Atheist group slams Alabama university over fear-mongering, pro-religion mass email

[cbayer]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/01/atheist-group-slams-alabama-university-over-fear-mongering-pro-religion-mass-email/

DAVID FERGUSON
01 JAN 2015 AT 19:47 ET


Clay Christensen (Screen capture)

The group American Atheists is blasting an Alabama university official for sending out a fear-mongering anti-atheist video to students this week.

American Atheists reported that Troy University Chancellor Jack Hawkins sent a mass email to faculty and staff on Tuesday containing a link to a YouTube video in which Harvard Business School’s Prof. Clay Christensen disparaged atheists and non-religious people as a menace to American society.

“As we approach a New Year I am reminded of the blessings we enjoy within a democracy which is the envy of the world,” Hawkins wrote in his email.

“For your pleasure — and as a reminder — I am sharing with you a 90 second video which speaks to America’s greatness and its vulnerability,” he said, enclosing a link to the video embedded below.

more at link

[tradewinds]

1. Typical theist bullshit.

But what could it hurt? Right? idiots.

[edhopper]

2. Why do experts spout facts that are so easily dismissed

The visiting economist, said Christensen, contended that the reasons American follow the law is because “most Americans attended a church or synagogue every week and they were taught there by people who they respected.”

A quick search shows that number is most likely around 20% and no more than 40% at the high end of polls, hardly most Americans.

Christensen has the twin virtues of being stupid and insulting.

[cbayer]

3. Stupid and insulting is pretty right on.

I love it when these guys have bright lights shown on them. They can get away with some of this shit in small ponds, but the light of day shows them to be the shams that they are.

[edhopper]

4. The scary thing is

how much this guy probably makes for consulting.

And the fact he teaches at Harvard is an embarrassment.

[cbayer]

5. He is a Mormon, but from my research, he hasn't really talked about

religion that much.

I do find this statement by Silverman interesting and would like to see where he got some of this data:

“Further, on average and generally speaking, atheists have fewer divorces, abortions, and STDs, and lower poverty rates, homicide rates, overall crime rates, and teen pregnancy rates. As a demographic, atheists have higher IQs, incomes, education rates, and literacy rates, and more Nobel Prizes and university professorships,” Silverman continued

[trotsky]

6. The data supporting virtually all of those has been posted here in this very group.

But I would imagine it's pretty easy to visit www.google.com and punch in combinations of words like "atheists divorce rate" and "atheist crime rates" and such.

[pinto]

7. STD incidence reports in CA have never included religious affiliation or non-affiliation data.

I got the same State training and certification (the somewhat ominously titled "Communicable Disease Investigator&quot as did all public health employees working in the field in every CA county.

[cbayer]

9. I think I found what he is referring to.

It's a study about religiosity state by state. There were some findings that some of these were higher in states with higher rates of religiosity.

It is absurd, of course, to then draw the conclusions that he does, but he's a showman.

But his throwing around false information is not better than Mr. Christensen throwing around false information.

You completely lose credibility when you start making stuff up.

He had a good case, he did not need to throw that stuff in there.

[pinto]

11. Agree, you lose credibility when you pull up an old shoe and call it a bass.

And the conflation of data rankles me. A stretch at best.

[rug]

13. Those are all concomitant with economic privilege.

[cbayer]

14. That is exactly right and he is distorting the facts in a way that really hurts his credibility.

He really doesn't need to say these things.

[juxtaposed]

8. "If you take away religion you can't hire enough police"

There's going to be one shit storm at harvard monday morning

[cbayer]

10. It will be interesting to see if and how they respond.

[juxtaposed]

12. "If" there ain't no if, Chist-ensen is in big trouble

[cbayer]

15. I very much hope so.

I can't find any prior information about him having stepped in it like this before. He seems to stay away from religion, but I may have missed it.

But I agree that it is hard to imagine that they would not respond to this.