Why are there so many atheist comedians?

[Sergeant Pancakebatter]

It is probably proportional to society in general. It is estimated that 10-15% of the population are atheists. That is 1 in every 10. Now take into account that they are comedians. They are far louder about their atheism than most

[AnatidaeanAvenger]

I hypothesize that the same "critical" way of thinking caters to or helps lead to atheism and is a basis for our contemporary sense of humor. Who knows?

[daChaosKitty]

Sergeant Pancakebatter

It is probably proportional to society in general. It is estimated that 10-15% of the population are atheists. That is 1 in every 10. Now take into account that they are comedians. They are far louder about their atheism than most

No, I believe it's estimated that 10-15% of the population are "unaffiliated," that doesn't necessarily mean that they're strictly Atheist. I believe it's more like 1-2% that are strictly Atheist.

[Sergeant Pancakebatter]

daChaosKitty

Sergeant Pancakebatter

It is probably proportional to society in general. It is estimated that 10-15% of the population are atheists. That is 1 in every 10. Now take into account that they are comedians. They are far louder about their atheism than most

No, I believe it's estimated that 10-15% of the population are "unaffiliated," that doesn't necessarily mean that they're strictly Atheist. I believe it's more like 1-2% that are strictly Atheist.

Sauce.

Conclusion page 98

our in five EU citizens have religious or spiritual beliefs
and only 18% declare that they don’t believe that there is any sort of spirit, God or life
force.

This is what most people define as atheist. In some places it is as low as 1%, but in Germany it is 25%, France 33%, Netherlands 27%... It varies, but overall there are more atheists than people think.

[daChaosKitty]

Sergeant Pancakebatter

daChaosKitty

Sergeant Pancakebatter

It is probably proportional to society in general. It is estimated that 10-15% of the population are atheists. That is 1 in every 10. Now take into account that they are comedians. They are far louder about their atheism than most

No, I believe it's estimated that 10-15% of the population are "unaffiliated," that doesn't necessarily mean that they're strictly Atheist. I believe it's more like 1-2% that are strictly Atheist.

Sauce.

Conclusion page 98

our in five EU citizens have religious or spiritual beliefs
and only 18% declare that they don’t believe that there is any sort of spirit, God or life
force.

This is what most people define as atheist. In some places it is as low as 1%, but in Germany it is 25%, France 33%, Netherlands 27%... It varies, but overall there are more atheists than people think.

Ah, you're specifying Europe, well, that's different. lol

[Sergeant Pancakebatter]

daChaosKitty

Sergeant Pancakebatter

daChaosKitty

Sergeant Pancakebatter

It is probably proportional to society in general. It is estimated that 10-15% of the population are atheists. That is 1 in every 10. Now take into account that they are comedians. They are far louder about their atheism than most

No, I believe it's estimated that 10-15% of the population are "unaffiliated," that doesn't necessarily mean that they're strictly Atheist. I believe it's more like 1-2% that are strictly Atheist.

Sauce.

Conclusion page 98

our in five EU citizens have religious or spiritual beliefs
and only 18% declare that they don’t believe that there is any sort of spirit, God or life
force.

This is what most people define as atheist. In some places it is as low as 1%, but in Germany it is 25%, France 33%, Netherlands 27%... It varies, but overall there are more atheists than people think.

Ah, you're specifying Europe, well, that's different. lol

If we included North America assuming 2% of Americans are atheist that wouldn't bring down the statistic much.

[stealthmongoose]

daChaosKitty

stealthmongoose

daChaosKitty

stealthmongoose

You're also pretty much incorrect about experiencing the sillyness of head-doilies, or yarmulke's, though the temples might be a barred experience depending on their exclusivity.

I'm sure a bunch of Orthodox Jews would all over my butt for wearing a yarmulke if I decided to go to temple someday. I don't think they look too kindly to girls wearing them.

Who ever said ANYTHING about it being an Orthodox temple? razz

Well, I'm just stressing my argument that there are experiences that some people just don't have. I mean, a 40 year-old Christian woman will probably never know what it's like to have a bat mitzvah, and a 20 year-old white boy will never know what it's like to have a Quinceañera. I, as a mother, have known what it's like to actually give birth, men will never have that experience either, they can only talk about it from an observing, or anecdotal standpoint.

Did a kid who was raised, purely, Atheist know what it's like to have first communion? A bat mitzvah? To have a Jewish, or WASP, family? There are things that you can recreate, and there are some things that you just can't, without either being part of them, or immersing yourself in them. And some things, such as labor, having a period, or awkward, sudden hard-ons which just can't be experienced by some.

Comedians usually speak about what they know. Good comedy is normally based on someone's personal experiences.

Yes, but emulating a belief isn't nearly as difficult as adopting the position of an opposite gender person living an entirely different lifestyle. Imaginary positions can be adopted rather easily. That's why people play D&D for example. It's very easy to run with a concept of a character that was pre-built by people before and even if you are not the person who created the concept, it's very easy to emulate what a cleric of Pelor would act like when confronted with a paladin of Hextor in combat.

I know you're saying the lifestyle has something to do with it, but good comedy can be given from an observational if not emulational standpoint as well. Take the new testament for example, it's pretty much a parody of the old testament made post-blood-sacrifice-society friendly.

[daChaosKitty]

Sergeant Pancakebatter

daChaosKitty

Sergeant Pancakebatter

daChaosKitty

Sergeant Pancakebatter

It is probably proportional to society in general. It is estimated that 10-15% of the population are atheists. That is 1 in every 10. Now take into account that they are comedians. They are far louder about their atheism than most

No, I believe it's estimated that 10-15% of the population are "unaffiliated," that doesn't necessarily mean that they're strictly Atheist. I believe it's more like 1-2% that are strictly Atheist.

Sauce.

Conclusion page 98

our in five EU citizens have religious or spiritual beliefs
and only 18% declare that they don’t believe that there is any sort of spirit, God or life
force.

This is what most people define as atheist. In some places it is as low as 1%, but in Germany it is 25%, France 33%, Netherlands 27%... It varies, but overall there are more atheists than people think.

Ah, you're specifying Europe, well, that's different. lol

If we included North America assuming 2% of Americans are atheist that wouldn't bring down the statistic much.

I was specifying the U.S., which was an assumption on my part that the OP was referring to. I could be wrong.

Of course, if we were to take the entirety of the world's population into account, it would be far more difficult to discern, as there are people who say they're "Atheists," but also consider themselves Hindu, Tao, Buddhist, etc. Back in 04' the CIA factbook suggested that while 12.5% of the world population were "non-religious," only 2.4% actually considered themselves Atheists. That could have changed, or it could be inaccurate, it's difficult to tell, really.

[daChaosKitty]

stealthmongoose

daChaosKitty

stealthmongoose

daChaosKitty

stealthmongoose

You're also pretty much incorrect about experiencing the sillyness of head-doilies, or yarmulke's, though the temples might be a barred experience depending on their exclusivity.

I'm sure a bunch of Orthodox Jews would all over my butt for wearing a yarmulke if I decided to go to temple someday. I don't think they look too kindly to girls wearing them.

Who ever said ANYTHING about it being an Orthodox temple? razz

Well, I'm just stressing my argument that there are experiences that some people just don't have. I mean, a 40 year-old Christian woman will probably never know what it's like to have a bat mitzvah, and a 20 year-old white boy will never know what it's like to have a Quinceañera. I, as a mother, have known what it's like to actually give birth, men will never have that experience either, they can only talk about it from an observing, or anecdotal standpoint.

Did a kid who was raised, purely, Atheist know what it's like to have first communion? A bat mitzvah? To have a Jewish, or WASP, family? There are things that you can recreate, and there are some things that you just can't, without either being part of them, or immersing yourself in them. And some things, such as labor, having a period, or awkward, sudden hard-ons which just can't be experienced by some.

Comedians usually speak about what they know. Good comedy is normally based on someone's personal experiences.

Yes, but emulating a belief isn't nearly as difficult as adopting the position of an opposite gender person living an entirely different lifestyle. Imaginary positions can be adopted rather easily. That's why people play D&D for example. It's very easy to run with a concept of a character that was pre-built by people before and even if you are not the person who created the concept, it's very easy to emulate what a cleric of Pelor would act like when confronted with a paladin of Hextor in combat.

I know you're saying the lifestyle has something to do with it, but good comedy can be given from an observational if not emulational standpoint as well. Take the new testament for example, it's pretty much a parody of the old testament made post-blood-sacrifice-society friendly.

Yes, but as a roleplayer, it's much easier to adopt characteristics of a fictional society, because you have tons of books to tell you, "These people are like this/don't like these people/etc."

Of course, also as a roleplayer, I've played people of various cultures and faiths. In order to do so I have to do a LOT more study than a comedian is likely to bother with. As far as I know, they tend to go off of what they know, what they see, etc., unless they buy jokes from another comedian.

I don't often see white people doing "black comedy," or black people, raised in the inner city, doing "redneck comedy."

[Sergeant Pancakebatter]

daChaosKitty

Sergeant Pancakebatter

daChaosKitty

Sergeant Pancakebatter

daChaosKitty

No, I believe it's estimated that 10-15% of the population are "unaffiliated," that doesn't necessarily mean that they're strictly Atheist. I believe it's more like 1-2% that are strictly Atheist.

Sauce.

Conclusion page 98

our in five EU citizens have religious or spiritual beliefs
and only 18% declare that they don’t believe that there is any sort of spirit, God or life
force.

This is what most people define as atheist. In some places it is as low as 1%, but in Germany it is 25%, France 33%, Netherlands 27%... It varies, but overall there are more atheists than people think.

Ah, you're specifying Europe, well, that's different. lol

If we included North America assuming 2% of Americans are atheist that wouldn't bring down the statistic much.

I was specifying the U.S., which was an assumption on my part that the OP was referring to. I could be wrong.

Of course, if we were to take the entirety of the world's population into account, it would be far more difficult to discern, as there are people who say they're "Atheists," but also consider themselves Hindu, Tao, Buddhist, etc. Back in 04' the CIA factbook suggested that while 12.5% of the world population were "non-religious," only 2.4% actually considered themselves Atheists. That could have changed, or it could be inaccurate, it's difficult to tell, really.

A very large portion of atheist comedians are not american:
Ricky Gervais - English
Dave Allen - Irish
Eugene Mirman- Russian
Eddie Izzard- English
Wil Anderson -Australian
Abie Philbin Bowman - Irish
Jimmy Carr- English
Billy Connolly - Scottish
Catherine Deveny- Australian
Robin Ince- English
Catherine Deveny -British
Jeremy Hardy - English
Tim Michin - Australian
Linda Smith - English
Mark Thomas - English
Keith Allen- Welsh
Marcus Brigstocke - English
Ben Elton - Australian
Andy Hamilton - English
Richard Herring - English
Dermot Morgan - Irish
Arthur Smith - English


These are very prominent names in comedy, even in America.



EDIT: Just to drive home the point, if we are only talking about American comedians, there are 596 total american stand up comedians listed on wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_stand-up_comedians.
Of those, 14 are atheist: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_atheists_(miscellaneous)#Comedians

14/596 = 0.0234899329 or appx. 2%, which is consistent with the American population.

[Kokiri Prodigy]

Probably for the same reason Christian music and movies tend to suck. Severely.

[Princess Creampie]

Kokiri Prodigy

Probably for the same reason Christian music and movies tend to suck. Severely.

I'm on surfboard. Da na na na na Da na. I'm riding the waves. Da na na na na da na. Oops I feel and a shark bit off my arm. Da na na na na na da na. I know that God still loves me! Supasta!

[daChaosKitty]

Sergeant Pancakebatter

daChaosKitty

Sergeant Pancakebatter

daChaosKitty

Sergeant Pancakebatter

Sauce.

This is what most people define as atheist. In some places it is as low as 1%, but in Germany it is 25%, France 33%, Netherlands 27%... It varies, but overall there are more atheists than people think.

Ah, you're specifying Europe, well, that's different. lol

If we included North America assuming 2% of Americans are atheist that wouldn't bring down the statistic much.

I was specifying the U.S., which was an assumption on my part that the OP was referring to. I could be wrong.

Of course, if we were to take the entirety of the world's population into account, it would be far more difficult to discern, as there are people who say they're "Atheists," but also consider themselves Hindu, Tao, Buddhist, etc. Back in 04' the CIA factbook suggested that while 12.5% of the world population were "non-religious," only 2.4% actually considered themselves Atheists. That could have changed, or it could be inaccurate, it's difficult to tell, really.

A very large portion of atheist comedians are not american:
Ricky Gervais - English
Dave Allen - Irish
Eugene Mirman- Russian
Eddie Izzard- English
Wil Anderson -Australian
Abie Philbin Bowman - Irish
Jimmy Carr- English
Billy Connolly - Scottish
Catherine Deveny- Australian
Robin Ince- English
Catherine Deveny -British
Jeremy Hardy - English
Tim Michin - Australian
Linda Smith - English
Mark Thomas - English
Keith Allen- Welsh
Marcus Brigstocke - English
Ben Elton - Australian
Andy Hamilton - English
Richard Herring - English
Dermot Morgan - Irish
Arthur Smith - English


These are very prominent names in comedy, even in America.

I only recognize a handful of those... maybe.
The ones I primarily know are the Kings of Comedy, the Queens of Comedy, Latin Kings of Comedy, Chris Rock, the Redneck comics, Jeff Dunham, George Carlin, Louis CK, Dane Cook, Katt Williams, Mitch Hedburg, Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks, Gabriel Iglesias, Lewis Black, Pablo Francisco, Bill Cosby, Margaret Cho, John Pinette, Carlos Mencia, Sam Kinison, Andrew Dice Clay, Norm Macdonald, etc.

I don't generally worry about their belief systems. So, if the OP was referring to those comedians, then I can see how it would be indicative of the population. Really, we won't know unless they start dropping some names. lol

[Sergeant Pancakebatter]

daChaosKitty

Sergeant Pancakebatter

daChaosKitty

Sergeant Pancakebatter

daChaosKitty

Sergeant Pancakebatter

Sauce.

This is what most people define as atheist. In some places it is as low as 1%, but in Germany it is 25%, France 33%, Netherlands 27%... It varies, but overall there are more atheists than people think.

Ah, you're specifying Europe, well, that's different. lol

If we included North America assuming 2% of Americans are atheist that wouldn't bring down the statistic much.

I was specifying the U.S., which was an assumption on my part that the OP was referring to. I could be wrong.

Of course, if we were to take the entirety of the world's population into account, it would be far more difficult to discern, as there are people who say they're "Atheists," but also consider themselves Hindu, Tao, Buddhist, etc. Back in 04' the CIA factbook suggested that while 12.5% of the world population were "non-religious," only 2.4% actually considered themselves Atheists. That could have changed, or it could be inaccurate, it's difficult to tell, really.

A very large portion of atheist comedians are not american:
Ricky Gervais - English
Dave Allen - Irish
Eugene Mirman- Russian
Eddie Izzard- English
Wil Anderson -Australian
Abie Philbin Bowman - Irish
Jimmy Carr- English
Billy Connolly - Scottish
Catherine Deveny- Australian
Robin Ince- English
Catherine Deveny -British
Jeremy Hardy - English
Tim Michin - Australian
Linda Smith - English
Mark Thomas - English
Keith Allen- Welsh
Marcus Brigstocke - English
Ben Elton - Australian
Andy Hamilton - English
Richard Herring - English
Dermot Morgan - Irish
Arthur Smith - English


These are very prominent names in comedy, even in America.

I only recognize a handful of those... maybe.
The ones I primarily know are the Kings of Comedy, the Queens of Comedy, Latin Kings of Comedy, Chris Rock, the Redneck comics, Jeff Dunham, George Carlin, Louis CK, Dane Cook, Katt Williams, Mitch Hedburg, Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks, Gabriel Iglesias, Lewis Black, Pablo Francisco, Bill Cosby, Margaret Cho, John Pinette, Carlos Mencia, Sam Kinison, Andrew Dice Clay, Norm Macdonald, etc.

I don't generally worry about their belief systems. So, if the OP was referring to those comedians, then I can see how it would be indicative of the population. Really, we won't know unless they start dropping some names. lol

This was the edit I made to the post regarding american only coedians:
EDIT: Just to drive home the point, if we are only talking about American comedians, there are 596 total american stand up comedians listed on wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_stand-up_comedians.
Of those, 14 are atheist: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_atheists_(miscellaneous)#Comedians

14/596 = 0.0234899329 or appx. 2%, which is consistent with the American population.

[daChaosKitty]

Sergeant Pancakebatter

This was the edit I made to the post regarding american only coedians:
EDIT: Just to drive home the point, if we are only talking about American comedians, there are 596 total american stand up comedians listed on wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_stand-up_comedians.
Of those, 14 are atheist: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_atheists_(miscellaneous)#Comedians

14/596 = 0.0234899329 or appx. 2%, which is consistent with the American population.

By that statistic, then approx. 2% of world comedians are Atheist, at least if we're to go by the CIA factbook numbers?