Changes

A 2006 University of Minnesota about American views of atheists reported:

A 2006 University of Minnesota about American views of atheists reported:

{{Cquote|Some people view atheists as problematic because they associate them with illegality,

{{Cquote|Some people view atheists as problematic because they associate them with illegality, such as drug use and prostitution--that is, with immoral people who threaten respectable community from the lower end of the status hierarchy. Others saw atheists as rampant materialists and cultural elitists that threaten common values from above--the ostentatiously wealthy who make a lifestyle out of consumption or the cultural elites who think they know better than everyone else. Both of these themes rest on a view of atheists as self-interested individualists who are not concerned with the common good.<ref>''Atheism and Secularity'' edited by Phil Zuckerman, page 84</ref><ref>[https://www.soc.umn.edu/assets/pdf/atheistAsOther.pdf  Atheists As “Other”: Moral Boundaries and Cultural Membership in American Society], Penny Edgell, Joseph Gerteis, Douglas Hartmann, University of Minnesota, 2006</ref><ref>[http://asr.sagepub.com/content/71/2/211.abstract Atheists As “Other”: Moral Boundaries and Cultural Membership in American Society], Penny Edgell, Joseph Gerteis, Douglas Hartmann, University of Minnesota, 2006</ref>}}

such as drug use and prostitution--that is, with immoral people who threaten respectable

community from the lower end of the status hierarchy. Others saw atheists as rampant

materialists and cultural elitists that threaten common values from above--the

ostentatiously wealthy who make a lifestyle out of consumption or the cultural elites who

think they know better than everyone else. Both of these themes rest on a view of atheists

as self-interested individualists who are not concerned with the common good.<ref>''Atheism and Secularity'' edited by Phil Zuckerman, page 84</ref><ref>[https://www.soc.umn.edu/assets/pdf/atheistAsOther.pdf  Atheists As “Other”: Moral Boundaries and Cultural Membership in American Society], Penny Edgell, Joseph Gerteis, Douglas Hartmann, University of Minnesota, 2006</ref><ref>[http://asr.sagepub.com/content/71/2/211.abstract Atheists As “Other”: Moral Boundaries and Cultural Membership in American Society], Penny Edgell, Joseph Gerteis, Douglas Hartmann, University of Minnesota, 2006</ref>}}

The [[Barna Group]] found that [[atheism|atheists]] and [[agnostics]] in America were more likely, than [[theist]]s in America, to look upon the following behaviors as morally acceptable:  illegal drug use; excessive drinking; sexual relationships outside of marriage; [[abortion]]; cohabitating with someone of opposite sex outside of marriage; obscene language; gambling; pornography and obscene sexual behavior; and engaging in [[homosexuality]]/bisexuality.<ref>http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/58-practical-outcomes-replace-biblical-principles-as-the-moral-standard</ref>

The [[Barna Group]] found that [[atheism|atheists]] and [[agnostics]] in America were more likely, than [[theist]]s in America, to look upon the following behaviors as morally acceptable:  illegal drug use; excessive drinking; sexual relationships outside of marriage; [[abortion]]; cohabitating with someone of opposite sex outside of marriage; obscene language; gambling; pornography and obscene sexual behavior; and engaging in [[homosexuality]]/bisexuality.<ref>http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/58-practical-outcomes-replace-biblical-principles-as-the-moral-standard</ref>