Survey of Former Christians, Now Atheists/Agnostics ~ Thank you for helping me complete my thesis!
It’s an interesting survey. I actually enjoyed filling it out, as I got to tell my story a bit. No one’s ever really asked me about that before, so it was nice to share.
Did it. Got me thinking about my past and how glad I am to be where I am today!
Pretty good survey. Seemed to need a few more options. When I deconverted, at about 11, I wasn’t very liberal or conservative. I wasn’t aware enough of the issues to have many opinions. I don’t know much about the churches I attended then, either. I can only make guesses from my studies of Christianity since being an adult.
Too much linking of the atheists/agnostics to homosexuality. It is a loaded survey. Just saying.
Since it’s a survey for a thesis I guess that’s just a relevant aspect for the thesis.
Since it’s a survey for a thesis I guess that’s just a relevant aspect for the thesis.[/quote]
Not when it is a survey of ex-Christian atheists/agnostics. To add a homosexual survey half way through perverts the original survey. Or maybe the survey is assuming that ex-Christian atheists/agnostics are homosexual?
It seems to me that the survey wants to assess whether deconversion results in a change of beliefs concerning social issues, that one in particular. I don’t see how this is linking atheists or agnostics to homosexuality.
Sounds like an interesting study. But I don’t meet the criteria to fill out the survey, having never been a Christian.
Well, I would actually be interested to know the results although my guess is that it aims to prove that Christians are more conservative and agnostics are more liberal. I have never deconverted so I can’t complete the survey either. I do not see how the homosexuality question links atheists/agnostics to homosexuality. It does seem to ask for an attitude, be it liberal or conservative regarding this specific social issue.
It has a number of problems, beginning with failure to define atheism / agnosticism. Do they mean anybody who doesn’t believe in religion, or anyone who is not a committed theist? I think the concept of “God” is vague, and that even if something like the Abrahamic deity existed, it would be morally irrelevant (if the devil turned out to be more powerful, would you worship him instead?) --but I probably entertain beliefs that are equally woo.
The survey seems to assume that respondents will be Americans (e.g. when it asks who you voted for in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections), and picked “wedge issues” (homosexuality and evolution) that are controversial among American Evangelicals, but not elsewhere. Evolution in particular would be a non-issue for the majority of Christians (Catholics, mainline Protestants, and I don’t think the Orthodox about it care very much either, even as regressive as they are). In other parts of the world, abuse or social justice issues would be more relevant. At least they didn’t ask about the End Times!
Some churches do not have a clear political affiliation, as the survey expects. They may be divided, or the local church may be different from the national denomination. Some people will have attended more than one church while growing up, which cannot be assumed to be similar. Also, respondents’ motivation for leaving Christianity may be different from those keeping them away later in life.
I was amused by the line asking for suggestions about how churches might keep such people from leaving. What is this–market research? “Well, you could play a little more indie rock, cut down on the number of impossible things one has to believe, and not have so many witch-hunts.”