You are here:
- Home
- Religion/Spirituality
- Agnosticism/Atheism
- Atheism
- "The Atheist In America" Essay
Atheism/"The Atheist In America" Essay
Advertisement
Question
I'd like to obtain the essay "the Atheist In America" by P.A. Stahl. Please inform me where I'll be able to download a copy. Thanks! Also I hope to learn where would be about the safest place for an atheist to live in the U.S.
Hello,
The essay 'The Atheist In America' has been out of print now for nearly 11 years, but I do plan to incorporate it into the Appendix of my forthcoming book, 'Ruminations in Brane Space' due out by 9/1/10. Around that time be sure to check the site lulu.com. (It will also likely be made available via amazon.com a little later).
Re: the safest place for an atheist to live, that is most likely the state with the fewest infractions of intolerance, or hate crimes, as documented (yearly) by the Southern Poverty Law Center, in their Intelligence Report.
On last checking, the one state that stood out was Vermont. (Hmmm.....this is also the only state of the fifty not required to balance its budget, and hence be subject to bond ratings, and austerity measures, services like Medicaid cut etc.. Is there a connection? Maybe!)
The downside (because my wife and I originally looked for homes there) is that it features rather high property taxes.
One could conclude from this there's always a trade off.
- Add to this Answer
- Ask a Question
| Rating(1-10) | Knowledgeability = 10 | Clarity of Response = 10 | Politeness = 10 |
| Comment | All areas of the above reply by P.A. Stahl are excellent and are much appreciated. Had I fully understood the super-godly situation that exists in the U.S. approx. 30 years earlier I'd probably have moved to some place such as Sweden then. Lately it was read that approx. 300,000 U.S. people recently have been leaving the U.S. annually to live in some other nation. A bright spot (?) ,may be that the scribe and editorial author Clarence Pitts, Jr. wrote not long ago that religion has been losing favor in the U.S. in recent years. Pitts stated the portion of the U.S. who believes in god has fallen within the past twenty years from approx. 85 percent down to about 75 percent. In a store a few months ago I talked to a fundie woman my wife once worked for on a part-time basis. She had engineered that my wife would quit her job due to the *fraudulent* possibility my wife *could* obtain a better job at a competitor's store. but that was only a scam done to have my wife QUIT he job at that Fundo store owner's shop. Recently I spoke with that woman and griped that the (fundo) GWB had wasted a HUGE amount of taxpayers' money - not to mention GWB's many other sins. Then that fundo gal ended our conversation and moved away from me. As she moved to a place in her store where it would have been awkward for me to follow she'd said to me "Well the U.S. government always wastes a large amount of our money. | ||
Related Articles
- Law Day, U.S.A., 2006
- States considering laws to prevent obesity in America
- Should Atheists Be Politically Active? Atheists & Godless Politics in America
- 2008 Presidential Election Guide for Atheists: Issues & Candidates in 2008; What Matters for Atheist Voters in the 2008 Presidential Election Campaign
- Atheism and Atheists - Recent News and Posts
Answers by Expert:
Philip A. Stahl
Expertise
I specialize in the areas of scientific materialism and consciousness described as a materialist epiphenomenon. Also can answer questions pertaining to general atheism, atheist-agnostic differences etc.
Experience
I have been an atheist for over 27 yrs. and have written two books on the subject: 'The Atheist's Handbook to Modern Materialism'(2000), and 'Atheism" A Beginner's Handbook' (due out next month).
Organizations
Intertel, American Atheists, American Mathematical Society, American Astronomical Society, American Geophysical Union
Publications
Atheist articles: 'The American Atheist' magazine, assorted U.S. newspapers (e.g. Baltimore Sun); two books (already mentioned in experience section); papers-articles published in Intertel's Journal: Integra.
Education/Credentials
Master of Philosophy in Physics. Also took more than 3 yrs. of theology and metaphysics courses at a Catholic University (1964-67) - before I became an atheist. Thus, I have much more religious familiarity & background than many atheists.
Awards and Honors
Writers' Digest Award for the essay 'The Atheist in America' (2000), Government of Barbados research in solar physics award (1980-84), AAS Solar Physics Award (1984)
©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.