1 in 4 Americans think that God will decide the winner of the Super Bowl

[JDDavis]

1 in 4 Americans think that God will decide the winner of the Super Bowl

Twenty-six percent of Americans believe that God will have a significant role in the outcome of the big game, almost identical to "self-described sports fans," were 27 percent also agree. An even larger number, 53 percent of Americans, say that God favors athletes who have faith.

The survey goes into further detail, showing that 65 percent of Catholics believe that God favors athletes of faith, as well as 68 percent of Protestants. Those who believe in God, but don't belong to a particular religion, have less faith in God intervening in favor of religious athletes. Only 27 percent of religiously unaffiliated Americans think that God rewards the faithful.

In a country that was founded on a secular constitution, that led to Thomas Jefferson coining the phrase "separation of church and state," many still think that a deity controls the outcome of something like a sports game. While the United States is not a theocracy, it seems that many might still have that in mind.

More and video at link:

http://www.examiner.com/article/1-4-americans-think-that-god-will-decide-the-winner-of-the-super-bowl

Deflate those Patriots' footballs? God did it!

[bvf]

1. *Sigh*

I wonder what percentage of atheists thinks that.



"Only 27 percent of religiously unaffiliated Americans think that God rewards the faithful."

Makes me wonder what the other 73% think, when they define or consider what function their god serves.

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. 9% of the "religiously unaffiliated" believe God has a hand in the outcome of sporting events

http://publicreligion.org/research/2015/01/prri-rns-ahead-of-super-bowl-nearly-three-in-ten-americans-support-lifetime-ban-for-football-players-who-commit-domestic-violence/

The 27% is 'unaffiliated'; so among the 73% will be all the atheists and agnostics who will all presumably say 'God' does not reward the faithful, nor decide outcomes of games.

[bvf]

13. Thanks, Muriel.

Maybe I was reading it wrong, but I inferred from this that, while atheists and agnostics certainly would fall into that 73% as you say, there would also be among that percentage a portion of unaffiliated believers (but believers, nonetheless) who also hold that their god does not reward the faithful.

I was simply wondering what, exactly, these people figure the purpose of their deity to be.

[Cartoonist]

2. Terminology

Remember the "Immaculate Reception"? God was a Steelers fan that year.

[Warren Stupidity]

3. The number of people who apparently think an invisible magical entity intercedes in the world

is horrifying. We are told here repeatedly by the apologists that hardly anyone takes the bible literally (except of course for the massive amount of utter nonsense they do take literally), that they know that prayer doesn't really cause invisible magical beings to act, it is just done to "lift us up", and by that they seem to not mean levitation, that when the holy books say kill all the blasphemers, that really doesn't mean kill all the blasphemers. etc. etc. etc.

So I guess all these people who think their gods are fighting it out on the football field, which by the way the Greeks would have thought was entirely reasonable, are not having "true" religious thoughts, just like murderous islamic jihadists are not having "true" religious thoughts. Instead they are just delusional.

[trotsky]

15. What I don't understand is...

what exactly is gained by putting on blinders and declaring that the vast majority of believers don't actually believe what they claim?

I guess some are just so committed to their ivory tower, isolated, privileged view that they can't accept any data showing they are wrong.

[onager]

4. Equal Time! 10 Tips For Muslims Watching The Super Bowl

From 2013, but religious truths are eternal. Except when they ain't.

These rules come from Imam Omar Suleiman, an American imam from New Orleans. Most links to him end up at the same self-promoting puff-pieces and bios, e.g.: Shaykh Omar has two Bachelors degrees in Islamic Studies and in Accounting, a Masters degree in Islamic Finance, and is currently pursuing a Phd in Islamic Studies from the International Islamic University of Malaysia.

Well, a degree in Accounting is certainly useful for the clergy of any faith, especially if the IRS comes knocking. And a Masters degree in "Islamic Finance!"

And now the rules...

1. Dont miss, delay, or even rush your prayers
2. Force yourself to pray your sunnahs too. You might be distracted during your fard because of the game so its good to pray the sunnah to make up for the deficiencies in your fard prayer.
3. Dont watch the commercials (they've become more and more sexualized every year). Just flip the channel to PBS or something since Big Bird survived Mitt Romney's assassination attempt.
4. Turn the TV off at halftime (ie. the concert) and just enjoy good company (even if its just with your family).
5. Dont make any bets even in jest.
6. Be moderate in your food intake. We'll all probably enjoy some chips and stuff but dont stuff yourself as that is unislamic and you'll also gain a few pointless pounds.
7. Dont curse or use foul language.
8. Remember that Ray Lewis is not a Prophet (although he's the greatest linebacker of all time) smile emoticon
9. Take it easy on your friends rooting for the opposing team.
10. Most importantly, remember your priorities and dont get so emotionally vested in a meaningless game that you forget the plight of your brothers and sisters all over the world.

#6 is pretty funny, considering what happens during Ramadan. Muslims fast all day and stuff themselves at night. Often while watching "sexualized" TV mini-series (much like the telenovelas popular in Latin America, or any American mini-series on Lifetime). Then at the end of Ramadan, during Eid al-Fitr, they stuff themselves for a week.

One of my older Egyptian friends had diabetes, and his doctor told him absolutely NOT to fast during Ramadan. Islam makes exceptions to the fasting rule for cases just like his. But he ignored the doctor, went thru the usual fasting/stuffing cycle anyway, and ended up in the hospital. He very nearly died.

https://www.facebook.com/imamomarsuleiman/posts/535608363125876

[JDDavis]

5. What is scary to me is that that 1/4 of Americans can vote

Seriously, I am sure 90% of those 1/4 voted for Romney/Ryan or McCain/Palin, and probably thought their god would make sure Romney/Ryan or McCain/Palin won.

I wonder how they reconcile the Obama victories. Oh yeah, SATAN!

[bvf]

6. Whose side is god on this time?

My bookie needs to know.

Plus he also needs to know what odds god is offering.

[AtheistCrusader]

7. 1:4 Americans are fucking stupid.

Jury still out on the remaining 3.

[guillaumeb]

16. I am confused

The English word crusade derives from the French word "croisade" . It is a feminine noun, make of that what you will, and the primary meaning is a religious one given that "croisade" derives from "croix", our word for cross. Is your particular crusade in favor of non-belief a battle against belief? Is intolerance from a non-believer substantively different from intolerance from a believer?
Peace to you

[AtheistCrusader]

17. You're going to have a bad time if you sit around trying to psychoanalyze usernames all day.

There's a whole religion subforum if you want to discuss religion beyond the scope of this OP.

[Curmudgeoness]

8. Sometimes, I am really disgusted with my fellow Americans.

I wasn't sure what term to use to describe how incredible these statistics seemed to be, was it "godsmacked" or "gobsmacked". I had to do a google search to find out which one I meant to use. Well, I'll be gobsmacked! I learned something new today.

[Warren Stupidity]

10. Urban Dictionary's definition of godsmacked is a riot.

Godsmacked
The act of stretching one's hot, sweaty, droopy scrotum over another's mouth while sleeping, in an attempt to recreate the cover from the Godsmack album, Faceless.
I noticed a pungent odor and realized I couldn't breathe. I woke up with this satchel over my face and I realized, I had just been godsmacked.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Godsmacked


I just mean: stupidly religious, which is redundant.

[Curmudgeoness]

11. Which is why I didn't use that term...or explain what it meant.

That was a new one on me. But I am glad that you found the same thing that I found. Oy.

[mr blur]

9. You know, I don' t 'hate' America in the slightest,

Last edited Sun Jan 25, 2015, 03:29 PM - Edit history (1)

but it seems to me that your country is doomed.

Of course ours is doomed for different reasons

[bvf]

14. Give it time.

It may take some generations, but I'd like to think that reason will eventually prevail. Your country is probably ahead of us in this regard (the rejection of ridiculous belief, that is) so call me a cockeyed optimist.

[EvolveOrConvolve]

19. I live in America, and I hate it a little more every day

Pure, unadulterated greed and blissfully ignorant (and dangerous) religious beliefs are celebrated while poverty is seen as a weakness to be ignored and logic is a tool of the devil. We are well and truly fucked.

[trotsky]

21. The downward spiral we're in appears quite irreversible.

I think we've gone beyond critical mass when it comes to ignorance. You have to have a certain level of education in order to appreciate the value of education. The Republicans have succeeded in gutting and sabotaging our public school system for over a generation (Reagan and ketchup the vegetable!) and now we have a whole mass of voters who are stupid enough to swallow their lies uncritically.

The days of civic pride and wanting to spend money on infrastructure and the public good are gone. Robert Reich has written a lot about this, man if I could put one person in charge of the American economy it would be him. I don't think you can pull out of a nosedive like this - the only way up is to hit rock bottom first. And it scares me to think what rock bottom will look like.

[sakabatou]

18. God's Priorities (video)

[JDDavis]

20. Yes, very appropriate.

I remember seeing this video a while back.

Thanks for finding it.