Survey on personal beliefs about society- please answer

Francois Tremblay
Posts: 17
Joined: 2007-02-20
User is offlineOffline
Survey on personal beliefs about society- please answer

Hello! My name is Francois Tremblay and I am conducting an informal survey on the dynamics of belief. I would like you to give your position on the following social forces:
Government, Religion, Nationalism, the Family Structure, and Popular Culture.

For ease of response and compilation, please use the following answer key:
++: I would like it to be a dominant force in society.
+: I think we need more of it.
/: Fine as it is / don't care either way.
-: I think there is too much of it.
--: I would like it to be marginalized or disappear as a social force.

Here is an example answer:
Government- Religion++ Nationalism+ Family/ Popular Culture-

I do not define these terms on purpose, because everyone has a different idea of what they mean. I want to measure people's personal attitude towards these concepts, not a fixed definition. If you dislike the question because it is too vague, then simply don't answer. Try to answer with as general an idea about the concept as possible (for example, if you dislike some governments but would like a certain form of government to become a dominant force in society, then answer ++).

You can give the reasons for your answers, but this is optional.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I am an atheist, but this survey does not seek to undermine any cultural group. This survey will be posted on many forums which cater to many different perspectives. As I will only note your answers and your general cultural group (i.e. atheist, Christian, socialist, etc), your answers will be kept anonymous.

If you have more time, you can also answer the following questions:
1. Do you believe that what is immoral in our culture can be moral in another? (ex. human sacrifice, female circumcision, arranged marriages) yes / no / maybe
2. Do you consider yourself as moral as the average person? more / less / equally
3. Is the world in trouble? yes / no / maybe


todangst
atheistRational VIP!
todangst's picture
Posts: 2843
Joined: 2006-03-10
User is offlineOffline
Francois Tremblay

Francois Tremblay wrote:
Hello! My name is Francois Tremblay

Hi Franc, how's your site and your show going?

My answers:  

 

Government /, Religion --, Nationalism - ,  the Family Structure / , and Popular Culture -.


"Hitler burned people like Anne Frank, for that we call him evil.
"God" burns Anne Frank eternally. For that, theists call him 'good.'


darth_josh
High Level DonorHigh Level ModeratorGold Member
darth_josh's picture
Posts: 2650
Joined: 2006-02-27
User is offlineOffline
Government ++ Religion

Government ++

Religion --

Nationalism --

Family -

Popular Culture -

Atheist Books, purchases on Amazon support the Rational Response Squad server, which houses Celebrity Atheists.


Francois Tremblay
Posts: 17
Joined: 2007-02-20
User is offlineOffline
Greetings todangst. Our show

Greetings todangst. Our show is over, but we have a new station, the Hellbound Alleee Network. In case you didn't know, Rational Response Squad is on our schedule every day. Thank you for answering my survey on beliefs.


Angelic_Atheist
Angelic_Atheist's picture
Posts: 264
Joined: 2006-04-06
User is offlineOffline
Government- Religion

Government-

Religion --

Nationalism -

Family/

Popular Culture - 

 


MrRage
Posts: 892
Joined: 2006-12-22
User is offlineOffline
Government / Religion

Government /

Religion -

Nationalism -

Family +

Popular Culture -


qbg
Posts: 298
Joined: 2006-11-22
User is offlineOffline
Government - - Religion -

Government - -
Religion - -
Nationalism - -
Family /
Popular Culture -

As for the additional questions:
1) Yes; morality can be different in different cultures.
2) I think I am about average.
3) Yes, the world is in trouble.

"What right have you to condemn a murderer if you assume him necessary to "God's plan"? What logic can command the return of stolen property, or the branding of a thief, if the Almighty decreed it?"
-- The Economic Tendency of Freethought


Rigor_OMortis
Rigor_OMortis's picture
Posts: 556
Joined: 2006-06-18
User is offlineOffline
I will respond with the

I will respond with the realities of the whole world as I see it. My PoV is irrelevant to the USA.

Government /

Religion --

Nationalism +

Family +

Popular culture-

And also the questions:

1. Yes

2. More

3. Maybe

Inquisition - "The flames are all long gone, but the pain lingers on..."
http://rigoromortis.blogspot.com/


Yellow_Number_Five
atheistRRS Core MemberScientist
Yellow_Number_Five's picture
Posts: 1389
Joined: 2006-02-12
User is offlineOffline
Government--

Government--

Religion--

Nationalism--

Family+ (would depend on how you define it though)

Popular Culture/

1. Do you believe that what is immoral in our culture can be moral in another? (ex. human sacrifice, female circumcision, arranged marriages) yes / no / maybe - Yes


2. Do you consider yourself as moral as the average person - Yes, equally.

3. Is the world in trouble? yes / no / maybe - Yes, but then again that's nothing new. Trouble is a relative term.

I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world. - Richard Dawkins

Atheist Books, purchases on Amazon support the Rational Response Squad server.


MattShizzle
Posts: 7966
Joined: 2006-03-31
User is offlineOffline
Government + (if it's

Government + (if it's liberal government) 

Religion--

Nationalism--

Family/

Popular Culture/

1. Do you believe that what is immoral in our culture can be moral in another? (ex. human sacrifice, female circumcision, arranged marriages) yes / no / maybe - might be considered so, but certain things are immoral period.

2. Do you consider yourself as moral as the average person - Yes, equally.

3. Is the world in trouble? yes / no / maybe - Yes, at least in some ways

Matt Shizzle has been banned from the Rational Response Squad website. This event shall provide an atmosphere more conducive to social growth. - Majority of the mod team


V1per41
V1per41's picture
Posts: 287
Joined: 2006-10-09
User is offlineOffline
Government-

Government--

Religion--

Nationalism-

Family Structure+

Popular Culture-

1. Do you believe that what is immoral in our culture can be moral in another? Yes. There are cultrures where aranged marriages, and canabalism are moral.

2. Do you consider yourself as moral as the average person? I would like to think that I'm more moral, but I try to be modest, so I'll say equally moral. Smiling

3. Is the world in trouble? Yes. As long as there is the possability of people who think they their holy book is the right one and all others should be killed obtaining WMDs then this world is in a lot of trouble.

"It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." - Carl Sagan


deludedgod
Rational VIP!ScientistDeluded God
deludedgod's picture
Posts: 3221
Joined: 2007-01-28
User is offlineOffline
Government /

Government /

Religion --

Nationalism --

The Family Structure +

Popular Culture /

"Physical reality” isn’t some arbitrary demarcation. It is defined in terms of what we can systematically investigate, directly or not, by means of our senses. It is preposterous to assert that the process of systematic scientific reasoning arbitrarily excludes “non-physical explanations” because the very notion of “non-physical explanation” is contradictory.

-Me

Books about atheism


Apostate
Apostate's picture
Posts: 48
Joined: 2007-02-03
User is offlineOffline
Francois Tremblay

Francois Tremblay wrote:
Greetings todangst. Our show is over, but we have a new station, the Hellbound Alleee Network. In case you didn't know, Rational Response Squad is on our schedule every day. Thank you for answering my survey on beliefs.

What was the point of posting this question on Feb. 20 and then having your "show over" the same day? Wouldn't it have made more sense to have posted this question earlier in advance of your show? 


RationalSchema
RationalSchema's picture
Posts: 358
Joined: 2007-02-12
User is offlineOffline
Government -, Religion --,

Government -, Religion --, Nationalism --, Family Structure /, Popular Culture /

 

Answers to follow up questions.

1. Yes, What is moral in one culture is immoral in another culture. Morality is a cultural phenomenon.

2. I would say yes, if you consider morality as the promotion of the quality of life in all human beings.

3. Yes!

"Those who think they know don't know. Those that know they don't know, know."


Ophios
Ophios's picture
Posts: 905
Joined: 2006-09-19
User is offlineOffline
Government- Religion--

Government- Religion-- Nationalism- Family/ Popular Culture--

 

(Family only gets a "/" becuase I just to quite get it.) 

AImboden wrote:
I'm not going to PM my agreement just because one tucan has pms.


Francois Tremblay
Posts: 17
Joined: 2007-02-20
User is offlineOffline
Apostate wrote: Francois

Apostate wrote:

Francois Tremblay wrote:
Greetings todangst. Our show is over, but we have a new station, the Hellbound Alleee Network. In case you didn't know, Rational Response Squad is on our schedule every day. Thank you for answering my survey on beliefs.

What was the point of posting this question on Feb. 20 and then having your "show over" the same day? Wouldn't it have made more sense to have posted this question earlier in advance of your show?

 

The show has been over for a while, and thir survey has nothing to do with the show. It is an exploratory survey for my next book. Also I hope I can discover something about how people believe.


Bjxrn
Posts: 57
Joined: 2006-07-26
User is offlineOffline
Government--

Government--

Religion--

Nationalism--

Family- There is to much family for the sake of family today, honor you father and your mother is only a good rule if your father and your mother actually deserve to be honored.

Popular Culture/ There could be less Reality TV and stupid TV shows 

 

1. Do you believe that what is immoral in our culture can be moral in another? (ex. human sacrifice, female circumcision, arranged marriages) yes / no / maybe

ANSWER: Maybe, it depends on how you define morality, murder and violence is always wrong


2. Do you consider yourself as moral as the average person? more / less / equally

ANSWER: More moral


3. Is the world in trouble? yes / no / maybe

ANSWER: maybe, the world has gotten so much better in the last 100 years that our problems today are nothing compared to holocausts and soviet style dictatorships. On the other hand war still exists and dictators like Kim Jong Il still are still in power.


AtheistInWonderland
RRS local affiliate
Posts: 80
Joined: 2006-07-25
User is offlineOffline
Government ++ Religion

Government ++

Religion --

Nationalism -

1. no

2. more

3. maybe 

 


Laker-taker
Laker-taker's picture
Posts: 87
Joined: 2006-04-04
User is offlineOffline
Government (-) Religion

Government (-)

Religion (--)

Nationalism (--)

Family Structure (+) (albeit not necessarily "traditional" family structure)

Popular Culture (-) (at least as it currently stands)

 

1, 2, and 3 = way too difficult to answer with a yes/no/maybe


Voided
Posts: 1195
Joined: 2006-02-20
User is offlineOffline
Government + Religion

Government +

Religion --

Nationalism -

the Family Structure /

Popular Culture /

 

1. Obviously yes.

2. More. (Kohlberg)

3. I am leaning towards yes, but we can fix it.


Francois Tremblay
Posts: 17
Joined: 2007-02-20
User is offlineOffline
"Obviously yes." I wonder

"Obviously yes."

I wonder why you think it's so "obvious," since I would definitely vote "no," and so would most of my friends. But then again, I only take down the answers, so...

 Anyway, anyone else want to take the survey? I promise no snarky comments. Eye-wink


MarthaSplatterhead (not verified)
Posts: 4294964976
Joined: 1969-12-31
User is offlineOffline
Government-

Government-

 

Religion--

 

Nationalism-

 

Family++ (family being a group of people that can rely on each other, incorporating friends)

 

Pop culture/

1. No, immorality transcends culture. Ex. Virgin sacrifices of the Aztecs is no more moral then as it would be in any culture today.

2. Equally to more- range.

3. If "world" means "our world" as in how we perceive our world, then yes is my answer to the question. Since the industrial revolution, humans have been stealing all the resources that make this planet habitable. I do believe when we run out of these precious resources, humanity, or the world as we know it, is fucked.


Francois Tremblay
Posts: 17
Joined: 2007-02-20
User is offlineOffline
"(family being a group of

"(family being a group of people that can rely on each other, incorporating friends)"

 

Well, that's an interesting answer... I wouldn't interpret the concept of family that way.But this is after all about personal perspective.

Any more takers for the survey?


Vastet
atheistBloggerSuperfan
Vastet's picture
Posts: 13234
Joined: 2006-12-25
User is offlineOffline
Government / Religion

Government /
Religion --
Nationality - Depends on certain circumstances.
Family / Depends on certain circumstances.
Pop Culture /

Can morals be different? Yes.
Am I as moral as john doe? Yes. In fact, everyone is.
Is the world in trouble? You mean Earth? Hell no. Human existance? Definately. Though for a massive variety of reasons of which some are mostly beyond our control.

Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.


MarthaSplatterhead (not verified)
Posts: 4294964976
Joined: 1969-12-31
User is offlineOffline
Francois Tremblay

Francois Tremblay wrote:

"(family being a group of people that can rely on each other, incorporating friends)"

Just to clarify, my brother and sister are passed.  My parents don't want anything to do with me.  I have my kids and husband but instead of them having aunts and uncles,or grandparents, they have our close friends.  Family to me means the people that are around you and are a support group.


Gauche
atheist
Gauche's picture
Posts: 1565
Joined: 2007-01-18
User is offlineOffline
Government-Religion--National

Government-
Religion--
Nationalism--
the Family Structure/
Popular Culture/

1.No, I don't think the standards of society are the only measure of right and wrong.
2.More
3.Maybe

There are twists of time and space, of vision and reality, which only a dreamer can divine
H.P. Lovecraft


DoubleB
RRS local affiliate
Posts: 34
Joined: 2006-12-17
User is offlineOffline
Government - Religion

Government -

Religion --

Nationalism +

Family Structure -

Popular Culture --

Extra credit:

1.  This is a vague question!  But yes, some things "can" transcend culture and maintain morallity, but not everything.

2.  Another vague question!  How moral is the average person?  I don't consider a lot of the people I know to be "moral", so my answer of MORE would be based on that experience.

3.  Yes, definately!

BB

 


Susan
Susan's picture
Posts: 3561
Joined: 2006-02-12
User is offlineOffline
MarthaSplatterhead

MarthaSplatterhead wrote:
Francois Tremblay wrote:

"(family being a group of people that can rely on each other, incorporating friends)"

Just to clarify, my brother and sister are passed. My parents don't want anything to do with me. I have my kids and husband but instead of them having aunts and uncles,or grandparents, they have our close friends. Family to me means the people that are around you and are a support group.

There are two kinds of family.

#1 The kind to which you are genetically related.

#2 The family you have chosen.  (This is the family I much prefer.)

Atheist Books, purchases on Amazon support the Rational Response Squad server.


Francois Tremblay
Posts: 17
Joined: 2007-02-20
User is offlineOffline
Thank you everyone for your

Thank you everyone for your answers! I am grateful for your input.


AtheistJ
Posts: 2
Joined: 2007-02-28
User is offlineOffline
Quote:Government/ Religio

Quote:
Government/ 

Religion-

Nationalism/

Family Structure/

Popular Culture-

IMO all five still have a role to play, though as civilization evolves, they will all be less and less needed, as we all become more and more self-sufficient. 

Quote:
1. Do you believe that what is immoral in our culture can be moral in another? (ex. human sacrifice, female circumcision, arranged marriages) yes / no / maybe

Maybe, that could depend on a lot of factors. I would say that some things are immoral regardless of the culture, whereas other things can differ from culture to culture.


Quote:
2. Do you consider yourself as moral as the average person? more / less / equally

Depends on whose morals you are using as the criteria for judgment. I tend towards the hedonistic in physical things, towards the opposite direction in intellectual things.

Quote:
3. Is the world in trouble? yes / no / maybe

 No way, we're definitely getting better... every 3 or 4 centuries. Two steps forward, one step back. I'm suprised by the pessimism in the thread, especially on this third question. Richard Dawkins doesn't seem to be quite as worried, as he discusses briefly in a video uploaded (ironically enough) by the RRS. I wonder what the difference between the two mindsets are...


Blackthorn
Blackthorn's picture
Posts: 20
Joined: 2006-12-26
User is offlineOffline
 Nationalism: - -

 Nationalism: - - (Nationalism leads to blind patriotism, which is usually utalized by governments to gain support for wars.  Nationalism is very dangerous.  People should love the planet they were born on, not the individual country)

Religion: - - (I think religion is nothing more than a bunch of superstitions and archaic myths that people cling to for comfort.  It is a poisonous way of 'thinking&#39Eye-wink 

Government: - - (I believe that government is encroaching upon our lives and is very dangerous, in need of drastic change) 

Family Structure: + (A strong group of people to give support and love is something I think everyone should have)

Popular Culture: - - (Looking around, I see that ignorance is almost encouraged by popular culture and stupidity is certainly tolerated.  This really disturbs me) 

 

1. Yes. Some things that are immoral in today's world were perfectly fine in the ancient world, and vice versa, so I think that 'morality' and 'immorality' really depends most on the time period and the mindset of the people.

2. Yes, more.

3. Definately, but with time I think it can be fixed.


Francois Tremblay
Posts: 17
Joined: 2007-02-20
User is offlineOffline
The survey is over. For

The survey is over. For those of you interested in the numerical results:

  Non-Believers (baseline):
Govt -- (0.33) Religion -- (0.23) Nation. -- (0.43) Family / (1.66) Pop.Culture / (1.73)
Believe the world is in trouble: 32%, Relativism: 32%

Libertarians:
Govt -- (0.25) Religion - (1.25) Nation. - (1.19) Family + (2.81) Pop.Culture / (1.63)

Atheists  (including this board):
Govt - (1.42) Religion -- (0.05) Nation. - (0.74) Family / (2.26) Pop.Culture / (1.37)
Believe the world is in trouble: 75%, Relativism: 58%

Left-wingers:
Govt -- (0.80) Religion -- (0.27) Nation. -- (0.20) Family / (1.93) Pop.Culture - (1.27)

Christians:
Govt - (1.00) Religion / (1.67) Nation. / (2.17) Family ++ (3.50) Pop.Culture / (1.17)

Right-wingers: (data not entirely reliable, not enough results)
Govt - (0.60) Religion + (2.60) Nation. + (3.00) Family ++ (4.00) Pop.Culture -- (0.20)

All of my hypotheses have failed, but I have also formulated a theory, which I will try to have published in Strike the Root, and which will appear on my blog also. 


Vastet
atheistBloggerSuperfan
Vastet's picture
Posts: 13234
Joined: 2006-12-25
User is offlineOffline
Francois Tremblay

Francois Tremblay wrote:

The survey is over. For those of you interested in the numerical results:

  Non-Believers (baseline):
Govt -- (0.33) Religion -- (0.23) Nation. -- (0.43) Family / (1.66) Pop.Culture / (1.73)
Believe the world is in trouble: 32%, Relativism: 32%

Libertarians:
Govt -- (0.25) Religion - (1.25) Nation. - (1.19) Family + (2.81) Pop.Culture / (1.63)

Atheists  (including this board):
Govt - (1.42) Religion -- (0.05) Nation. - (0.74) Family / (2.26) Pop.Culture / (1.37)
Believe the world is in trouble: 75%, Relativism: 58%

Left-wingers:
Govt -- (0.80) Religion -- (0.27) Nation. -- (0.20) Family / (1.93) Pop.Culture - (1.27)

Christians:
Govt - (1.00) Religion / (1.67) Nation. / (2.17) Family ++ (3.50) Pop.Culture / (1.17)

Right-wingers: (data not entirely reliable, not enough results)
Govt - (0.60) Religion + (2.60) Nation. + (3.00) Family ++ (4.00) Pop.Culture -- (0.20)

All of my hypotheses have failed, but I have also formulated a theory, which I will try to have published in Strike the Root, and which will appear on my blog also. 

Congratulations on finding some success. Smiling

Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.