheists a Spiritual Home

nytimes.com

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Re: In the Bible Belt, Offering Atheists a Spiritual Home

#31

Post by jasonlotito »

arethuza wrote: post #16
jasonlotito wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Is it really as bad as it's made out in this article or on Reddit? It probably depends on where you live. Here in PA, it's been a non-issue for me. But then, be careful. America is much larger than Europe, and while we are all part of the same country, we aren't the same people. There are big difference among the different parts of the country, and making them out to be all the same would be like me using a single…

"But then, be careful. America is much larger than Europe" Europe (the continent) actually has a larger area (10,180,000 km² > 9,826,675 km²) and a much larger population (739.2 million > 313.9 million ) than the United States (the country). I presume you mean the EU (which still has a much larger population) or maybe Western Europe? Or maybe North America (the continent)?

I was using it in the same context as the previous poster. So yes, EU.

Context, people, context.

Re: In the Bible Belt, Offering Atheists a Spiritual Home

#32

Post by jasonlotito »

VBprogrammer wrote: post #25
andyjohnson0 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read "larger" as meaning "more diverse". Not sure I agree though.

I think you'd have to be slightly delusional to feel that the USA is more diverse than the whole of the EU.

True, but then I'd go so far as to add that the USA is more diverse than any one country making up the EU.

And if that's the case, treating the USA as a comparable EU country in terms of diversity ignores that diversity found here. Which is what was being discussed in the first place.

Re: In the Bible Belt, Offering Atheists a Spiritual Home

#33

Post by jasonlotito »

vacri wrote: post #21
jasonlotito wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Is it really as bad as it's made out in this article or on Reddit? It probably depends on where you live. Here in PA, it's been a non-issue for me. But then, be careful. America is much larger than Europe, and while we are all part of the same country, we aren't the same people. There are big difference among the different parts of the country, and making them out to be all the same would be like me using a single…

America is much larger than Europe Only in land area, and much of that extra land area is very sparsely populated. Europe has over twice as many people.

Yeah, so what? How does that relate to the context of the discussion? Are you really suggesting that any single EU country is more diverse than the USA?

Re: In the Bible Belt, Offering Atheists a Spiritual Home

#34

Post by jasonlotito »

andyjohnson0 wrote: post #18
arethuza wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"But then, be careful. America is much larger than Europe" Europe (the continent) actually has a larger area (10,180,000 km² > 9,826,675 km²) and a much larger population (739.2 million > 313.9 million ) than the United States (the country). I presume you mean the EU (which still has a much larger population) or maybe Western Europe? Or maybe North America (the continent)?

I read "larger" as meaning "more diverse". Not sure I agree though.

I really did mean in area. The US dwarfs the EU nations. Apologies for using Europe instead of EU. I'd hoped the obvious context from the previous poster would help.

Still, I'd argue that the US is far more diverse than any single country of the EU, so treating the people of the US as all being the same is as silly as treating the people of the EU as all being the same.

Re: In the Bible Belt, Offering Atheists a Spiritual Home

#35

Post by vacri »

jasonlotito wrote: post #33
vacri wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

America is much larger than Europe Only in land area, and much of that extra land area is very sparsely populated. Europe has over twice as many people.

Yeah, so what? How does that relate to the context of the discussion? Are you really suggesting that any single EU country is more diverse than the USA?

If you're going to troll, please do it somewhere other than HN.

Re: In the Bible Belt, Offering Atheists a Spiritual Home

#36

Post by GnwbZHiU »

lenni wrote: post #3

I really don't like it but I can't shake off my smug European sense of being weirded out when I read about how atheists are seemingly treated in America. Is it really as bad as it's made out in this article or on Reddit? Do your neighbours really get into your hair because you don't have a faith?

30 years ago maybe. These days, America is much more atheist-friendly than religious-friendly.
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