Poll: do you believe in God?

[Anonymous]

1. Do you believe in God? No
2. Do you believe in a "higher power" or intelligent force at hand? No
3. Do you participate in organized religion? No
4. Do you believe most of the tenets of your religion? No N/A
5. Which religion? N/A
6. How often do you pray? Never
7. How often do you attend religious services? For funerals, or once in a blue moon for some other occasion
8. How were you brought up in religion? Same religion as now? Parents were Christian, but not raised with any "real" religion.
9. How are you bringing up your children wrt religion? Golden Rule; exposing them to a variety of religions to help understand the world/people around them; we have books on world religions and even a copy of the Bible for reference.
10. How important is your religion/spirituality to you? N/A

Some questions about sharing that information with others:
A. Were you comfortable responding to these questions on DCUM? Yes
B. Are you comfortable discussing your true personal beliefs with friends and family? Depends on the person - yes for some, no to others
C. Would you share your true personal beliefs to a stranger on a telephone poll? Yes

[Anonymous]

I do not believe in god or diety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because a totally unrepresentative sample of DCUM is much better?

And what makes you think professional polling methods are flawed? Or that people would be "more" honest on DCUM? Or that DCUM's atheist trolls wouldn't post multiple times in a way that professional pollsters could control for?

I work for Pew-seriously. I know a lot about polling and statistics.

Your poll is ridiculous.

Not trying to draw any conclusions about society. Just trying to see who we have here on DCUM, as I posted in OP.

Since you work for Pew maybe you could address why some of the poll numbers seem off. Did the article ring true for you at all?

I don't work in that division, but I know a lot about surveys. I have that survey on my desk because it's in the magazine we all get. Pew's survey used a nationally representative sample (in stark contrast to this thread) of sufficient size to get statistical significance (again, in complete contrast to this thread). So yes, I would say it's reliable.

I'm sorry the results seem "off" to you. You might consider who you work and associate with, and whether that biases your perceptions.

Well I do work with a lot of well-educated liberals so that makes sense.

Again, not looking to do any statistical analysis from any "data" gathered here. Just trying to get a feel of who is on this board. So far we have: some sincere people and a few vocal complainers. Sounds about right.

Why do you assume the vocal complainers aren't "sincere"? Maybe they realize this is a waste of time. In fact, despite the thread claiming atheists are more intelligent, refusing to waste 10 minutes filling out OP's form actually seems more intelligent and rational.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because a totally unrepresentative sample of DCUM is much better?

And what makes you think professional polling methods are flawed? Or that people would be "more" honest on DCUM? Or that DCUM's atheist trolls wouldn't post multiple times in a way that professional pollsters could control for?

I work for Pew-seriously. I know a lot about polling and statistics.

Your poll is ridiculous.

Not trying to draw any conclusions about society. Just trying to see who we have here on DCUM, as I posted in OP.

Since you work for Pew maybe you could address why some of the poll numbers seem off. Did the article ring true for you at all?

I don't work in that division, but I know a lot about surveys. I have that survey on my desk because it's in the magazine we all get. Pew's survey used a nationally representative sample (in stark contrast to this thread) of sufficient size to get statistical significance (again, in complete contrast to this thread). So yes, I would say it's reliable.

I'm sorry the results seem "off" to you. You might consider who you work and associate with, and whether that biases your perceptions.

Well I do work with a lot of well-educated liberals so that makes sense.

Again, not looking to do any statistical analysis from any "data" gathered here. Just trying to get a feel of who is on this board. So far we have: some sincere people and a few vocal complainers. Sounds about right.

Why do you assume the vocal complainers aren't "sincere"? Maybe they realize this is a waste of time. In fact, despite the thread claiming atheists are more intelligent, refusing to waste 10 minutes filling out OP's form actually seems more intelligent and rational.

So don't fill it out. No need to complain about it over multiple posts though unless you just wanted to complain. A sincere complainer? Is that better?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because a totally unrepresentative sample of DCUM is much better?

And what makes you think professional polling methods are flawed? Or that people would be "more" honest on DCUM? Or that DCUM's atheist trolls wouldn't post multiple times in a way that professional pollsters could control for?

I work for Pew-seriously. I know a lot about polling and statistics.

Your poll is ridiculous.

Not trying to draw any conclusions about society. Just trying to see who we have here on DCUM, as I posted in OP.

Since you work for Pew maybe you could address why some of the poll numbers seem off. Did the article ring true for you at all?

I don't work in that division, but I know a lot about surveys. I have that survey on my desk because it's in the magazine we all get. Pew's survey used a nationally representative sample (in stark contrast to this thread) of sufficient size to get statistical significance (again, in complete contrast to this thread). So yes, I would say it's reliable.

I'm sorry the results seem "off" to you. You might consider who you work and associate with, and whether that biases your perceptions.

Well I do work with a lot of well-educated liberals so that makes sense.

Again, not looking to do any statistical analysis from any "data" gathered here. Just trying to get a feel of who is on this board. So far we have: some sincere people and a few vocal complainers. Sounds about right.

Why do you assume the vocal complainers aren't "sincere"? Maybe they realize this is a waste of time. In fact, despite the thread claiming atheists are more intelligent, refusing to waste 10 minutes filling out OP's form actually seems more intelligent and rational.

But complaining about OPs questions is not a waste of time?

What the responses to this list of questions (I wouldn't call it a poll) indicate to me so far is that people who respond tend to be non-believers and that the questions really rankle people who do believe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because a totally unrepresentative sample of DCUM is much better?

And what makes you think professional polling methods are flawed? Or that people would be "more" honest on DCUM? Or that DCUM's atheist trolls wouldn't post multiple times in a way that professional pollsters could control for?

I work for Pew-seriously. I know a lot about polling and statistics.

Your poll is ridiculous.

What about the religious trolls? Would you control for that as well? Careful, your bias is showing. Suddenly, the flaws with the Pew poll are glaringly obvious.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because a totally unrepresentative sample of DCUM is much better?

And what makes you think professional polling methods are flawed? Or that people would be "more" honest on DCUM? Or that DCUM's atheist trolls wouldn't post multiple times in a way that professional pollsters could control for?

I work for Pew-seriously. I know a lot about polling and statistics.

Your poll is ridiculous.

Not trying to draw any conclusions about society. Just trying to see who we have here on DCUM, as I posted in OP.

Since you work for Pew maybe you could address why some of the poll numbers seem off. Did the article ring true for you at all?

I don't work in that division, but I know a lot about surveys. I have that survey on my desk because it's in the magazine we all get. Pew's survey used a nationally representative sample (in stark contrast to this thread) of sufficient size to get statistical significance (again, in complete contrast to this thread). So yes, I would say it's reliable.

I'm sorry the results seem "off" to you. You might consider who you work and associate with, and whether that biases your perceptions.

Well I do work with a lot of well-educated liberals so that makes sense.

Again, not looking to do any statistical analysis from any "data" gathered here. Just trying to get a feel of who is on this board. So far we have: some sincere people and a few vocal complainers. Sounds about right.

Why do you assume the vocal complainers aren't "sincere"? Maybe they realize this is a waste of time. In fact, despite the thread claiming atheists are more intelligent, refusing to waste 10 minutes filling out OP's form actually seems more intelligent and rational.

But complaining about OPs questions is not a waste of time?

What the responses to this list of questions (I wouldn't call it a poll) indicate to me so far is that people who respond tend to be non-believers and that the questions really rankle people who do believe.

I'm one of several (I'm guessing) who complained about the poll on statistical grounds because I want a voice of reason to be on the record here. The poll is ridiculous. Despite this, you guys are already trying to draw conclusions.

I haven't read beyond the first few questions, so you're wrong about them "rankling."

We don't care about another atheist confirmation bias charade. Get it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because a totally unrepresentative sample of DCUM is much better?

And what makes you think professional polling methods are flawed? Or that people would be "more" honest on DCUM? Or that DCUM's atheist trolls wouldn't post multiple times in a way that professional pollsters could control for?

I work for Pew-seriously. I know a lot about polling and statistics.

Your poll is ridiculous.

Not trying to draw any conclusions about society. Just trying to see who we have here on DCUM, as I posted in OP.

Since you work for Pew maybe you could address why some of the poll numbers seem off. Did the article ring true for you at all?

I don't work in that division, but I know a lot about surveys. I have that survey on my desk because it's in the magazine we all get. Pew's survey used a nationally representative sample (in stark contrast to this thread) of sufficient size to get statistical significance (again, in complete contrast to this thread). So yes, I would say it's reliable.

I'm sorry the results seem "off" to you. You might consider who you work and associate with, and whether that biases your perceptions.

Well I do work with a lot of well-educated liberals so that makes sense.

Again, not looking to do any statistical analysis from any "data" gathered here. Just trying to get a feel of who is on this board. So far we have: some sincere people and a few vocal complainers. Sounds about right.

Why do you assume the vocal complainers aren't "sincere"? Maybe they realize this is a waste of time. In fact, despite the thread claiming atheists are more intelligent, refusing to waste 10 minutes filling out OP's form actually seems more intelligent and rational.

But complaining about OPs questions is not a waste of time?

What the responses to this list of questions (I wouldn't call it a poll) indicate to me so far is that people who respond tend to be non-believers and that the questions really rankle people who do believe.

I'm one of several (I'm guessing) who complained about the poll on statistical grounds because I want a voice of reason to be on the record here. The poll is ridiculous. Despite this, you guys are already trying to draw conclusions.

I haven't read beyond the first few questions, so you're wrong about them "rankling."

We don't care about another atheist confirmation bias charade. Get it?

Note the comment immediately above says "(I wouldn't call it a poll)" then comments on the responses so far, which in no way is a statistical analysis - in fact it is the opposite of that - simply observations based on limited information - purely anecdotal and not purporting to be anything else.

OP also called it "informal" indicating that he/she knew it would have no statistical validity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like some people aren't comfortable sharing their beliefs about God so current polls may be inaccurate.
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_58f67e31e4b0de5bac41d3eb

So let's do a little informal poll to see who we have here in DCUMland.

1. Do you believe in God? Pascal's wager
2. Do you believe in a "higher power" or intelligent force at hand? Pascal's wager
3. Do you participate in organized religion? Yes
4. Do you believe most of the tenets of your religion? I believe in the spirit of the law not the letter of the law
5. Which religion? Catholic
6. How often do you pray? Daily
7. How often do you attend religious services? Rarely
8. How were you brought up in religion? Same religion as now? Yes, Yes
9. How are you bringing up your children wrt religion? Cathoic with critical thinking skills and the responsibility to question the people that run the church
10. How important is your religion/spirituality to you? I don't really know how to answer that, I believe it is extremely important to live a moral life, I don't think there is one way to get there.

Some questions about sharing that information with others:
A. Were you comfortable responding to these questions on DCUM? Yes
B. Are you comfortable discussing your true personal beliefs with friends and family? Yes
C. Would you share your true personal beliefs to a stranger on a telephone poll? Yes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because a totally unrepresentative sample of DCUM is much better?

And what makes you think professional polling methods are flawed? Or that people would be "more" honest on DCUM? Or that DCUM's atheist trolls wouldn't post multiple times in a way that professional pollsters could control for?

I work for Pew-seriously. I know a lot about polling and statistics.

Your poll is ridiculous.

Not trying to draw any conclusions about society. Just trying to see who we have here on DCUM, as I posted in OP.

Since you work for Pew maybe you could address why some of the poll numbers seem off. Did the article ring true for you at all?

I don't work in that division, but I know a lot about surveys. I have that survey on my desk because it's in the magazine we all get. Pew's survey used a nationally representative sample (in stark contrast to this thread) of sufficient size to get statistical significance (again, in complete contrast to this thread). So yes, I would say it's reliable.

I'm sorry the results seem "off" to you. You might consider who you work and associate with, and whether that biases your perceptions.

Well I do work with a lot of well-educated liberals so that makes sense.

Again, not looking to do any statistical analysis from any "data" gathered here. Just trying to get a feel of who is on this board. So far we have: some sincere people and a few vocal complainers. Sounds about right.

Why do you assume the vocal complainers aren't "sincere"? Maybe they realize this is a waste of time. In fact, despite the thread claiming atheists are more intelligent, refusing to waste 10 minutes filling out OP's form actually seems more intelligent and rational.

But complaining about OPs questions is not a waste of time?

What the responses to this list of questions (I wouldn't call it a poll) indicate to me so far is that people who respond tend to be non-believers and that the questions really rankle people who do believe.

I'm one of several (I'm guessing) who complained about the poll on statistical grounds because I want a voice of reason to be on the record here. The poll is ridiculous. Despite this, you guys are already trying to draw conclusions.

I haven't read beyond the first few questions, so you're wrong about them "rankling."

We don't care about another atheist confirmation bias charade. Get it?

Note the comment immediately above says "(I wouldn't call it a poll)" then comments on the responses so far, which in no way is a statistical analysis - in fact it is the opposite of that - simply observations based on limited information - purely anecdotal and not purporting to be anything else.

OP also called it "informal" indicating that he/she knew it would have no statistical validity.

OP's thread title calls it a "poll," so there's that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because a totally unrepresentative sample of DCUM is much better?

And what makes you think professional polling methods are flawed? Or that people would be "more" honest on DCUM? Or that DCUM's atheist trolls wouldn't post multiple times in a way that professional pollsters could control for?

I work for Pew-seriously. I know a lot about polling and statistics.

Your poll is ridiculous.

Not trying to draw any conclusions about society. Just trying to see who we have here on DCUM, as I posted in OP.

Since you work for Pew maybe you could address why some of the poll numbers seem off. Did the article ring true for you at all?

I don't work in that division, but I know a lot about surveys. I have that survey on my desk because it's in the magazine we all get. Pew's survey used a nationally representative sample (in stark contrast to this thread) of sufficient size to get statistical significance (again, in complete contrast to this thread). So yes, I would say it's reliable.

I'm sorry the results seem "off" to you. You might consider who you work and associate with, and whether that biases your perceptions.

Well I do work with a lot of well-educated liberals so that makes sense.

Again, not looking to do any statistical analysis from any "data" gathered here. Just trying to get a feel of who is on this board. So far we have: some sincere people and a few vocal complainers. Sounds about right.

Why do you assume the vocal complainers aren't "sincere"? Maybe they realize this is a waste of time. In fact, despite the thread claiming atheists are more intelligent, refusing to waste 10 minutes filling out OP's form actually seems more intelligent and rational.

But complaining about OPs questions is not a waste of time?

What the responses to this list of questions (I wouldn't call it a poll) indicate to me so far is that people who respond tend to be non-believers and that the questions really rankle people who do believe.

I'm one of several (I'm guessing) who complained about the poll on statistical grounds because I want a voice of reason to be on the record here. The poll is ridiculous. Despite this, you guys are already trying to draw conclusions.

I haven't read beyond the first few questions, so you're wrong about them "rankling."

We don't care about another atheist confirmation bias charade. Get it?

Note the comment immediately above says "(I wouldn't call it a poll)" then comments on the responses so far, which in no way is a statistical analysis - in fact it is the opposite of that - simply observations based on limited information - purely anecdotal and not purporting to be anything else.

OP also called it "informal" indicating that he/she knew it would have no statistical validity.

OP's thread title calls it a "poll," so there's that.

Yes, here on DCUM we have polls on favorite movies, if we think shoes are ugly or not, etc. It's a common discussion board word. Given the context and wording of the original post most reasonable people would understand we are NOT trying to draw any scientific conclusions here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like some people aren't comfortable sharing their beliefs about God so current polls may be inaccurate.
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_58f67e31e4b0de5bac41d3eb

So let's do a little informal poll to see who we have here in DCUMland.

1. Do you believe in God? Yes
2. Do you believe in a "higher power" or intelligent force at hand? Yes
3. Do you participate in organized religion? Yes, although irregularly
4. Do you believe most of the tenets of your religion? I think so, in that I believe Jesus Christ is our lord and savior. there does not seem to be a great deal of agreement on the other tenets. and I struggle to find any guidance for most of moral or personal conundrums in the faith
5. Which religion? Christian, Protestant
6. How often do you pray? more than once a week, but not daily
7. How often do you attend religious services? occasionally
8. How were you brought up in religion? Same religion as now? Yes, different denomination
9. How are you bringing up your children wrt religion? Right now, they're occasional churchgoers as well, and I try to explain things as best I can
10. How important is your religion/spirituality to you? very, although I don't think I do a good job of keeping it front and center

Some questions about sharing that information with others:
A. Were you comfortable responding to these questions on DCUM? Yes
B. Are you comfortable discussing your true personal beliefs with friends and family? it depends. I rarely bring it up because I don't want to be seen as pushy or preachy or judgmental, but they are generally aware that I am a practicing Christian. I have friends of many faiths, and I don't always see eye to eye with the family. I definitely avoid anything likely to become a debate on the subject. and I avoid pretty much all religious discussion in my (federal) workplace as largely inappropriate. perhaps I am overly timid.
C. Would you share your true personal beliefs to a stranger on a telephone poll? apparently. I would assume they weren't asking to be offended or to argue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Yes, here on DCUM we have polls on favorite movies, if we think shoes are ugly or not, etc. It's a common discussion board word. Given the context and wording of the original post most reasonable people would understand we are NOT trying to draw any scientific conclusions here.

Good analogy. Imagine an "informal poll" asking about shoes or movies where one person said they hated a certain movie or thought a certain type of shoe was incredibly ugly and others came on questioning your motives and your right to ask the questions and then to answer them in a way they totally disagree with.

[Anonymous]

1. Do you believe in God?
Ans: Yes.
2. Do you believe in a "higher power" or intelligent force at hand?

Ans: I'm a pantheist who accepts other 'theisms, so I believe in an impersonal, universal Force that manifests as individual, personal Gods. For example, Yahweh, Allah and Krishna are individual, personal Gods. They emanate from the impersonal Force.

3. Do you participate in organized religion?

Ans: Yes, I'm Hindu.

4. Do you believe most of the tenets of your religion?

Ans: Yes, because I have a lot of freedom to form my own opinion on social and political issues. Hinduism has very few universal tenets besides reincarnation, dharma (righteousness), yoga (union with God), karma (the cause-effect cycle of the ego-self), and so on.

5. Which religion?

Ans: Hinduism.
6. How often do you pray?

Ans: Every morning I make offerings of incense and a beeswax tealight at my shrine. I also refill a pot of water and offer that. Then I say a short prayer and have about 15-20 minutes of meditation.

7. How often do you attend religious services?

Ans: Almost never.

8. How were you brought up in religion? Same religion as now?

Ans: I was brought up in the same faith.

9. How are you bringing up your children wrt religion?

Ans: It's up to them. The only thing I would want them to take away from Hinduism, if they leave it, is mindfulness, unconditional self-love, and the importance of ego-death. They can practice any faith they want as long as they follow those three principles, which I think are universal.

10. How important is your religion/spirituality to you?

On a scale of 1 to 10, it's about 9 or 10.

Some questions about sharing that information with others:
A. Were you comfortable responding to these questions on DCUM?

Ans: Yes, because it's anonymous. I never talk about my religious life in public. Most people assume I'm an atheist.

B. Are you comfortable discussing your true personal beliefs with friends and family?

Ans: Family, yes. Most of my friends don't know about the extent of my spiritual practices.

C. Would you share your true personal beliefs to a stranger on a telephone poll?

Ans: Probably not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
1. Do you believe in God?
Ans: Yes.
2. Do you believe in a "higher power" or intelligent force at hand?

Ans: I'm a pantheist who accepts other 'theisms, so I believe in an impersonal, universal Force that manifests as individual, personal Gods. For example, Yahweh, Allah and Krishna are individual, personal Gods. They emanate from the impersonal Force.

3. Do you participate in organized religion?

Ans: Yes, I'm Hindu.

4. Do you believe most of the tenets of your religion?

Ans: Yes, because I have a lot of freedom to form my own opinion on social and political issues. Hinduism has very few universal tenets besides reincarnation, dharma (righteousness), yoga (union with God), karma (the cause-effect cycle of the ego-self), and so on.

5. Which religion?

Ans: Hinduism.
6. How often do you pray?

Ans: Every morning I make offerings of incense and a beeswax tealight at my shrine. I also refill a pot of water and offer that. Then I say a short prayer and have about 15-20 minutes of meditation.

7. How often do you attend religious services?

Ans: Almost never.

8. How were you brought up in religion? Same religion as now?

Ans: I was brought up in the same faith.

9. How are you bringing up your children wrt religion?

Ans: It's up to them. The only thing I would want them to take away from Hinduism, if they leave it, is mindfulness, unconditional self-love, and the importance of ego-death. They can practice any faith they want as long as they follow those three principles, which I think are universal.

10. How important is your religion/spirituality to you?

On a scale of 1 to 10, it's about 9 or 10.

Some questions about sharing that information with others:
A. Were you comfortable responding to these questions on DCUM?

Ans: Yes, because it's anonymous. I never talk about my religious life in public. Most people assume I'm an atheist.

B. Are you comfortable discussing your true personal beliefs with friends and family?

Ans: Family, yes. Most of my friends don't know about the extent of my spiritual practices.

C. Would you share your true personal beliefs to a stranger on a telephone poll?

Ans: Probably not.

Thank you for sharing. I'm not very familiar with Hinduism so I just read up on a few concepts you mentioned. Very interesting!