{"id":17403,"date":"2012-01-06T10:13:34","date_gmt":"2012-01-06T15:13:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.prosebeforehos.com\/?p=17403"},"modified":"2013-04-21T18:19:23","modified_gmt":"2013-04-21T22:19:23","slug":"atheism-v-christianity-a-match-you-wont-see-in-the-playoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prosebeforehos.com\/cultural-correspondent\/01\/06\/atheism-v-christianity-a-match-you-wont-see-in-the-playoffs\/","title":{"rendered":"Atheism v. Christianity: A Match You Won\u2019t See in the Playoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The beginning of 2012 is one that many Americans have eagerly awaited: it is the season of shrieking expletives at inanimate objects when your favorite football team or incumbent candidate doesn\u2019t do as well as you had anticipated. Amid these seasonal joys, some have dubbed 2012 the year of the atheist<\/a>. <\/p>\n

In spite of atheists\u2019 growing presence on the playing field, many still see them as specters of a coming apocalypse as opposed to other participants in the same game. Amid the hoopla that surrounds the purportedly messianic Tim Tebow and the so-called satanic Bill Maher that fills many of its spectators with ire and awe, it is clear that the dialogue between theists and atheists in America is about as pleasant as a set of cymbals crashing to the floor.<\/p>\n

2012: the Rise of Atheism in the United States<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

While the term \u201ccoming out\u201d is often associated with revealing one\u2019s homosexuality, it is increasingly associated with publicly identifying as atheist. Coupled with the newly conceived \u201cWe Are Atheism\u201d<\/a> project that encourages atheists around the world to \u201ccome out\u201d to their friends, family, and community and March\u2019s Reason Rally (a national event that aspires to unite and embolden American secularists), some predict that 2012 will be a year defined in part by an escalating percentage of Americans who define themselves as non-believers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The statistics tend to support that claim. The results of a 2011 Barna Group survey<\/a> revealed an 11% decrease in female church attendance, a demographic routinely regarded as the paragon of loyal church attendees. In a similar Gallup poll<\/a>, the percentage of Americans who consider themselves Catholic (23%) barely exceeds the percentage of those who view themselves as \u201catheist\/agnostic\/none\u201d (15%). <\/p>\n

Despite atheism\u2019s growing currency in the belief spectrum, atheists are still subject to scorn and distrust nationally and abroad. In fact, a 2011 study conducted on trust and atheism<\/a> unearthed the alarming finding that in the eyes of believers only rapists are distrusted to the same degree.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, a 2011 survey by the Public Research Institute<\/a> found that 67 percent of Americans are \u201csomewhat uncomfortable\u201d with an atheist president and 48 percent are \u201cvery uncomfortable\u201d with a nonbeliever in the Oval Office. The survey also revealed that Americans actually would prefer a Muslim president over an atheist one. In a country largely known for its manifest antipathy toward Muslims, one can hardly imagine the amount of hostility harbored for those who don\u2019t believe in any god at all.<\/p>\n

The Christian Majority: An Atheist\u2019s Formidable Foe?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"America:<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, we live in a country where 77% of the population consider themselves Christian<\/a>, where the religion\u2019s more ardent followers have never been more vocal\u2014or for that matter, manipulative\u2014regarding that staggering majority.<\/p>\n

In between the many gaffes that have defined his torpid run for president, Rick Perry vowed to end Obama\u2019s nonexistent \u201cwar on religion.\u201d Trying her hand at resonating with the Christian majority, Michele Bachmann claimed that the United States was founded as a Christian nation. And as many projected, former nobody Rick Santorum\u2019s radical appeal to the Evangelical Right resulted in his tiny 8-vote loss in the Iowa caucuses. <\/p>\n

As such, it should be no surprise that atheists have assumed the role of benchwarmers in the political process: in an era of fanatical faith-based postulates regarding evolution, global warming, and sexuality, secularists are increasingly marginalized.<\/p>\n

Tim Tebow Takes Jesus and Criticism to the Field<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Tebowing\"<\/p>\n

One of the best places to witness this conflicting relationship is, oddly enough, on the football field. Despite receiving a Heisman trophy and winning two national championships, Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow is known for two things: his unconventional throwing style and his uncanny knack for simultaneously alienating and inspiring fans of the sport.<\/p>\n

Despite his many critics, Tebow manages to resonate with that 77% majority: he\u2019s founded an orphanage in the Philippines. He co-wrote the top-selling religious book of 2011, \u201cThrough My Eyes.\u201d His surname is now a verb. And in one unofficial survey, Tebow came in second to the Pope in terms of religious influence.<\/p>\n

If that\u2019s not enough to prove his sweeping impact on the religious and sports scene, some of the more desperate GOP presidential candidates like Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann have likened themselves to Tebow in hopes of garnering some kind of pop cultural relevance. But we all know how that turned out. <\/p>\n